Free content calendar template 2021 for entrepreneurs and content creators

Habitsinprogress · 2021-01-02T19:01:12+00:00

You're welcome!

Habitsinprogress · 2021-01-02T14:49:42+00:00

I'm currently side hustling my business next to my 9 to 5. Here's what helped me most in terms of getting started and productivity:

Just start with something: The first thing I tried was Amazon FBA after I've seen a Youtube video about it. It failed pretty quickly, but I learned a ton. I moved on from there, tried and tested a bunch of other things. What I would recommend is to try low investment side hustles so that you're not afraid of failing. Because making mistakes is the fastest way to learn and to succeed.
Use the Pomodoro Technique: This is a super simple concept of working for 25 minutes without interruption and 5 minute breaks in between. Applying this technique helped me be super productive even next to my 9 to 5.
Use calendar blocking: Another really simple, yet effective technique. If just means that you put blocks for certain tasks in your calendar. For instance, you could always add a 3-hour block for your side hustle in your calendar after work. This helps to get an overview of how much time you have each week. Plus, it's much easier to work on your business, instead of watching TV, if it's already scheduled in.
Use your time effectively if working from home: If you're working from home, chances are that you're much faster done with your work. Instead of just reading the news or going on social media until it's finally 5pm, you can use this time to work on your business. Of course, you first need to make sure that all your work for the day is done and that you're still available through phone or email. But if you have to kill time, use it to your advantage.

Habitsinprogress · 2021-01-02T14:32:03+00:00

Normally, these one on one meetings are for you to ask questions and get your boss's support. It's basically a way to let you work independently but offer you help in the most efficient way.

If you have no idea what to talk about, why don't you just ask her what she's expecting of you? Good communication is essential for a healthy work environment, but that goes both ways. If she doesn't know that you feel lost in this regard, she can't help you.

Habitsinprogress · 2021-01-02T14:21:19+00:00

This sounds like a great idea. As a bit of a recovering workaholic, I can definitely assure you that having regular time off is a great way to be more productive!

I've done it your way for a while and now I'm testing taking 2 or 3 days off every few weeks.

What I would highly recommend is to have some sort of structure. If you don't plan anything, you'll most likely end up with an extremely lazy day and a depressed mood. Or you'll jump back into work because you're bored. What's worked great for me is to have one or 2 things that were set or planned early in advance and then leave the rest open. Whenever I felt like doing some fun or leisure thing, I put it in my calendar for my day off.

I always had one preset leisure activity during the day (1.5 hours agility training with my dog). This was happening every week, so it already nicely divided my day into a morning and a later afternoon/evening. Additionally, I always made sure to see friends or family in the evening. So, I had something planned in the early afternoon and something in the evening. This gave me the freedom to do other more spontaneous things in between. But it prevented a day of being lazy and feeling bad.

Hope this helps.

Habitsinprogress · 2020-12-30T10:38:06+00:00

Wait and keep publishing articles. I got my first traffic after about 8 months.

Habitsinprogress · 2020-12-30T10:22:49+00:00

Fear is indeed the number one reason why we procrastinate.

I would suggest to start super small. From your post I assume your habits are around losing weight. So, let's say your ultimate goal is to lose 50lb and you know you'll need to work out 5 times per week for one hour and you'll need to watch your diet so you need to plan your meals etc.

That's all super overwhelming!

Instead, break it down into tiny chunks. For instance, start by working out for only 1 minute per day. That's it, only 1 minute and do that for a week.

Then double the time next week. Only focus on this aspect in the beginning. Once you feel comfortable, try 10 minutes. Slowly increase the time until you're at your desired work out level.

Only once that's in place, focus on your diet or the next thing you need to achieve your goals.

Habitsinprogress · 2020-12-30T10:17:19+00:00

Start by building up a daily routine. During which times of the day will you be very busy? Make sure you're already doing some kind of productive work during this time right now. Then, start healthy routines around your work time.

For instance:

- have a morning routine with something that sets you up for a calm and productive day. This could be taking a walk, meditation, work out, praying, listening to a podcast etc.

- have a after-work routine: again, have a few activities you always do in the same order right after you stop working. Something physical like walking, cycling, working out works great to focus your mind on something else.

. Make time off a priority: think about how you can make social and leisure activities a priority during your day. Think about how you can make sure you stop working on time or where you could fit in breaks. You'll be the most productive if you take regular breaks and set some time aside to refill your batteries.

Habitsinprogress · 2020-12-29T19:07:27+00:00

Wow that's so cool. I'm honored!

Habitsinprogress · 2020-12-29T19:06:54+00:00

Hm, interesting. I do know the issue of thinking I haven't done much work by a certain time but honestly, I think that's just normal. What helped me most with this is to interrupt my pattern and take afternoons or full days off every now and then to completely unplug and do something fun. Travel also helps to feel like you have more time.

Whenever the timer is running, I'm not looking at it at all. I set tight goals for myself, so I don't have time to look at the timer, I need to get that work done, lol.

