How I Run My Business in Under 30 Hours a Week
I received this question in the Unfussy Writing Community the other week.
“Iʻm curious how you can do your business for 30 hours a week. Whatʻs your secret? Plus, you have a blog and an active social media presence?”
It’s not the first time someone’s asked me this question. Even back in my corporate days, colleagues would ask how I had “time” and how I “did it all” — kids, family, work, and still have time to make a kale smoothie for breakfast. Or how I had time to read books.
You’re going to see both some mindset ideas to play with and some practical tips.
Before I get to the practical ideas, I’ve dedicated time and energy to figuring out what matters most to me.
I also want you to know that besides a bookkeeper and hiring support on a project basis, I currently do not have a virtual assistant or VA. I run a lean, unfussy business and haven’t had the need yet.
I’ve also had a natural ability to get shit done. Perhaps it’s because I’m an INFJ, or there’s lots of Virgo in my chart. It’s a skill that I’ve honed over the year, especially when the kids were distance-learning and I was focusing on my last book.
On the outside, you see me showing up here on the blog and in your inbox, sharing on Instagram, writing a book, reading books, serving 1:1 and small group coaching clients, leading a writing community, and making the time to move my body and eat well. And… enjoying lots of time with my feet up.
What you don’t see:
A bunch of half-dead plants in the backyard
Me forgetting to pay the occasional bill, or making a vet appointment
Half-landscaped side yard and plenty of weeds
Piles of clothes I keep forgetting to donate
Working at the hockey rink when I don’t get my work done during the day
There’s probably more. I hope this serves as a reminder that what you most often see online is a highlight reel. As often as I can, I share all sides (you’ll get to see lots of these sides in my book).
Alright, onto the practical things. These are things I do most of the time, and not necessarily every day. As you read this list, perhaps approach it like a menu. Grab a few ideas that feel good to play with and try them out.
1. Tracking my cycle
After learning about my cycle (which took me until my late 30s), I created a Google calendar to track my cycle phases. Here’s what it looks like:
Period/menstruation - I try to keep these days free of meetings and take it easy. A good day for yoga instead of lifting weights. It’s an extra intuitive time, so I use much of this time to tune out outside noise and do some journaling.
Follicular - Lots of ideas happening here. I’ll do some planning for the coming months, or map out some creative plans.
Ovulation - This is when I want to be seen and be out in the world. Recently, I only sent podcast pitches during this handful of days. It may also be when I open the doors to the Unfussy Writing Community or launch a new service.
Luteal - Give me all the details. This is when I did the final edits on my book. You wouldn’t believe how many teensy nuanced errors I caught. This is also when I’m ready to go inward, and little things like the sound of chewing will make me want to crawl out of my skin.
If you don’t have a cycle, you can track with the moon phases — look for the Google Calendar, “Phases of the moon” to add it to yours. Also, tuning into what’s going on in astrology from my favorite astrologer — follow Tara on Instagram for daily updates.
2. Body, mind + soul first, business second
Having joined Kate Northrup’s high-level Incubator program early in 2020 and having been in the Origin Collective for a few years now — I’ve learned:
To do different kinds of movement on different days and to move in the middle of the day
The power of rest. I’ve always loved my sleep, and I'm in bed by 9-10 most nights — I'm pretty boring. Reminder: Rest is a verb. The more I rest, the more efficient I am later.
Nourishing my body with good food, and intermittent fasting during certain times of my cycle
Seed cycling aligned with my cycle. I first learned this from my naturopath, to help regulate the timing and my moods. The simple version: Days 1-14 - pumpkin and flax seeds (I add them to smoothies or salads), and days 15-28 - sesame and sunflower seeds.
3. Finding a content writing rhythm
Over time, I’ve discovered my best times for writing, and then I carve out the space to make it happen. And now, I often do my best writing along with the Unfussy Writing Community.
I write SFDs of a blog post on a Monday, review it on a Tuesday, and finalize it on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.
