Advice on managing my time while trying to start a new copywriting business?

There are plenty of people that have courses on learning to keep focus. You can also do simple things as designate set portions of time every day to your copywriting. Such as 8:00pm-9:00pm every day, just an example. You should probably have more than just an hour to invest in making money with your business. Just remember the more you focus on it, the better your chance of making money.

Hey man,

There are a few things I would suggest you do:

#1. Work on the most important task first

There is an entire book out on this concept called "Eat that Frog" by Brian Tracy, which basically states to take the thing which is most important and which you are most likely to want to procrastinate on and do that first thing in the day.

So for you, it would be working on your copywriting business.

#2. Make use of to-do lists

The next thing you're going to want to do is get in the habit of operating from to-do lists on a day in, day out basis. Developing this as a day in-day out habit is CRITICAL. Working from a list improves productivity by 25%(again, taken from "Eat that Frog").

You'll want to "small chunk" your copywriting business down into manageable small tasks that you can check off 1 by 1. If you don't break up what seems like a massive undertaking into small 30min-60min job tasks, you will find yourself in overwhelm, feeling like there is too much work to do and then getting distracted by Youtube/Facebook etc...

2 good resources to look into for this are "weekplan.net" and "Simpleology".

#3. What you wear matters, dress up while you work

You wouldn't think this would be a big deal, but I personally have found myself to be significantly more productive and less likely to get distracted if I dress up in some slacks and a dress shirt instead of just jeans and a t-shirt.

Clothes are symbolic, when we wear dressier clothes, we tend to take on the characteristics associated with those garments. When we dress up, we prime ourselves to behave in a way which is consistent with that attire.

Those 3 tips alone should be enough to get you moving in the right direction if you put them into practice each day....

And of course it goes without saying to shut off all distractions while you work (Facebook/Youtube/Email/Phone).

One other thing I'll throw in is to Google the "Pomodoro Technique". It basically involves you making use of a timer to work intently for 25 minutes uninterrupted, followed by a 5 minute break.

After 4 Pomodoro sessions you can have a longer 30 minute break. This is one way you improve your productivity while still getting to enjoy a bit of a break in between your work sessions.

Hope that helps..

-Mike

I know exactly how you feel. I try to run a marketing consultancy on the side while working full time as a software developer and also making sure I have enough time/energy for my family. I dont really have the answer but I do know that sometimes its ok to forget about your passion as your interest in it will help you get back to it when needed. It may be that you need to focus on finding a regular job for now to pay the bills and once your life has settled down go back to your copywriting. I know its probably not what you wanted to hear but sometimes sorting out the rest of your life can give you the energy you need to make breakthroughs in your business.

A day job is just that. Your own business will always be where your heart is.

Good luck!

Some tips
1. Test your ideas constantly
and be hyper-critical about why you might be wrong many young entrepreneurs will
prepare the requisite SWOT slide for investors, but don't really do the
analysis. Validate your ideas with people who will really buy your
product/service. If you can't get them to work with you early on, your idea is
probably not that compelling or they don't get it.Either way, you have got
your work cut out and it's better to know early on.

2. Keep an eye on the market
If you had a good idea, it is reasonable to assume someone else out there also thought
of it as well. Ignoring the competition
is a big mistake.

3. Keep an eye on thefinances
you will need more money than you think. Much has been written about
this, but it can't be overemphasized. And be careful with equity. It's easy to
give out equity early on to save cash, but if you are successful, this becomes
extremely expensive later on.

4. Hire the right people
particularly,
people who complement (not duplicate) your skills, and fit your culture.
Don't be afraid to hire people who know more than you, as long there is a good
cultural fit. Outsource to buy expertise
you can't afford in-house, and to perform non-strategic business functions.

5. Stay focused on value, not fluff
ignore the urge to have a strategy for every facet of the business up
front. Stay laser-focused on providing value for customers. Follow your
business plan to make money. You will be a totally different organization once
you have proven your ability to generate cash.

6. Remember, there are many reasons
why a product/service is successful. It may not be the most
technologically-advanced product/service on the market; often it is the one that
is marketed or sold most successfully. Therefore, it is important to know what
you are particularly good at, and then truly excel at it.

