Time Management Activities for Beginner Copywriters

Today I want to cover time management activities, specifically for beginner copywriters…

Because a reader asked how I manage time to write financial copy, run my YouTube channel, and also play video games.

Well for starters…

You can save a lot of time learning copywriting by picking up my book, Take Their Money.

In my book I teach you how to use copywriting to communicate directly to the emotional parts of your customer’s brain and make them want to buy your stuff.

But let’s go ahead and dive into some helpful time management techniques.

Copywriting Tips – I aim to manage my time. I don’t let my time manage me.

Two great time management exercises are to set a list of priorities and also develop a regular routine…

In my schedule, I know that video games are my last priority.

“Leisure activities” are easy, passive, and fun…

They take up time, but they don’t make you any money or progress you in your career.

So first: move all the money making stuff up front.

Prioritize The Hardest Stuff First – Because Your Willpower Every Day Drains Like A Battery

The first thing on my priority list, as soon as I wake up each morning, is to tackle the hardest thing on my list.

And this method is supported by scientific research.

One of the books I love on this topic is called The One Thing, by Gary Keller.

In this book, Keller discusses the findings of scientific studies that attempt to measure willpower throughout the day.

And basically, willpower operates like a battery…

Willpower slowly discharges through the course of the day…

Until is depleted.

Once it’s gone, you won’t have the energy for work until you recharge.

In this metaphor, when you first wake up, your willpower is at its maximum for the day.

So, it’s best to focus on those tedious tasks that require high willpower.

So, one of the mistakes that folks make when they wake up is “warming up” to work…

The average person will do “this and that” and piddle around…

Until they “get around” to their work…

But doing it this way, they’re already draining their “battery.”

Basically what this warm-up is…

Is procrastination.

You can call it “The Resistance.”

This is a term I got from another book I love called The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield.

The One Thing and The War of Art both changed the way I look at the world and gave me a new perspective on time management skills.

So, don’t give in to The Resistance.

Start the day with your hardest, most tedious, most boring task…

And don’t waste your willpower “battery.”

Time Management Techniques – Time Blocking

My next tip would be to understand and utilize time blocking.

I like to call time blocking Deep Work…

Because it sounds sexier.

I got this term from Cal Newport’s book on time management and time blocking, called Deep Work.

Essentially, you want to start your day with your most tedious task…

Which for me would be something quick like answering comments or emails…

And then immediately begin an hour of Deep Work.

It is critical that you respect this time.

Deep Work time should be sacred.

For me, this means airplane mode on my phone and headphones in so that I cannot hear anything…

And I put on some music that helps me focus.

I don’t browse the internet or check social media…

For that one hour I am completely dedicated to my work.

For a copywriter, you should plan to focus on specific types of tasks during each hour of Deep Work.

You should give your attention to the type of projects that really move the needle for your career.

For example, if you are a freelance copywriter…

Your Deep Work hour might be spent on obtaining new clients.

So for that full hour you shut everything else out…

And focus on marketing yourself to new clients.

Create a shortlist of things that move the needle in your business…

Dedicate Deep Work hours to those activities.

For me, my current two Deep Work activities are:

1. Deep research into the topic of my current sales letter
2. Writing the sales letter

I currently dedicate 100% of my Deep Work time to either research or creating my sales letter.

If you treat this hour as sacred it will shatter your expectations for results.

And the best thing about working for one hour…

Is that you won’t burn out and want to quit.

Some people want to grind and grind for eight straight hours every day…

But if you commit to shutting everything else out for just sixty minutes at a time…

You will blow your own mind with how much you can accomplish.

Now that we have touched on Deep Work…

What is Shallow Work?

Personally, I complete about two hours of Deep Work each day.

Once my hour timer expires, I wrap up what I am doing and then I move on to Shallow Work.

Think of Shallow Work as anything you could train a moderately intelligent person to do in a couple of weeks or a month.

This is the kind of stuff that you have to get done…

Examples of Shallow Work include:

• Following up on emails related to your projects
• Taking meetings
• Going on calls
• Responding to messages
• Running errands and admin stuff

In contrast, Deep Work is your personal professional expertise.

For example, if today were a research day for me I would spend every minute of my Deep Work time doing research that will help me improve.

If you want to learn more about how I do my research you can check out my book, Take Their Money.

Research and writing are the needle movers for my copywriting career.

These two activities are the things that help me sell stuff and put money in my pockets.

Take some time to really determine what you should be accomplishing during your Deep Work time.

Time Management Skills – Recognize and Avoid The Resistance

Above, I touched a little on what I call “The Resistance.”

If you want to read more about The Resistance, check out the book, The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield.

In his book, Pressfield discusses one of the most insidious forms of resistance:

Seeking support.

When you reach out for advice and support from others, you get the sense you are doing something good and being productive…

When you are often actually just procrastinating and trying to get others to make decisions for you.

You should not spend a lot of time seeking support…

Instead you should spend your time taking action.

Treat the need to seek support with a lot of skepticism.

Yes, sometimes you do need to tap into the experiences and professional expertise of others…

But when you find yourself wanting to reach out for advice, you need to question that and really analyze the situation.

Am I really needing something from someone?

Or am I just stalling?

Am I just giving in to procrastination?

Don’t give in to the Resistance.

Recognize your tendencies and be honest with yourself.

Bonus Time Management Hack – Keeping the Momentum

We all find ourselves in a rut from time to time.

We lose our stride, we lose our momentum.

Recently I found myself in a rut where I had a hard project and it killed my motivation.

I would start the day by watching YouTube…

And tell myself I’ll just watch a bit until my brain is awake…

But in what felt like the blink of an eye I was three hours into a YouTube binge and half of my day would be gone.

I would tell myself I was ‘warming up,’ but really all I was doing was procrastinating.

I was draining my willpower “battery” on tasks that were not moving me forward in my career.

After a week or two of completing no work, I knew something had to change.

So, I bought into the Deep Work method.

And this method has been a game changer for me.

What I’m asking you to do is just start by dedicating two hours per day to Deep Work.

Do that for seven days a week for just two weeks…

And then come back to me and tell me how it works.

At the end of the day you will feel comfortable, knowing you’ve accomplished a lot to move the needle in your life, in a very short time.

And the next day it will be so much more enjoyable to return to those two hours.

You’ll have that momentum going.

You’ll be hungry to return to the things that move the needle in your career.

Time Management and Playing the Long Game

Employing these time management skills are how I am able to play video games every day.

It’s how I am able to do two hours of work on Super Bowl Sunday and still watch the big game.

(Note: I actually didn’t watch the game… First time in years. I think I played Resident Evil 2 instead.)

I organize and understand my priorities…

I focus my energy on meaningful tasks…

And I don’t waste my willpower “battery.”

It’s all about the slow and steady, consistent grind.

If you grind eighteen hours today, you’re going to be burned out tomorrow…

And you’re going to want to quit three days later.

Start with the tasks you want to focus on during your Deep Work.

And really commit to those two or three hours every day.

Understand the difference in Deep Work and Shallow Work as they relate to your career.

Be objective with the assessment of your own time and don’t waste your precious willpower battery.

If you employ these time management techniques you’ll be moving your career forward at a greater pace than you have in the past.

If you want save time learning copywriting, click here to check out my copywriting book Take Their Money, now.