Each week’s blog post is often an answer to a question (like this one!) or a theme I’m seeing in many of my clients or community members.
When I’m on a walk and get an inspirational download, I talk out my ideas on Otter (you get 6 hours free a month), which automatically transcribes it, and then I have some words to edit from later.
Then, I use each week’s blog post as an anchor to talk about on social media all week long. This is why you’ll see me active on social media — my weekly content accounts for 3-5 posts per week, leaving room for inspiration.
4. Sharing and engaging mindfully on social media
You’ve seen me talk about this a lot, especially when I take long breaks. Social media can drain my energy if I’m not careful.
I aim to keep social media to under 20 minutes a day; otherwise, I scroll mindlessly.
I deleted Facebook from my phone and use the Facebook News Feed eradicator plug-in on my desktop — since I use Facebook to manage the MOFO writing group and I'm in some other groups — it helps to go in mindfully, comment, and get out.
Social media-free weekends and entire months when I have a big project to work on
5. Prioritizing pleasure
Feeling good is important. Every day, inside the Do Less planner, I answer the writing prompt: What are my priorities today? And, what do I feel like doing today, and how can I honor that even a little?”
Morning pages every day — 3 pages of long-hand, stream-of-consciousness writing
Wine and chocolate are my pleasures, so I make sure to enjoy some most days (pretty much all days)
Moving my body in a way that feels good
Pausing throughout my day to refresh, go outside, water my (semi-thriving) plants
6. Productivity
From the outside, I do a lot, and that’s because you’re seeing what matters to me: Making an impact, sharing my words, writing words that feel good to write. Some other things I do at times:
Look at my to-do list like a menu — when I’m feeling resistant, I’ll list all the things I need to do that day and then tackle them in the order I choose.
Habit triggers — when it’s time to focus, I’ll light a candle and use a mint-scented lip balm to tell my brain it’s time to focus. It’s less a particular scent and more that it’s the same scent.
7. Calming my mind
Reading — usually before bed and in the evenings, and always non-fiction.
Rewiring my mind — I started working with an NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) coach over a year ago, managing my thoughts, feeling calmer, more congruent and taking specific action on my goals (there’s lots that goes into this and I could dedicate an entire article to this).
Hypnosis audios - I first discovered these through my NLP coach (and client), Brenda Terry. As part of her Soulful Business Revolution program, I have a few different hypnosis audios I use a few times a week.
8. Blocking time on my calendar
This is in the name of Relentless unavailability. I’m available for my family, friends, and clients. If you view my calendar (I use Acuity), you’ll see a small handful of open spots each week, and some weeks with none. I also:
Block vacations, most Fridays, the day after returning from vacation, family birthdays
Schedule consults with potential clients only 2 days a week over a 2-hour window. When I’m fully booked, I block consults for 3-4 weeks at a time.
Hold most of my Zoom calls in the afternoon since I know my best heads-down creative time is in the morning
9. Time tracking
I track every second of time I invest in my business and in writing my book. Here’s why:
It keeps me focused
Keeps me honest
I can track the time each project takes
I can quickly see when my weekly hours are approaching 20-30 hours and decide what can wait or doesn’t need to happen at all
I use the free version of Toggl and review the data weekly and monthly. When I feel antsy and don’t want to work, I use a Pomodoro timer — this chrome extension to work and write in 25-minute sprints with 5 minutes of rest.
10. Metric tracking
Beyond revenue, I track the following so that I can make adjustments and double down on the 20% of tasks that get me 80% of the results. I’m also about to change up some of the things I track, but at a high level, I track:
Monthly revenue
Hours
Email subscribers
# of consults, current, and new clients
Website visitors, popular pages, blog posts, and conversions
Social media followers
Now, I hope this list of things I do to work no more than 30 hours a week inspired you. If looking at the list feels overwhelming, know that this is the result of running my business for 6+ years, 3+ of those years doing it full time.
Next stop: 20-hour work weeks. You’ll be the first to know when I get there.
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