7. Encourage a collaborative
environment. There is no monopoly on good ideas. That doesn’t mean that
decision-making is democratic, but it does mean you encourage people to offer
ideas. We give way too much credence to the odd startup with an eccentric
entrepreneur who rules the company by strength of their personality. Also,
credit people for their contributions.

8. Don't be afraid to be
different. Investors are conservative by nature and will probably want you to
follow the path of comparable companies. If you have a good reason for doing certain things differently, make sure you can articulate your reasoning , and then go for it.

9. Life does not have to end
when you create a startup. I have worked in several startups where people stay
late into the night, but they almost always waste a lot of time during the day.
A culture of those who leave early are losers, is in my opinion, a poor work
culture. People need to be passionate and diligent about their work, but you should
encourage people to have a life as well. When people feel that they are
respected, they work better and care more. It is not a zero-sum game, after
all.

10. Believe in yourselves
if you are following some recipe that you found in some how-to book, you are
probably on the wrong path. If you truly believe in what you are doing, and you
have done your homework, you stand a much better chance of succeeding. There will be no shortages of nay-sayers
along the way who will tell you why your idea has already been tried and
failed.

All good advice. I feel apart from the frustration of not finding the magic bullet, the biggest frustration is setting enough time aside to work on your online business while still working 40+ hours per week.
Like most goals or dreams aim to have small success often, this can help you keep focus and momentum towards the big success.

Wow! I would really appreciate the many detailed responses.

It has been suggested that I focus on finding a job and when when things settle down go back to working on my business. Normally, I would agree with that approach. But my situation is a little more complicated.

I graduated college some time ago. I have been looking for a full-time job for over five years. I use a power wheelchair. And although I am very capable of holding a full-time job and doing it successfully, my job search is been extremely difficult. I have been able to land internships, short part-time positions and things of that nature. But, I have not been able to land a solid full-time job yet.

I have always been interested in entrepreneurship. However, my difficulty with the job search is one of the main drivers behind my goal to start a copywriting business.

It is because of this predicament but I believe I should work on both goals simultaneously.

@aborsuk2
designating a certain time every day to work on my copywriting business is a great idea. Right now, I have a bunch of different goals I am chasing. I think I chase too many at once. Your advice will definitely help with that.

@Mikeman
putting the most important thing first is great advice. Sometimes I think I chase the easy things and put off the more challenging ones. And, you're right, typically, it is the more challenging tasks that matter the most. The technique you mentioned with the timer sounds very interesting. I will give that a try.

@treka
I'm glad to hear we are in the same boat. I wish I could comfortably focus on just finding a job. But, as I described above, I believe my copying project needs to move forward at the same time as my job search.

@neha9
those are some great ideas that will definitely be helpful once my business gets off the ground.

@Grasser
I agree it is critical to have daily successes and focus on small reoccurring successes. That's kind of the way I look at my daily to do list.

I have two long lists of things I want to accomplish. One of the things I struggle with is breaking the goals from those lists down into manageable daily tasks and finishing those tasks without feeling like I am neglecting other important goals. Any advice on this issue?

Wheelstb - Np bro...Regarding your last question:

There is only so much work you can do each day. One thing a lot of people, myself included, struggle with is spreading themselves too thin, wanting to accomplish too many things and thus spreading your energy out and not making much or any significant progress on any one endeavor.

So that may be something to consider asking yourself, "Am I spreading myself too thin?". You may need to put one or more goals aside for now so you can focus more intently on 1-2 chief aims.

The other thing to do like I mentioned is to make use of a priority manager and rank the tasks you want to execute based on priority, highest to lowest...realize you're only human and you only have 24 hours in the day to execute the items on this task list and do what you can in that day to attack those items of highest priority.

-Mike

Hey,

Great pieces of advice here. I just wanted to add that in my case the most difficult thing in staying focused or accomplishing a difficult task is actually starting it! I tend to overthink whether I should do it now or maybe later and then something comes up and I lose the chance. I guess "just doing it", without thinking about it can help accomplish goals. Especially when you're tired and lacking energy.

Good luck!

Timothy