My daily weekday routine tends to look a bit like this:

  • Get up
  • Do emails and smaller “to do’s”
  • Work a four hour shift
  • Have a lunch break
  • Complete my copywriting jobs for that day

Admittedly these first two bullet points often get blurred, especially during rainy or darker mornings whereby working from bed with a good brew is the only way I’ll get some bits done before work.

Having this morning routine sets me up for when I return from my shift. I’m lucky these are consistent 9-1 shift hours allowing me to stick to this structure.

I would’ve answered anything important in my inbox, and if necessary rescheduled my priority to do list for that day. When I come back from my shift, I know exactly what tasks are to be completed.

For a typical week I draw up this plan on the Friday or Sunday before so I have a rough plan for the following week to ensure that all my tasks with deadlines, and other high priority tasks are to be complete. Then where I have gaps, I then schedule time for other things like producing content for my own social media channels (including posts just like this one that you’re reading now).

Setting up my week before it begins, for me is crucial to avoid being overwhelmed when there are multiple deadlines that are all on the forefront of my mind. Each day I can just look at the specific plan for that day.

It’s important to note that these plans need to be realistic.

You can assign yourself 5 blog posts, social media posts, and website content to write, but it’s unlikely you’re going to achieve that (especially for me following a busy 4 hours shift with an intense amount of customer service).

I would very quickly crash and burn with such an unrealistic to do list. The content would be poorly completed as the old Abi brain would not be able to concentrate for that long and produce well-crafted and well researched pieces.

I’d also be working well past my dinner time…. and I always like to end a working day before then (#hangryabi).

For me, it’s about knowing roughly how long a piece of work would take me on average to complete— I often work around 500 words an hour, but this depends on the level of research required and whether I already know the tone and audience for the piece.

Knowing how long each copywriting task will roughly take allows me to set a realistic schedule and not take on too much work.

Some weeks are always busier or quieter than others so my working hours for each day will always differ but having this routine prepares me for the busier ones. When I have a quieter one, it’s the joys of freelance and I can enjoy an afternoon adventure.

Or if I’m desperate for an adventure, I can rely on my planning and scheduling to free up a day if that still fits within my realistic and sensible time frames.

I don’t always get it perfect; I have been known to be working in an evening, or be in a writers rut and need to just call it a day. Scattering copywriting jobs across the week rather than cramming them all in a couple of days means that this is possible, which is why; knowing my limits and planning ahead is crucial to balancing copywriting around my part time job.

One day I hope to leave the part time job, but for now it keeps me grounded and allows me to be flexible to one off projects and dip my toes in the magical world of freelance copywriting.

If you are looking for a copywriter, please do get in touch. I’d love to discuss what you’re looking for and help create a flourishing bit of copy for you and your readers.

Contact me or email abislifeinwrting@outlook.com