How to put your writing first when you have clients

Are you a good client to yourself?

You put your clients first. They pay you well to do the work you love so naturally, you want to prioritize them.

Clients are what make your business a business afterall, and without them, you’d have a hobby.

Looking back at your to-do list for the week, and weeks past, you notice that your client work always comes first and your work comes second. 

And with your work falling to the bottom of the list, you know exactly what happens at the end of the day when client work takes you longer than expected — that’s right, the work you need to do to grow your business doesn’t happen.

Days and weeks go by and your blog gets embarrassingly outdated. You have a new offer to put out there and you can’t seem to find the time to sit down and write that damn sales page. 

Your bio is painfully brief, and you know you need to tell your story in a meaningful way to connect to your audience, and yet, you’ll do it tomorrow — or next week — maybe. If you have time. 

And I probably don’t even need to mention that book that’s in you. You’ll write that “later.” You know, some elusive date in the future. 

I get it. Days and weeks go by where I pour my heart and soul into the writing I do for clients and leave no time or energy left for the writing I want to do — for my business and for my personal projects. 

I had two big realizations that smacked me in the face, as they often do that led me to slide my work up to the top of the list.

Boundaries and creativity. 

When I create boundaries around when I do client work and when I do my work I’m showing people — both my clients and everyone else I interact with, that I value my time and I put myself first. 

When I focus on filling my creative cup, it makes me a better human, which also makes me a better writer, wife, and mom — which also helps me deliver better work to my clients. 

If you have obliger tendencies, knowing that putting you first will help you do a better job might be the nudge you need to make it happen.

If you’re ready to become your own best client and put yourself at the top of the list, here are some ways to start making that happen:

1. Dedicate 2-4 days a month as CEO days.
   This is where you’ll have the planned time to work on your business instead of in it. Knowing you have a scheduled CEO day coming up will help ease your monkey mind when it’s running through business to-do’s at 4 am.

2. Block the first and last hour of your day.
   If a whole day feels like too much, start with bookending your days with the writing that has to happen for you.

3. Put your writing at the top of your list.
   And then set a timer and get it done. By spending just 20 minutes, 5 days a week on a writing task that will help grow your business, you will amass a lot of work by the end of the month and end of the year. 

4. Protect your writing time like a MOFO.
   When a client sends along a special request book a meeting at a time you’ve dedicated to your writing, you have permission to say no, and put yourself first.

5. Reward yourself.
   For every small writing project you finish, designate a reward — perhaps some really good chocolate, a bottle of the good wine, a nap!

6. Trust that it will make you better.
   How does it feel when you ignore your writing? How would it feel to complete a small writing project, and then another and another? What if I told you that your clients will notice a difference in how you show up for them? By looking after you first, you’ll show up brighter, clearer, and more creative for your clients. 

7. Join the Unfussy Writing Community.
   YES! The doors are open just until September 22, 2019 or when all spots are filled. Learn more here.

If this article made you feel like you could finally get your writing done, then YAY! You might also like these:

1. My best advice when you want to write like a MOFO

2. 42 unfussy quotes on creativity to break you out of a funk

3. 10 ridiculously easy (and free) ways to write faster