This post was produced in collaboration with Hustle Culture, a free Substack newsletter.

Every freelancer brings a unique mix of technical and creative expertise to the table, but most of us share two key skills: self-discipline and time management. Without those, working for yourself can look like long, slow days on the couch or weeks jam-packed with endless tasks. I’ve fallen into both of those modes, but over time I’ve developed a formula that helps me create a manageable and productive weekly schedule. 

It’s difficult for me to sit and focus on one task for many hours at a time. Instead, I break up my days and weeks into dedicated blocks for each of my weekly obligations. This allows me to manage my time and create a calendar I can stick to. It also gives me a framework for which projects I can say yes to, and what might push me beyond my limits. 

Below, I’ve outlined a broad day in my life, which includes both creative writing work and the projects I do for publications and brands. Please note that not every day looks this perfect! Sometimes I talk to my mom on the phone for an hour, watch YouTube, or clean the whole house to avoid working. This is the schedule I strive for, but life is often more complicated than the structures I create in advance. 

First Thing (7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.)

This is my dedicated creative writing time. I wake up around 6:45 a.m., make tea, and then quickly open Google Docs before my brain can convince me not to. Most often I’m working on chapters for my memoir-in-progress, though sometimes I use this time to write other essays or outline new ideas. Within this time frame I also eat a bit of breakfast, always oatmeal. I’ve been eating the same breakfast for a decade because I don’t really know how to cook.

Exercise and Get Ready (8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.)

When I worked in an office full time, I exercised first thing in the morning. In hindsight, I realize that routine was quite hard on my body. Now that I make my own schedule, I wait until my writing is done, then head out for a walk, start a workout video at home, or go to the yoga studio around the corner from my apartment. Once that’s done, I shower and get ready for the rest of the day. 

Client Work (10 a.m. to ~4 p.m.)

During this mid-day block, I focus on paid writing work. That includes putting together newsletters, blogs, op-eds, or research for the clients I work with every month. When I’m on deadline for a journalism piece, I also conduct interviews and write those stories during this part of the day. I try to wrap up by 3:30 or 4 p.m., depending on how much is on my plate. I also take 15 to 30 minutes to eat lunch (away from my computer and phone!) around noon or 1 p.m. 

On Fridays, I dedicate much of this time to invoicing, taxes, email follow-ups, planning my week ahead, and other life admin. I prefer to tackle all of that in one day rather than letting it seep into other parts of the week.

Pitching, Ideas, Reading (~4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.)

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I spend the late afternoon working on pitches for new ideas or putting freetogether concepts for personal essays. That includes research, reaching out to editors, and dropping notes into various Google Docs (that I try very hard to keep organized but ultimately become unwieldy). Because this work is unpaid until the pitch is sold, I focus on it after all the paid work is done. 

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I use the end of the day to journal or catch up on reading. That includes longform articles, Substack posts I’ve bookmarked, and nonfiction books that inform whatever I’m working on. 

Some afternoons, I go to a coffee shop to switch my focus and get out of the house. A lot of the cafes in my neighborhood don’t have WiFi, which is nice for analog tasks like writing by hand or reading but not so nice for research or emails. 

Occasionally, I use this time to see a new museum exhibit, watch a movie in theaters, or go to an off-peak yoga class. I try to remind myself that I became a freelancer to be free and that my day can look however I want it to!

Evenings 

Two nights a week, I have class in-person for my MFA program from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Because of that, I try to keep the other nights relatively free and stop working by 6 p.m. Sometimes I struggle to stop checking emails, so I turn my phone completely off and try to get outside again before it gets dark. 

When I started freelancing, I let work creep into all hours of the weekday and the weekends. Lately, I’ve been trying to align my hours with that of a “normal” work day when I can, though I do make adjustments when I’m traveling, visiting family, or just having an off week.