[Note from Sophie: Meet Timo Kiander, AKA Productive Superdad. I helped edit his new book of productivity tips for busy solopreneurs. Now he’s going to tell us how he found time to *write* the book… and Timo’s giving you a free copy at the end of this post!]
Back in September 2012, my business coach Danny Iny ended our bi-weekly coaching call with a seemingly innocent question: “Timo, would you like to take your blog to another level?”
After I learned what “take your blog to another level” meant, it took me like a fraction of a second to say “yes.”
My coach asked me if I was willing to write a book related to the topic I was already blogging about — productivity.
Although I initially said “yes” to this proposal, I also had some concerns:
- How would my family react to this, knowing that my days were already jam-packed with my day job and blogging?
- What would happen to my sports activities? I’m a marathoner and a triathlete, and didn’t want to give that up.
- How would I find time for my blog if I was going to write a book?
I felt each of those concerns was valid, so I had to find a way to crush those doubts and turn them into my strengths.
Crush the Concerns First
The most important starting point for any big project in your life is to have the right kind of mindset. This means you eliminate all the doubts related to the successful outcome of your project. Otherwise, your journey is going to be a bumpy one.
I dealt with my concerns like this:
- How was my family going to react?
Right after the call, I went ahead and told my wife about the project. She was happy and excited for me. At the same time I told her that I’m going to adjust my schedule a bit, making it more flexible. - What was going to happen to my sports activities?
I had to re-set my priorities and decide if I wanted to focus on sports or take my blog to where I wanted it to be. I decided that the book project was priority #1 and I’d do less training and competitions than in previous years. For instance, I didn’t compete in triathlons at all, and the races I did compete in were mostly 10K runs rather than marathons. - How was I going to find time for my blog while writing a book?
This question was pretty much solved when I decided to skip the marathons and triathlons for 2013. Sure, there were going to be times when I had to prioritize the book project over family time, but I knew those occasions were always negotiable — thanks to my wife, who is very flexible about these things.
Book First, Blog Second
When it comes to blogging, I have to thank my coach for his great advice on what things to focus my time on.
I’ve also used some of my own methods to “keep the ball rolling” as effortlessly as possible.
For me, the principles of getting work done when writing a book are:
- Wake up early
- Never work without a plan
- Slow down your blogging pace
- Batch content creation
- Drop everything unessential
- Take advantage of travel times
The sole purpose of these principles is to make room for something else that matters more at that moment (like writing your book). When that something else is out of the way, you can get back to a regular schedule.
Now that you have an overview of the principles, let’s go through them so you know how to apply them in your situation:
1. Wake Up Early
There are people who say they simply aren’t early risers, and I was definitely one of them.
However, I changed my habits some years ago and now I try to wake every day at 6 a.m. at the latest. Waking up early is possible if you connect it with a strong motivation (for instance, “I want to build my online business so that I can quit my stinking job!”).
The main benefit of becoming an early riser is the ability to work without any distraction. I know that as soon as my family wakes up the distraction levels go up too (especially when my two-year son gets up).
I can do the most important tasks of the day without resistance in the morning. I’ve realized that if I postpone something till later in the afternoon, it may be more difficult to get started. When I focus on the most important things first (like writing the book) in the morning, the task is already taken care of before I start work for the day.
You should decide what your ideal early wake-up time is. My time might be too early for you, so test different times to find the optimum one for you.
I switched to my target wake-up time in one leap, but you might find it easier to adjust your wake-up times bit by bit until you reach your target.
2. Never Work Without a Plan
Even when you wake up early, if you don’t know what your next action is going to be, you’re just wasting your time.
That’s why I make sure I’ve created a task list for the next morning before going to sleep each night. This way I know exactly what tasks I should be working on when I wake up.
Knowing your next actions is useful when you get unexpected blocks of free time, as well. Sometimes you might have some extra time on your hands, so if you know what tasks to work on next, you can make the most of the available time.
To take this principle a bit further, prepare for your upcoming tasks as much as possible. For instance, when writing this guest post, I planned the post outline in advance so I didn’t have to spend time thinking what to write about when I sat down to write the piece.
