What It Takes to Make over 4k+ per Month from Writing
A deep look into my daily writing routine.
After my divorce that cost me two properties and put me in the poor house, I had to earn an income — with not much of a resume — while raising a young daughter.
I had one goal: make money from home and work for myself.
With the little effort I’ve put in, I’m surprised at the results so far.
A few years ago, I dipped my toe into the online world working for a friend as her Social Media Manager (she had just published a book she was marketing) while creating my first blog.
I learned everything from WordPress to using a scheduler like Hootsuite to send out automatic content to different social media channels.
I quickly realized I should be creating my own content.
While my analytical skills, reliability, and organizational talent for scheduling just about anything on and offline are just right for any kind of manager, (sigh) being one is wretched for my soul.
I need to create.
So, I concentrated on getting better at the one thing I have continued to love since I was little — writing. For now, writing content is how I make money online.
I’m loving the journey. And finding my writing voice along the way. At times it’s been challenging, but I love working for myself and controlling my destiny.
I create a lot of weekly content, anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 words. While some write more, for me, it is a lot coupled with my other responsibilities.
Creating content isn’t just about writing; it is editing and rewriting, image batching, marketing, balancing freelance work for other clients and for some, running and maintaining a blog.
Even writers with well-known names market their content through social media, newsletters, blogging, and guest blogging. I publish anywhere from 20 to 25 posts per month on this platform alone.
I love to write, but creating weekly content requires I schedule my time properly to maximize the time I dedicate to writing daily.
To create content that gets read, I can’t write when I’m anxious or stressed; it will show up in my writing. I heard a famous entrepeneur ask the other day, What could you accomplish each day if you weren’t anxious? That question has been gnawing at me since I heard it.
We could get so much done if we shelf our anxieties and fears and use that energy to create things instead.
For maximum output and creativity, I keep my days simple on purpose. My week is highly scheduled and organized.
Recently, I changed my routine à la Tim Denning to avoid task-switching.
When you switch from writing to editing on the same day, it decreases productivity; the switch from one task to a completely different task makes the second task more difficult.
We use a different part of the brain to write than we do to edit. Since I’ve been avoiding task-switching, I’ve seen not only a dramatic increase in output but I’ve needed less bandwidth to get each task accomplished.
If you batch your days into writing days, editing days, and marketing days, you get a lot more done with a lot less friction.
Every year I refine my writing routine and get better at managing large amounts of content creation. Here is my current writing routine that keeps evolving.
Each evolution makes it run smoother.
There are parts of each day that stay the same — when I wake, what I do first thing in the morning, when I go to sleep. But recently, I block my days into three types of days.
Block days off for certain tasks:
- I write on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Edit on Thursday and Friday.
- Find the right image for each post on Sunday.
- I market each new story via social media during the morning of each day a story publishes, and submit to publications on Saturday or Sunday.
Here is the current routine for my writing days.
(For the other days, I switch my writing time for editing or marketing.)
6:00 a.m. — 7:00 a.m. — Wake up
I don’t use an alarm clock. I can’t imagine being woken by an artificial buzzing noise or a song I love (I wouldn’t love it for long if I associated it with waking up).
I have a natural alarm clock — the sun or my dog walking around waiting to go outside.
I lay in bed for a few minutes staring at the ceiling until I’m awake. Sometimes, I’ll just lay there and breathe deeply.
Once I’m awake, I take 5 ml of CBD oil with a negligible amount of THC. I think it’s 30:1. It reduces anxiety and sharpens my focus.
7:00 a.m. — My one caffeine hit and morning ritual
I drink two shots of espresso or an iced matcha latte with oat milk.
I’d like to say I meditate for 30 minutes, but I haven’t been recently. I need caffeine. If I have more than this, or caffeine later in the morning, it makes me very tired.
I don’t check any email or social media until I’ve completed some writing.
When I first sit down, I read something inspirational like a positive Medium post from one of my favorite writers or read a page from a book sitting on my writing desk to uplift and get into the right mindset.
It is essential to do something specific each morning to trigger the brain, a daily ritual to begin your writing routine.
My ritual that tells my brain “it’s time to write” is an espresso and reading something positive. I try to stay away from the news. Studies show that starting the morning with news leads to a less productive and happy day; it gives you a feeling of learned helplessness and powerlessness — not a great way to get into a flow state.
When we log onto social media, it puts us in a reactive state.
I try not to log on before my writing hours. I don’t want the world to interfere on my time until the afternoon after accomplishing my essential task.
7ish to 9:30 a.m.— First writing session
The night before, I set myself up for writing success. That means I plug in my computer, I shut down all windows, open a Word document and I usually (9 times out of 10) know what idea I’ll be working on or what article I’ll continue writing.
My noise-canceling headphones are on my desk next to my computer, which is about it, besides a book about writing, or, three of them.
I usually write for 40 minutes with ten-minute breaks to stretch and let the dog out into the back yard. It is important to take five to ten-minute breaks while writing for the health of your eyes and your back.
9:30 to 10:00 a.m. — Get up, stretch and then start marketing
I share the post that went out that morning (usually around 5:00 a.m. while I’m sleeping) that I scheduled the night before.
