Solopreneurs: Create a Schedule that Makes Sense for How YOU Work
No more "Sunday Scaries."
In the days of my corporate job, the weekend couldn't come soon enough. As a product manager, I'd sometimes be caught up in the middle of a difficult release, dealing with a serious customer issue, or simply overwhelmed by the volume of work. Long workdays were the result of working on a team that was perpetually running behind. Someone else's fire became my emergency to fix.
But at this company, weekends were typically quiet. Everyone at the company took a break on the weekend (for the most part), and customers' businesses were closed on the weekends. I could enjoy my weekend time, until the "Sunday Scaries" crept in... the sense of dread on Sunday evening that I'd have to repeat the cycle starting Monday morning.
I left that company years ago and pivoted into content marketing and journalism. Now, I'm a solopreneur, running my own business. I no longer look at weekends as a "break" because the work I do doesn't feel like such a grind. I also choose to work on weekends, but it is my decision.
And that's one of the most important parts of running your own business: you get to create a schedule that makes sense FOR YOU. You're not beholden to other people's ideas of when and how work should get done.
Anna Burgess Yang
Create a routine that matches your natural rhythm
I wake up very early, by 4:00 am most days. I love the quiet mornings and use the time for writing. I maintain this routine on the weekends, because my body is accustomed to it.
But I have a specific schedule for client work during the week, working for a large block of time in the morning, and again in the afternoon. If I have overflow work (like something came up during the day), I'll work into the evenings. But I've also structured my day around my kids' school schedule and taking a long break for lunch/nap/walk in the middle of the day.
This schedule mirrors how I like to work. I want to be done working by 4pm, because that's when my daughter gets off the school bus. I can work for long chunks of time without a break, but I know other people who take breaks after 1-hour intervals (or even shorter). I also control when people can meet with me by using Calendly.
I think routine and consistency are important for self-employed people, but you don't have to follow a typical 9-5 schedule. Find a rhythm that works for you. Tweak it when you need to. My daily schedule changes in the summer, because my kids don't have school. It also takes time to adapt to a new routine, so give yourself some grace as you try to figure out what works best.
Set aside time for admin work
A lot of solopreneurs I know neglect the "admin work" that's needed to keep their businesses running smoothly. They'll do the essential things like send invoices, but other tasks fall by the wayside. This includes things like marketing, making decisions about tools and processes, or keeping business files organized and up-to-date.
I set aside an hour every Friday morning for admin work. I have a recurring task list in Todoist of everything I want to get done during that hour, plus other things that crop up during the week. I sometimes join a Flow Club session, which is virtual co-working. Flow Club helps me stay on task during that hour.
I also have a list of things that need my attention monthly instead of weekly. For example, I update my online writing portfolio and review some stats on my website. If you have monthly tasks, you could set aside some additional time on the first Friday of the month, or set aside an additional block of time on a different day.
Fridays are also my "overflow" day. I avoid scheduled client work on these days, but if something unexpected comes up during the week, I know I have Fridays as a "catch-up" day.
Work on the weekends only if it makes sense
I'm pretty firm that I don't do client work on the weekends. But I still work. That's a choice I make because I want to maintain daily routines, rather than take a break on weekends. As a tradeoff, I have shorter workdays during the week.
In addition to my early-morning writing, I set aside a block of time on Saturday to prep my social media for the upcoming week and a block of time on Sunday to prep outlines for anything I want to write during the upcoming week (in my blog, Substack, or newsletter).
I don't let this work time interrupt my family time: I'll work while my kids are napping or while they have screen time. If we have something planned as a family, I put that first.
I have one major exception, and that's dedicating more time to work if I'm trying to launch something new. I host webinars and create free resources for fellow solopreneurs. If I'm trying to wrap something up, and need more time, I'll work on the weekend. This can happen, in particular, if I have more client work than expected leading up to the launch.
Anna Burgess Yang
Plan a business retreat
Sometimes I feel like I have so many things I want to work on and not enough time. These are usually bigger projects, or I feel like I'm behind on admin work.
I try to plan a quarterly "business retreat." I check myself into a hotel room on a Friday afternoon and don't check out until Sunday morning. I savor the uninterrupted work time. I also use these weekends as planning sessions for future webinars I want to host or digital products I want to create.
To make the most of the weekend, I plan out what things I want to get done and how much time I want to spend on each thing. I'll also usually buy food in advance and put it in the hotel fridge, so I don't even have to leave the room (unless I want a break).
Corporations often take retreats. Teams gather to brainstorm, plan the next quarter, or reflect on past projects. You should absolutely do the same thing as a solopreneur, if you can afford the hotel weekend. The change of scenery does wonders for the brain.
Remain flexible
Even though I like to stick to a schedule, I know that I have to remain flexible. Sometimes things come up with clients, or one of my kids is sick, or something unexpected happens. I have to adapt and make it work.
But the difference is that I have so much more control over how I address these things. In the corporate world, it was "X thing has to be done by Y date" — even if someone else caused a delay.
With clients, I can negotiate a delivery date. Or I could push back the launch of a new product, if I fall behind for some reason. If I'm not "feeling it," I can choose not to work for part of a day (or a whole day).
That freedom is everything.
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