3. Slow Down Your Blogging Pace
When I started my blog almost three years ago, my publishing plan was to create one post per week. Later on, I started to publish a weekly video tip too.
When I started to work with my coach, he suggested that I should blog only once every two weeks. At first I was shocked, but after a good night’s sleep I started to think otherwise: this was smart advice!
Instead of planning and writing blog posts all the time, I had the freedom to do something else instead. All of a sudden I could work on other things I never had time to do before.
4. Batch Content Creation
To get the best results from the slowed-down blogging pace, I decided to do something new to make even more time for the book project.
Instead of writing a blog post every fortnight, I started creating two months’ worth of content in advance. In the first week of every second month, I focused my efforts entirely on writing the posts for my blog. After my content-heavy week was over, my blog had enough scheduled content for the next 60 days, and I could spend the freed-up time over the next two months writing my book.
I used this same batching strategy for messages to my e-mail subscribers, writing the majority of my content in advance and scheduling it to go out at the appropriate times.
5. Drop Everything Unessential
Another valuable piece of advice that my coach gave me was to drop all the extra stuff I was doing to promote my blog. In my case that meant social media and SEO.
I had to spend time on things that really matter. Social media and SEO weren’t an essential part of my plan. I also dropped podcasting temporarily and I stopped recording productivity videos for my blog.
Consolidating tasks helped, too. Before starting the book project, I had two e-mail lists for which I wrote exclusive content. I realized this was too much, so I combined these two e-mail lists into one and saved a lot of time.
6. Take Advantage of Travel Time
If you travel, try to take advantage of the time you spend on the move. I’ve realized that I get a lot of work done when I’m travelling by train —this post was written on a train— or when I stay at a hotel.
To take advantage of your travel time, you have to be well prepared so that you know what to do — even if you don’t have working Internet access (which can be most of the time when riding a train).
I’ve written many blog posts while travelling, and once wrote almost an entire e-book while riding a train home. Don’t underestimate travel time as a writing opportunity — you can get a lot of work done if you really want to.
Want to Learn How to Find Even More Time to Write?
I’ve just finished my first book and the main problem it aims to solve is this: How can you find more time for your freelance business? This is especially important if you’re building your business part-time, alongside other commitments like a day job and a family.
This book – 197 pages – is free for you to download! All I ask is that you enter your name and e-mail address on the download page. I’ll give you instant access to the book, which you can download to your computer.
If you prefer, you can buy a printed or Amazon Kindle version of this book instead. It’s probably more convenient to read that way than being tied to your computer screen.
I hope you enjoy it, and I welcome your comments and productivity questions!
Image: ** RCB **
This was a very timely post for me. I was planning to wake up early to today because I told myself “I need to get more things done.” Then not so much to my surprise, like always, I always find the motivation to press the snooze button of my alarm. 😉
“Waking up early is possible if you connect it with a strong motivation.” Perhaps that’s what I was missing.
Hi Joy!
Yes, finding a strong motivation point was the trick that helped me.
Cheers,
Timo
Great post, Timo. Looking forward to reading the ebook.
I especially like the insight on batching tasks. I’ve tried this myself with moderate success, but to see how you broke it down really gave me a new perspective on how to try it.
Best of luck with the ebook!
Beth
Thank you Beth!
Batching stuff really helps to get a lot of work done relatively quickly (assuming that those tasks are small and related to each other).
Cheers,
Timo
This is EXACTLY what I needed! I’ve been struggling with a blogging schedule, building an audience (I’m a Danny Iny student!), social media, and a million other things! I can’t wait to dig into this eBook!
Hi Nida!
Great!
I pretty much neglected the whole social media thing when I was writing my book. I have changed my views a bit (in other words, I even created a Facebook page for my blog :). But sure, you have to be very picky about the things you focus on.
Cheers,
Timo
This is perfect advice for me, Timo! I’m also a dad with a 9-5 job who’s trying to build a freelancing business– while trying to write a novel! I’m definitely downloading your book. Can’t wait to read it!
Hi Patrick!
That’s nice to hear 🙂
You’ll definitely learn great strategies to apply to your situation.
