Hi–
I recently had some folks ask me about my daily schedule and life so i jotted it down. Here’s what it looks like:
Like many writers, I work full-time at another job as well. In fact, I own my job. I’m a partner in a small ad/PR firm which I helped found many years ago. Unlike many writers, I don’t hate my day job. Quite the contrary. I think both professions feed each other. If you know what my day job is, you understand better why I’m such a passionate participant in social media and why I actually enjoy blogging. I have promotional and marketing instincts and training, so I do more promo than many authors. I’m also a fairly prolific author. My first book came out in January of 2011 and I’m now writing book 23. I’m also a huge believer in reasonably healthy living, so exercise and a balanced diet have to come in there somewhere. I’m married to the love of my life, have a house, a family and a my soul-dog.
It’s a balancing act.
5-6AM — Get up, check and answer email and social media for my author life. If time permits, do some writing.
6:30 — Take off out the door with my dog for a mile and a half walk which includes a stop for wheat grass juice and veggie juice and ends with a trip to the coffee shop for tea and dog treats. (Alternatively, do a complete Pilates and Yoga routine.)
7:45 – 9:00 — Check and answer business emails and Tara Lain emails, make soft-boiled eggs for breakfast, shower and make the 1 minute commute to my home office
9 – about 12ish — Work my butt off doing strategic planning, program development and copy writing for clients
12 – 1ish — Lunch — often raw veggies with tahini sauce, some raw nuts, and a piece of string cheese. Write on my WIP
1-3ish — More client work
3-3:30ish — WIP and social media
3:30 – 5 — Clients, conference calls, etc.
5-6 — WIP and social media including blogging
6-7 — Dinner and some TV
7 – 9:30 — A mix of family time, TV, and writing.
9:30 — head for bed, read and sleep
On Fridays, I have more writing time and, of course, big chunks of the weekend are devoted to creating books. I also blog almost every day. Because I work at home, I generally see emails come in for both my lives and can respond to something urgent very quickly, so I’m extremely lucky.
The secret to getting it all done to me is being able and willing to do small bits at a time. I don’t have to have hours to write. Got 15 minutes? Pull up the WIP and go to work. I figure if i write 1000 words a day, i’ve created 365,000 words a year. That’s a bunch of books. Of course, many days i don’t reach 1000 and many more days i do 2,000 or more words. I’m also a big believer in spending one-third of my writer time doing promo of some kind, so i plan for that every day. As Nike says, just do it. Doing, doing, done. : )