A Very Honest Look at My Weekly Schedule as a Full-Time Writer
From someone who is still climbing.
It’s funny.
For the past few weeks, I’ve been saying that I don’t like to write about writing. Then, the next week, I’d publish another story about writing.
So, I’m rolling with it.
If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s to embrace inspiration — not fight it. And lately, something has been pulling me to share what I’ve learned.
So, today I’d love to share a very honest look at my schedule as a small-time, yet full-time writer.
- I don’t have hundreds of thousands of followers
- My email list doesn’t earn me thousands in passive income
- I’m terrified of taking time off as I don’t want to lose momentum
All of this puts me in the perfect spot to share what I’ve learned, as it’s timely, relevant, and I haven’t lost touch with what it’s like to start your writing journey.
Here’s exactly what I do every week to make a modest yet consistent income writing online.
My philosophy on social media — in a nutshell.
Social media is like dating someone just for their looks. It’s fun yet exhausting and will end in heartbreak if you’re not careful.
But, being that social media is a part of life, and essential for growing an online business, you need to learn to form a healthy relationship with it.
It’s a lot, to say the least.
So, I try my very hardest to retain as much mental space as possible, by avoiding common social media tactics, such as:
- Chasing trends
- Responding to negative comments
- Focusing on numbers or what others are doing
To be honest, prioritizing your mental health is a slow-growth approach. But, it’s necessary for consistency and longevity.
Humans are inherently stubborn. And you won’t continue doing anything you don’t enjoy. So, focus your energy on the aspects of social media you genuinely enjoy. This can be anything from the type of content you create to how much time you spend engaging with others.
Passion = productivity.
And no one is immune to burnout.
Creating content— another nutshell.
We live in a very unique time in history. One where the majority of people look to influence others while avoiding being influenced themselves.
This makes:
- Growing an audience easier than ever
- Growing an engaged audience, harder than ever
In the past, creating content meant actually creating content. If people liked what you made, they would follow you. But now, you can grow an audience by:
- Consuming content
- Curating content
With so much content out there to consume, repurposing, re-posting, and reacting to it is more popular than ever.
And have become viable streams of income. When shaping your own strategy, it’s important to ask yourself what you genuinely prefer doing — and will continue doing long-term.
Because feeding any social media algorithm, especially at first, takes a lot of time and effort.
All social media algorithms are the same — like throwing stones in a pond.
Nowadays, attention is currency. And regardless of the platform, all social media algorithms want as much of it as possible— just like the people on them. So, they will naturally push content and users that bring attention to the platform.
How you create that attention, is what social media strategy is all about. If you think of social media as a pond:
- The goal is to create as much movement as possible.
- Every time you post, it’s like throwing a stone, creating movement in the water.
- When you first start out, your posts may not make a big splash. So, you have to find other ways to create movement.
- Engaging with other people’s content is like throwing smaller stones into the pond — it has a smaller effect but can be done more frequently.
It’s this basic analogy I use when structuring my writing and social media schedule.
A very honest week for me as a full-time writer.
All successful people will tell you the same thing:
“Put the content first.”
Although it can be attractive to chase validation through numbers, developing the skill of creating great content will compile over time
A great writer can churn out endless quality words — a popular writer is beholden to the opinions of their readers.
Modern success as a writer, is found somewhere in the middle.
Although you may not love social media, it’s an important part of your journey, especially when you’re first starting out.
Eventually, you can focus less time on the algorithm and more time on being an artist.
Until then, your schedule may look similar to mine…
Monday:
All about planning.
On these days, I try my hardest to get any busy work out of the way. This allows me to enter the week with a clear mind. On Mondays, I:
- Batch write 14–20 Tweets
- Write 3 LinkedIn posts to 60%
- Write 1 Medium article
**I like to finalize LinkedIn posts on the day I post to keep the feeling I’m conveying fresh.
I keep a running list of all my content ideas in a custom Notion workspace I call the “Mindful Content Organization System”. This allows me to store everything I do in one organized setting and walk through life with an empty mind — ready to capture inspiration as it comes.
Tuesday:
Post, engage, film.
On Tuesdays, I normally post on LinkedIn in the morning and then Medium. My engagement strategy with all social media platforms is the same:
- Post
- Respond to all of the comments from my previous post
- Go to as many commenters’ profiles as I can and engage with their posts
The only platform I don’t do this on is Twitter — because, frankly, I just don’t have the time.
I also recently launched a YouTube channel where I share writing tips. Tuesday has become my dedicated filming day, where I try to film:
**Although, I’ve yet to complete all of this in one day.
Wednesday:
Write, chat, write, chat.
Wednesday is a flex day. It very much acts as my hump day, as it’s usually very busy. I:
- Write 1 article
- Write 1 newsletter email
- Write and schedule 1 Twitter thread
On Wednesdays, I also spend 1 hour chatting with a group of 2 other creators. It’s really helpful to have people to talk to who are doing the same thing as you.
**I try to schedule any other calls I have on Wednesdays as well.
Thursday:
Post, engage, write.
By Thursday, I’m usually feeling sluggish. So, I try to keep my expectations as low as possible. I:
- Post on LinkedIn
- Post on Medium
- Respond to comments & engage
- Write 1 Medium article draft
Lately, I’ve been filming YouTube shorts on this day as well, that were left over from Wednesday.
Friday:
Post, engage, write, write, write.
On Fridays, I’m hyper-focused on finishing my writing for the week. I usually leave my most research-heavy article for the end of the week, so I can focus solely on it. I:
- Post to LinkedIn
- Engage
- Write
Being that articles often take me the entire day (sometimes 2 days) to write, I try to work on ongoing projects in between writing sessions. This could be editing automated emails for my Gumroad store, adjusting product descriptions, or brainstorming for the future.
**Finishing my Friday article usually comes down to the very last minute.
Saturday:
Post, engage, detach.
Saturday mornings are really my Friday. I:
- Post on Medium
- Respond to comments & engage
- Tie up any loose ends and detach
I try my very hardest to clear off any lingering tasks from my to-do list by noon, so I can have adequate time to rest during my weekend. If I can move tasks to next week I will, but generally it’s better for me just to get them done.
Sunday:
Rest, relax, recharge.
I like to say, “Sundays are sacred”. It’s the one day of the week that I try not to think about or do any work.
Final thoughts: I hope this helps.
When I first started writing online, what I desperately wanted was transparency.
There are so many mega-influencers out there who make the journey seem so simplistic. Either because they’ve lost touch with what it’s like to start out, or they’re selling a dream.
But when you’re in the early stages of writing, everything is confusing and it’s hard to tell what advice to follow.
So, I hope this look at my unsexy schedule helps set off some light bulbs for you.
To summarize:
- Passion = productivity
- Make a splash however you like
- Let my schedule inspire tweaks to yours
Lastly, for me, the best advice has always come from those at my level or just ahead of me.
So, if you’d like to expedite your growth, I highly recommend linking up with a few creators at your level, on a consistent basis.
It’s been a game-changer for me.
Hi, I’m Hudson. I write about living healthier, happier, and more mindfully… and sometimes writing. To have stories sent directly to you, subscribe to my newsletter. 👇