Cheers,
Timo
Terrific stuff here! Thank you, Timo. I found the blogging schedule advice particularly helpful. (Something I’ve routinely struggled with.) Truly appreciate your insight and tips. Good luck with your Ebook!
Hi Holly!
Thank you very much 🙂
Sure, having a schedule helps a lot: you know what you are supposed to do and when.
Cheers,
Timo
Very timely! Thank you! I’m a stay at home mom with two active toddlers and find my days go by so quickly. I decided that I needed to wake up earlier, so I’ve started to readjust my boys’ sleep schedule to achieve that. I look forward to reading your book, because that was a question that I’ve asked myself. It really does help to have a supportive spouse 🙂
That’s very nice to hear Nicolia!
Yeah … we have a toddler too in our house and things get hectic at times 🙂
When I was working full-time, I tried to take advantage of every quiet moment I had and that meant waking up early and during the nap times.
Cheers,
Timo
Thanks to this post, even tonight, I was able to solve a problem I’ve been having all day. I figured out how to allocate time for the projects that are crucial to me right now, while also resolving to guard my allocated time slots jealously. Thanks Timo!
Hi Terr!
That’s great to hear!
Especially if a project has long-term effects, I try to allocate as much time to it as possible.
Cheers,
Timo
Timo,
What most surprised me was that you wake up at 6:00am. I find that I’ve gotta get up much earlier than that (or stay awake much later) if I am going to GTD.
Then again, I have a seven month old — perhaps in a year I’ll be singing a different tune.
Thanks for this great article.
-Anton
Hi Anton!
Yes, I used to wake up earlier when I had a day job. Since I’m blogging full-time, I wake-up little bit later.
Cheers,
Timo
I love this article. The tip I really made a note of was batch content creation. I’d been recommended to do that before but the habit has somehow slipped and I now end up scattering my attention between different clients all day. I think work would flow better if I focussed on one topic and did say 3 posts in one kick-ass productivity session!
Yep, I find batching gigs for clients works really well, too – if the topic is in your mind already, you may as well write the next month’s worth of posts and deliver them early! Plus clients are always happy to have your submissions ahead of deadline. 🙂
Thank you Peggy!
Batching is a great way to get a lot of content ready in advance. This way I could just focus on the book project.
Cheers,
Timo
Timo,
Loved this post! As a father of two autistic boys and a full time job, I am always looking for ways to be more productive. I especially liked the getting rid of the non-essentials and planning the work ahead of time. I find that when I plan my day ahead of time, I get much more done.
Thanks,
Chris
Hi Chris!
Thank you 🙂
That’s so true – some minutes spent on planning can make a huge difference later.
Cheers,
Timo
Oh, man, giving up marathons? Did you just give up racing or also long-distance running (which I love, love, love so much that I doubt I could ever give it up, not even for a year. Plus I would make everyone around me miserable).
Loved the article, good tips. I’m not a morning person, though, so I schedule time at night. Same difference, different schedule. You’re right about needing a plan. That is SO crucial. Don’t know how many nights I’ve wasted daydreaming instead of writing, hee, hee.
Cheers and can’t wait to read your book.
Hi Cinthia!
Yes, I gave up marathons, but only for this year. I realized that I’m unable to focus on everything, so I wanted to get book project done first.
Looking forward to run marathon distances next year again 🙂
Cheers,
Timo
I call this post helpful and valuable. Everyday many people struggle with things you are already expert on. I wasn´t an early bird as well but I had to keep doing it because of my work. It´s all about motivation and the things you want to get done in your life.
Hi Jay!
Thank you 🙂
I think that motivation plays a big part in this. I know that I almost quit writing the book (and blogging) at one point, but I still managed to keep on going (and I’m so happy that I did so!).
Cheers,
Timo
This posts makes it actually sound feasible to write a book even when you are crazy busy. Great post, Timo. I’d love to have you write a similar post like this for my site if you are interested.
Hi Raubi!
Thank you 🙂
Sure, send me an e-mail and let’s talk about the post!
Cheers,
Timo
Let me tell you what I love about your post…you actually tell your readers “how” to accomplish their goals. So many writers tell their readers “what” to do–like start a blog (how?), get more focused (how?), prioritize (how?)– That kind of writing leaves readers frustrated and feeling guilty about not being able to do more. I commend you on taking your writing down to the nitty-gritty and giving us specific pointers on how to be more productive. Great job!
