Would you like to get the most out of your time by being far more more productive every day? Having a well-thought-out time management system not only enables you to get more work done but to also have rest time and make more money as a creative.

Dawn Marcotte is a mom, runner, and reader of all things mystery. She has also been a professional (that means someone actually pays her), freelance writer, for over 10 years. In addition to writing books, Dawn provides helpful information in her Facebook Group, Women Coaches and Consultants Growing Our Business. She’s always happy to give a little free advice to new entrepreneurs to help them along their journey.

In today’s episode of The Well-Paid Creative, Dawn explains how she created a time management system that enables her to do what is needed in a way that works for her. Listen in to learn the importance of having a calendar where you schedule your work and make it easier to prioritize the important stuff.

Dawn talks about:

• The benefits of scheduling your work in a calendar.
• How to use timers to set boundaries, as reminders, and to take breaks.
• How to plan your tasks weekly and prioritize them daily.

Here’s a glance at some of the things we talked about:

• [2:06] Dawn on how she fits being a mom into her work as a professional freelance writer.
• [3:53] Look at your calendar and start scheduling things that you want to spend time on. Having a calendar makes it easier for things to be done.
• [6:08] Three ways to use timers. To set boundaries when you’re doing things you don’t like, to remind yourself of other important things that need to be done, and to give yourself breaks to stay focused.
• [11:09] How to identify things that feel like emergencies and start blocking time for them regularly.
• [13:35] How to avoid a day’s interruptions and distractions that shift your mind from what you were doing, which takes time to refocus back.
• [15:52] Dawn describes her new book Success Guaranteed: 9 Lies Online Entrepreneurs Need to Know, which was written to lay out the realities of being an online entrepreneur.
• [20:15] How to start your time management journey by planning weekly and prioritizing your tasks daily. It is also important to set flex time aside for any unexpected events.

Relevant Links:

• Learn more about Dawn Marcotte
• Connect with Dawn on Facebook and Instagram
• More episodes of The Well-Paid Creative Podcast
• Not sure what to focus on to move your work towards more profit? Get your answer by taking the Profit Finder today!
• Subscribe to the Creativity+Commerce weekly newsletter – an irreverent look at the business of being creative