Summary

A seasoned journalist shares a pro tip for maintaining productivity in online writing despite a busy schedule, emphasizing the importance of self-imposed deadlines.

Abstract

The author, a former journalist, discusses the challenge of balancing multiple tasks, including writing for a daily publishing project, editing YouTube videos, and personal health routines. To manage his time effectively, he employs a journalistic technique of putting himself on a strict deadline, typically 45 minutes for a 1,000-word article. The post serves as a response to a reader's question about time management and writing productivity. Despite a hectic day filled with personal commitments, the author successfully adheres to his publishing goals, demonstrating the effectiveness of his approach. He also provides updates on his daily earnings and content production as part of his "Publish Every Day" experiment, aiming to retire from commuting life within a year.

Opinions

The author believes in the power of self-imposed deadlines to ensure productivity and maintain a consistent publishing schedule.
He advocates for a non-linear writing process, which allows for flexibility and efficiency under time constraints.
The author values his commitment to daily publishing, viewing it as a means to achieve financial independence through online writing and content creation.
He shares his belief in the necessity of balancing work with personal health and well-being, as evidenced by his inclusion of exercise and healthy eating in his daily routine.
The author suggests that perfectionism should sometimes be set aside in favor of completing and publishing work to meet deadlines.

1 pro trick for big money writing online (even when super busy)

I have a lot going on today.

Too much, really.

My son is playing in a hockey tournament, which is fun, but it also means my day is pretty much shot productivity-wise. I’ll be at the rink for most of the day.

In addition to writing a post for this Publish Every Day project, I have to finish editing a YouTube video that I’m really excited about and that I think is going to be a big hit for me (subscribe here!).

I also have to find time to do my usual 1 hour of exercise, buy some stocks because the market is leaning red, and, like, eat and stuff.

It’s days like this that I use 1 effective journalism trick to stay on track.

When I need to get a lot done fast, I use an old journalism trick. (Licensed by the author under the Unsplash+ License)

Writing for speed

I got a question in my comments here the other day from Pritesh Mistry, who asked: “Would you be open to writing a post about your time management and writing process?”

I pointed him to a few resources including:

My latest YouTube video about a hack I use for massive productivity as an ADHD writer:

Another video that explains how I capture ideas:

My free newsletter, where I go through my process from start-to-finish

I’d like to briefly touch on a point in the latter.

Where’s your copy?!

I’m a former journalist, so one thing I like to do to ensure I actually produce as an online writer is put myself on deadline.

Typically I give myself 45 minutes to complete a 1,000-word article (this would be tough for a non-professional writer, but this number can be adjusted to an appropriate level for anyone).

Today, I knew I had a tournament and 50 other things to do, but I’m committed to publishing every day for a year.

So I gave myself 30 minutes to complete this piece.

This is the last line I’m writing in this post (I don’t write linearly), and I can confirm that I hit my deadline!

Sometimes you don’t have time to be precious about your work.

When I worked as a journalist, the paper was going out whether your copy was the greatest thing ever written or just good enough for that day.

Sometimes you need to stop fretting and just need to hit publish.

Hey there! If you enjoy this project and post, please help others find them by clapping, highlighting your fav section, and letting me know in the comments! Thank you!

Publish Every Day Goal Tracker

I’m doing an experiment to see if I can make enough money to retire from commuter life within a year by publishing every day on multiple platforms and investing my earnings.

How much I need to retire comfortably: $250 CAD per day

What I earned on Day 6: $18.83 (writing), $0.79 (YouTube) — $19.62 total

Progress chart:

2023 averages ($USD):

What I published yesterday:

A new YouTube video about what Tom Brady taught me about quitting caffeine:

Looking for something else to read?

My 10 most popular stories:

Still looking for something else to read? I really enjoyed this Hudson Rennie piece on finding the key to happiness.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!