Time. Management. A copywriter’s resolution.

I have a confession.

I’m a copywriter. And I don’t have time to write.clock image - resolutions, time management, small business owners

Oh, I write plenty. I write a lot – for my clients. And I love it. I have an active copywriting business and I have the good fortune of writing for a wonderful variety of people, businesses and projects.

But as a “one gal band” freelance copywriter running a small business, it’s a challenge to find time to write for myself. For the love of it, first and foremost. But also in order to produce the content – from all manner of content marketing to website updates – so key to maintaining and continuing to grow my own business.

I’m not alone. Small business owners are taking on ever-increasing roles and feeling the time management squeeze. There are simply not enough hours in the day between meeting customer needs, production, marketing and keeping one’s financial house in order. Add to that the fact that in order to stay competitive in today’s business landscape, social media and content marketing need to be kept up religiously. It’s a crazy circle. The more successful a business, the less time there is to produce the work necessary to keep it running.

Writer’s resolution

It’s the time of year for resolutions. Copyblogger served up a terrific blog post this week. On how to commit to making time to write each day. Not by setting oneself up for failure with a resolution either too vague or too grandiose in scope. But by simply determining to put aside a brief, very doable and precise period of time each day – 20 minutes, no distractions, no phones, no social media, no editing or judgment of the outcome, the time marked by a timer – to write. Every day for the month of January. A 31 day commitment.

It’s a resolution I plan to make for myself. I like to think that with the time to which I’m committing being both brief and finite and therefore not impeding my typically non-stop day too terribly much, it is a resolution I will keep. For 31 days. And with any luck, beyond.

The same goal could be applied to any number of desires, interests or tasks that we feel are unattainable in the crush of each day’s demands. What resolution might you likewise commit to in the year ahead, for just 20 minutes a day, that could perhaps reap reward for you personally and, in turn, your business. Is 20 minutes too much? Make it 10, as Copyblogger suggests. You might be amazed at what begins to emerge from that 70 minutes spent on your resolution each week.

Check back in and let me know how it goes. I’ll do the same.