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I hung up on my accountant this morning
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Hi Reader, My accountant rang me at 09.07. When I saw his name pop up, I swore, hit the mute button on my iPhone, and turned on Work mode. Work mode blocks all callers, messages, and notifications except from my family. You see… I love nothing more than a good morning routine. It’s Summer, so my routine involves dropping my five-year-old son off at Summer camp, meditating for ten minutes, and then writing. I’ve grown my LinkedIn account and want to create an offer for relevant followers. So, this morning, I set a timer for 90 minutes, turned on some Brian Eno on Spotify, and dove into my Google Docs. I wrote up the first draft of my new offer for business owners who need help with their content strategy. I stopped work for coffee and porridge. I’ll go for another 90 minutes and then lunch. I was happy to finally progress a project I’ve been putting off for weeks. A project that should bring in more revenue later this year. I’ll finish editing and tweaking my offer tomorrow morning. I like setting aside a few hours between the first draft and editing so the big idea can stew. The point here isn’t that you should spend the morning writing offers for your LinkedIn peeps, eat porridge, or block your accountant. Instead, protect your most valuable creative time. Before bed tonight, pick your No.1 creative project. Write that down on a sticky note or in your app of choice. (I used a Whiteboard and Trello). Your No.1 project could be an article, a book chapter, an email for your newsletter, or an offer you’ve been tinkering with. (One client I work with spends her most valuable creative time editing STEM experiments!) Then, work on your No.1 project for up to 90 minutes when you’re fresh. 90 minutes is more than enough to hit a word count and finish a draft. Working on a No.1 creative project first thing is a simple concept. It’s one I’ve used for years to write hundreds of articles and 6 books. Do what matters first thing, and your bank account will thank you. Or you’ll finally reach a big creative milestone. I tried working on my No.1 creative project later on. But as the day goes on, life has a habit of popping up—usually in my inbox. I get… Urgent emails. Social media notifications about messages I should really reply to. A text from a spouse or partner. A call from my daughter because she forgot her lunch (which happens regularly!). A text about a tax return. Now, I gotta go and ring my accountant back. Write on, PS I’m working with a small group of writers who want to turn Pro, craft their offers and bring money into their writing business. Spots are closed right now in the Pro Writers Only Community. Reply “Offers” and I’ll add you to the waitlist. Write on, Bryan Collins |
Grow your business by changing how you create content
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