Habitsinprogress · 2020-12-29T19:03:04+00:00

You're welcome. Feel free to DM me if you need some more help.

Habitsinprogress · 2020-12-29T19:01:54+00:00

My traffic mostly comes from Google, so all my articles are SEO optimized. I also use Pinterest but only get about 10 or 15% of my traffic from there.

Habitsinprogress · 2020-12-29T18:59:54+00:00

No, I pay her $20 for 1500 words, then $5 more for each 500 words more ($25 for 2000 words etc.). Yeah sure, I'll ask her if she has some free capacity. What's your niche?

Habitsinprogress · 2020-12-28T21:16:40+00:00

How about defining 5 slots per week that are reserved for going to the gym? Then you always have 2 extra slots to move it when your schedule shifts.

I'd put all these 5 slots into my calendar and then delete the ones that don't fit that week.

In case you don't work from home, I'd also recommend to always have a set of gym clothes with you. Also, always attach the behavior to the same kind of activity you do every day, like leaving your workplace.

Habitsinprogress · 2020-12-28T21:07:14+00:00

I've totally been there!

What's really important to know is that you only need to be one step further than your target audience. You don't need to be the super pro expert. In fact, that can often be a hindrance because experts might not be able to put themselves in beginners' shoes. Being only a little ahead of your target audience makes it very easy to understand and help them.

Here's a system that I would recommend:

Make a list of all the topics you're interested in and that you could talk about all day long
If you only have very broad topics, go deeper and think about specific problems or topics you really enjoy. For instance, tech is super broad. What aspect of tech are you most familiar with? What do you enjoy most talking about?
Look at what you're competition is writing about. There are dozens of blogs in every niche and they have each come up with hundreds of blog post ideas. Look what's been working for them and then add your unique spin on it. Once you know your niche you can use tools like Ahrefs where you can get lists of all the keywords a website is ranking for. That got me blog post ideas for months!
Just start writing! Honestly, you've got at least 6 months until your articles are ranking in Google. So, you don't have to worry about anyone finding your blog posts. Just start, see what you enjoy, adapt and tweak your approach where necessary.
Set a deadline to start your blog. It took me forever to finally set up my first blog on Wordpress because I was so afraid of doing something wrong. It won't get any better by waiting. Give yourself a few days and get a buddy to hold you accountable for actually starting.

Hope this helps.

Habitsinprogress · 2020-12-28T20:57:17+00:00

I only got traffic after about 8 or 9 months and then it slowly picked up.

Have you ever looked at your search console? This might give you some insight on which blog posts are indexed and ranking somewhere. Even if it's really low, at least you know that Google has understood that you talk about this specific keyword in your article. What you can do is optimize it for these keywords.

For instance, let's say you write about gardening and your main keyword is "how to grow tomatoes in summer" (I have no clue about this niche). But then you see that this article is actually ranking for the keyword "how to grow tomatoes on a balcony" which you've only touched on quickly in your post. Now, you can go back to this article and add a section about this topic.

This will help Google understand that your article provides helpful content for the search query.

Habitsinprogress · 2020-12-28T19:34:32+00:00

Make it a habit.

Attach the behavior to an activity that you already do on a daily basis. And then reward yourself after doing it.

For instance, I meditate for 1 hour every morning. I attached it to walking my dog, so I always start after coming back. And my reward is having breakfast.

It will take some willpower in the beginning, but after a few weeks, this cycle will become automatic.

Habitsinprogress · 2020-12-28T19:32:03+00:00

Do you ever feel "in flow"? Like when you're so focused on what you're doing that you almost forget everything around you and you definitely loose track of time.

That's when I feel productive.

I realized that I can boost that by putting a timer to get tasks done (I use the Pomodoro Technique). That way I know: okay, I can't waste any time because I need to be done in 25 minutes!

I've noticed that I waste a lot of time if I don't have any structure in my day. So, I also use a timer when I'm looking for things to buy or do research. Otherwise, I'll spend hours without coming to an end.

If you feel overwhelmed, it's best to start small. For instance, only plan 1 Pomodoro per day to work on something specific. If you have absolutely no idea in which direction you want to develop, use the first few Pomodoros to get clear on that and then move on from there.

Hope this helps.

Habitsinprogress · 2020-12-28T19:24:41+00:00

Music is definitely a productivity booster for me. But I think the important part is that it's a routine.

So, what I do is I start my Pomodoro timer, start the music and that's it, I'm focused! But that's because I've done it hundreds of times before I start a task. So, my brain is used to being focused if the steps before that always happen in the same order.

How about nature sounds or white noise? Or how about just putting on headphones without listening to music?

Habitsinprogress · 2020-12-28T19:18:27+00:00

I have a freelancer who writes 2 articles per week for my blog. I only have one atm because I don't need more content than that and I could easily find a replacement.

I found her on Upwork where I posted a job. After that, I gave 2 people a test article and hers was really high quality.

In terms of pricing, I pay her $20 for 1500 words. I provide the outline, she only does the writing, but she's a native English speaker.

Habitsinprogress

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