If you’re a highly sensitive person, thrive on a little chaos, or crush the “Lazy Girl” aesthetic, The 5 AM Club may not be your vibe, and that’s totally okay! Consider this your permission slip to create a work schedule that honors your intuitive nature and your circadian clock!
My Method for Creating the Perfect “Work” Schedule
The ladies of Pinterest might cringe while reading this post, but the mere thought of The 5 am Club makes me violent (if that’s your vibe, you are a serious badass, but this article is not for you). As a business owner and creative, it’s important to build a schedule for yourself that’s as inspirational as it is functional.
Go-With-The-Flow Time Blocking
If you’re a creative soul who prefers open space on your calendar over tons of little, multi-colored time blocks, you might find it helpful to create a system balanced somewhere between these two extremes.
Everything in life calls for balance, and business is no exception. Whether you think of it as yin and yang, masculine and feminine, or structure versus free-flow, gifting yourself a little bit of both is going to have the most successful input on your time-management system. In comes my go-with-the-flow time blocking method.
By keeping a loose variation of “time blocks” throughout your day, you can provide yourself just enough structure to get sh*t done, while simultaneously allowing yourself the freedom to go “off-course” and maintain the ability to be a little spontaneous.
Batch together themed blocks of time throughout your day like “getting ready”, “self-care”, “work” and “downtime”. Within each block, create your list of tasks and just knock them out! Award yourself bonus points if you are able to habit-stack items on your list and get everything done early!
Personal Productivity Peaks
Everyone has their own personal productivity clock that ticks throughout the day. Some people’s productivity peaks shortly after they wake up in the morning, while others may find it easiest to tackle their to-do’s in the late afternoon.
If you have considered starting your own business, you probably already march to the beat of your own drum. Why not capitalize on that individuality to really take your business to the next level?
How to Find Your Productivity Peaks
The Masculine Method. If you are the yin to my yang, the masculine to my feminine, and the structure to my flow, you will probably love this free productivity tracker by time management expert, Chris Bailey.
The Feminine Formula. For my friends in intuitive business, you might find a visualization exercise or journal prompt more helpful in guessing those golden hours. Plop down on your meditation pillow or bust out your favorite pen and imagine your ideal work day. Are you up with the dawn? Sleeping in till brunch is over? Do you start your workday right after your 6am 5K, or wait until after you’ve had a solid lunch break?
Knowing and accepting your own little quirks and idiosyncrasies will help you become a better business owner, employee, and master of time. Cuz it’s all just an illusion anyways, right?? 😝 Anyways, here’s the structure I use to get sh*t done as a full-time blogger.
My Daily Schedule as a Full-Time Blogger
7am - 9am
Wake Up / Chores / Coffee
I have NEVER been a morning person. My family has been avoiding Morningtime Me since I was in the first grade. But will I let that get in my way of becoming a successful business owner? Heck no.
My slow mornings are non-negotiable, mostly because my brain doesn’t work well enough to do anything productive, anyway. I used to shame myself for not being a morning person, but now I’ve just accepted that this is how my body works, so I’m gonna honor it! Life is so much easier when we’re going with the flow, not fighting against the current–ya know?
My favorite thing to do at this time is have quiet time to myself to read, meditate, and journal. As a person who doesn’t thrive under a strict routine, I just gravitate towards whichever of those activities calls to me first. Sometimes, I complete all three, sometimes, the best I can do is sit in my backyard and watch my pets roam around. I’ll call that meditation and move on with my day.
9am - 12pm
Get Ready / Workday Prep / Lunchtime
My self-care tends to spill into the second part of my day–oops! However, I will say that you’re “getting ready” part of your day is an awesome place to habit-stack! Habit-stacking is simply grouping small tasks together so that you can complete them at the same time!
My Getting-Ready Habit Stack
Hair and Makeup
Personal Development Podcast
Oil-Pulling
To build this stack, I started with three things I already did, or wanted to do, but had trouble finding the time for. Now, instead of just doing my hair and makeup every morning, with nothing to show for it but a look of the day, I’m accomplishing that task PLUS learning 20 minutes of a new personal development skill I want to master PLUS maintaining optimal dental health! By the way, if you’re not oil-pulling, I 10/10 recommend checking it out.
Check out 6 Beauty Products You Can DIY with Coconut Oil Right Now for more ways you can save time and money by adding coconut oil to your vanity.
How I Prepare for My Workday
Each day, I spend about an hour of “pre-work” time getting ready for the day ahead. Is it the most productive thing you could do? For you, maybe not. But for this highly sensitive person and borderline airhead, it’s a must.
I use this time to tie up loose ends from the day before, create an intentional to-do list, and usually squeeze in some form of professional development, like a systems training, quick, professional podcast, or reading up on how to improve a process I’m currently using.
If you have the time, this is also a great block to knock out any e-mails you need to respond to, brainstorming you’d like to do, or visualization you’re trying to lock in.
Lunch
I give myself a full lunch hour (surprised?). I clear this time of distractions like social media or big projects so that my time is intentionally spent and I don’t feel like I’m rushing to get back to work.
I also always always always walk the dog after eating lunch and before starting my workday. This not only helps me burn off some of those turkey sandwich calories but also clears my head and gives me some extra inspiration. There’s nothing better. Plus, my dog’s enthusiasm for taking the same route, every single day, is truly heart-melting and it reminds me that I’m making his day 10 times better, too!
1pm - 4pm
Creative Tasks – Writing / Graphics / Recording
As a creative, soul-led business, these tasks are your bread and butter! Putting them first ensures that your juiciest creative energy flows when you need it. Ideally, these tasks should be placed within your productivity peak (for me, between 2-4pm).
Place your high-priority tasks at the top of your to-do list, or the tasks that will require the most of your energy. Videos, presentations, and podcasts are all tasks that require you to “perform” on multiple different levels–I recommend completing these tasks first.
If you have trouble focusing on one task for a long period of time, try using a Pomodoro Timer. The Pomodoro Technique is great for ADHD babes, overly optimistic time managers, or people who tend to work past their peak bandwidth.
Using the Pomodoro Technique, you will set a timer for 25 minutes to focus on a task. Once the 25 minutes is up, you give yourself a mandatory 5-minute break to step away from that task, physically and mentally before returning. Earn a longer 15-30 minute break every 4 rounds, or so.
Try the basic Pomodoro Timer or this vibey, aesthetic Pomodoro Timer here. 10/10 recommend this style of time management for my antsy, short-attention span business friends.
Final Thoughts
Whether you are a small business owner or a 9-5 queen, it’s important to know your personal work style. Your peak productivity time may not make itself apparent right away, but with a little soul-searching and a lot of self-acceptance, you are just a couple of changes away from living your most productive life.
If self-discovery and personal development are new to you, check out The 7-Day Soul Reset. It’s the program I used to get in touch with my true self and become the badass business owner I always wished, for but never believed, I could be.
So Much Love,
Haley