Hi Carmen!
That’s great to hear 🙂
Yes, I want to share how I actually did something, since I have seen a lots of these kinds of “tutorials” before – “what” instead of “how to”.
Cheers,
Timo
We have very similar productivity habits, Timo. I make it a point to wake up early every day, write a to-do list, and I do my most important tasks first.
I think the 4th item (batching) is really interesting. I’ve never done it myself, but you make a lot of good points. I’m thinking of applying it to my weekly newsletters and client work.
Oh, and thanks so much for the free download! 🙂
PS: I just subscribed to you list and saw that you’re also a Brian Tracy fan. No wonder we have the same productivity habits!
Sure 🙂
Hi Francesca!
Batching is a great way to do a lot of similar (and small) things at once. It takes some planning in advance, but the benefits are really great. Also, in some cases you might want to figure out the order of those tasks you batch since I can make it even more effective.
Cheers,
Timo
This is a subject I have struggled with myself. I need to just adopt the Nike slogan and just “Do IT!” I have so many books in me, but I am bogged down with my daily grind. Thanks for the tips!
Hi Cindy!
Yes, sometimes you just have to do it 🙂
Cheers,
Timo
Hi Timo,
A very well written post, man. I’m a relatively new blogger and this post contains a lot of excellent tips that I’m going to try to implement myself in the upcoming future.
While I don’t currently have a 9-5 job, I am a college student and so that does take up quite a bit of my time 🙁
Hi Josh!
Thank you!
I think that these tips are applicable in your situation as well 🙂
Cheers,
Timo
Hi Timo,
Thanks for sharing this. I think the most important part is starting a time table and work it out. After all, planning is vital right?
Great tips you have and thanks for sharing!
~Reginald
Hi Reginald!
Thank you!
Yes, setting the timetable helps a lot. A little bit of planning in advance can help you out a lot later.
Cheers,
Timo
Great tips! The one that especially resonated was the one about making a plan the night before. I’m an early riser and it’s not unusual for me to have 2-3 hours of quiet in the morning, but I’m also a master procrastinator, and can easily waste that morning time reading emails or surfing the net.
Hi Jordan!
Planning your tasks the night before makes a huge difference to your productivity.
First, I plan the tasks I do. Then I do some advance preparation, so that I can get started right away next morning (like outlining a blog post). Finally, I make sure that the top-priority tasks are first on my list and take care of them the first thing.
Cheers,
Timo
Fantastic post Timo! I really enjoyed it.
I think you’re 100% right about getting up early. It’s something I struggle with, but reading your words will hopefully motivate me a little more 🙂
Hi Kaya!
Thank you 🙂
Sure, early wake-ups really helped me to write this book (and stay productive in general).
Cheers,
Timo
I am super lazy (LOL at your email Sophie, I’m writing this in bed) so batch writing will be almost impossible for me to do, but I have worked on a couple of completely different writing projects at once. I’ve got to do better.
I’ve also cut down my blogging time and spent more time reading about growing my business.
Hi Willi!
Cutting down the blogging time for education is great as I do it too. I also take notes on a separate document when I come across something valuable.
Cheers,
Timo
Perfect timing, Timo!
Thank you for the tips.
Right now I’m struggling with time. I’m building connections with other bloggers, writing for my blog, and I’m also working on my first ebook.
I think I need to focus on planning my work ahead. Sometimes I’m so excited about writing that I don’t take 5 minutes to schedule my work.
It’s nice to see what other people do in the same situation.
Hi Karen!
A little bit of planning can definitely improve your productivity a lot since you know the stuff you should be focusing on.
Scheduling is important especially for bloggers since there are a lot of things we should take care of.
Cheers,
Timo
Thanks Timo, your advice is always right on the money, and this post is no different. I’ve always enjoyed reading your work, and I appreciate the help you give to your readers (especially for my own blog). Keep it up!
Hi Patrick!
That’s great to hear 🙂 And sure, always happy to help you!
Cheers,
Timo