Before I start marketing, I get up and stretch. Then, I sit back down and share a link to my content on social media channels — Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
I try not to get sidetracked by reading or commenting on what is happening on social media (although tempting), or I’d get nothing done. I market and get back to work around 10:00 am.
10:00 to 11:00 a.m. — Second writing session
I continue to write.
I may rewrite a bit, just a rough rewrite to correct for any glaring spelling or grammatical errors, but it isn’t a full edit session where I read aloud and am close to a final draft. I save editing and rewriting for Thusdays and Fridays.
11:00 — noon — A Bar Method session
I installed a ballet bar in my home to do The Bar Method class via Zoom.
It takes an hour, and I’m re-energized afterward.
Exercising gives me a second wind; I feel more focused and can log more hours sitting at my computer. The class is exactly 60 minutes each day, and not only is good for my body, but it does wonders for my mental health.
12:00 to 12:30 p.m. — Make and drink a smoothie
I sometimes make a smoothie earlier than noon, around 10:00 a.m., during one of my writing breaks. But sometimes it’s lunch.
It takes about five minutes to make, but I give myself 15 minutes to make it, drink it and do some things around the house.
Here is one of my recipes:
- A handful of greens
- One lemon with peel cut off
- Half an apple
- A chunk of peeled ginger
- ¼ cup of Italian parsley
- One celery stalk
- Half a cucumber peeled, or not
- Cayenne pepper to taste
- Two cups of water
- Blend and drink
It is so good.
It tastes exactly like The Green Detox smoothie from Whole Foods at a fraction of the price.
These are the only vegetables I get each day unless I have a salad for dinner. Whether I do or don’t have a salad later in the day doesn’t matter because I’ve already covered my vegetable intake for the day with the smoothie.
12:30–1:00 p.m. — Play time
I don’t have a set thing I do during this time. I just goof off. I might go through email — my least favorite thing in the world — or go for a walk with my dog or daughter or walk around the block to the neighborhood café for an avocado toast or a ginger scone.
This is also when I take my vitamins because I’ve just had my smoothie. I take twice the Vitamin C that is recommended, a vitamin explicitly made for women, calcium, zinc, Vitamin B, Vitamin D drops, and a few others, plus my allergy drops to prevent seasonal allergies from making me tired.
1:00 to 3:00 p.m. — Third writing session or a module from a class
If it is a writing day, I will continue writing for a few hours or complete a module from a class I’m taking.
I’m taking two writing/blogging classes this month.
I save taking the courses for the afternoon. I will go through part of an online class for an hour or two.
3:00 to 4:00 p.m. — Non-essential tasks
This is when I do work that I don’t like but doesn’t require much energy — my non-essential tasks. This includes emails, texting people back, working on my blog, making appointments like a doctor’s appointment, scheduling tutors for my child, etc. any other scheduling I need to do for my life to run smoothly.
I go through my business email account and my personal email account, look at any social media notifications that need attention.
I would love not to do any of this.
4:00 p.m. — Break
At this point, my brain is fried from looking at a screen all day, and I want to move.
I will go for an hour-long walk around the neighborhood to move my body and release all the trapped energy that’s been accumulating from sitting all day.
I walk with my partner or my child, sometimes both. We walk fast for exercise.
(My next big purchase is a standing writing desk)
5:00 to 7:00 p.m. — Off hours
Eat a small dinner, watch a little TV on a few days, and hang with my fam. We usually have a standing jigsaw puzzle we work on. This is where we gather and talk — at the jigsaw table.
8:00 to 9:00 p.m. — Wind down
I usually have all screens off by 8:00 p.m. This is the key to getting a healthy night’s sleep. I fall to sleep very easily each night. I lull myself into sleep with a great book while drinking a cup of hot water, one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and juice from one lemon.
On most nights, I read from about 8:30 to 10:00 pm. I don’t read off a screen; I read an actual book written on actual paper.
This is probably my favorite time of day. I have the most comfortable bed. I’ve been working on finding the best sheets, the best mattress, the best comforter, and the best pillow for years. It is the one area in your life where you shouldn’t skimp on price.
A good night’s sleep is essential to your health and well-being.
Reading is meditative to me and peaceful. I consume large amounts of literary content — both fiction and nonfiction — it helps me to write better. Not only do I love to learn, but it also gives me content and ideas to write and think about.
9:30 to 10:00 p.m. — Lights out and sweet dreams
I drift into a quick sleep.
I hope this breakdown of my writing schedule gives you some ideas to take with you. Not everyone will have the same writing routine, and what works for one person won’t work for everyone.
Experiment and find out what works for you. Read what other writers do and come up with a routine that gets you results. You can do this through trial and error.
I keep refining mine, taking out what doesn’t serve me as a content creator, and stealing other writer’s recipes to see if their methods work for me.
Everyone has different hours where they will have peak writing productivity. Find yours and tell me about it.
Jessica is a writer, an online entrepreneur, and a recovering type-A personality. She lives in Los Angeles with her extrovert daughter, two dogs, and two cats.
