It’s 6 am.

Here in England, that means two things for sure, 1. the skies are a medley of black and blue, like a ripening bruise coming to the surface, and 2. it’s bone cold.

Me? I’m wrapped in my dressing gown, sat at my desk. I just sneezed, if you must know.

Today I’ve got work at 9am, I need to paint my utility, to write for 2 hours and it appears the dog has incidentally flicked mud all up the kitchen wall, so that gets added onto the list.

Rewind a few months ago, this list would have been a map to Stresscity. Recent events have meant my relationship with time is changing. Instead of getting stressed, if you work a 9–5 and have ambitions of a side hustle, here’s what I’d recommend.

1. Ruthlessly bin

This is the step almost all the productivity gurus conveniently leave out.

I’ve never heard any productivity guru say “you need to get rid of most things on your to-do list before you start.” Can you imagine? The horror at the reality that there is only so much time in the day.

If you want to be productive, you need to accept some home truths:

• You can’t balance 10 businesses — pick one.
• You can’t please everyone — pick two.
• You can’t achieve all your goals — pick three.

Lesson 1: Getting rid is the first (and most critical step in getting productive)

2. The pain of missing out

Out of all the things on my to-do list, writing will be the one I stick to. I have to, otherwise, I’ll lose part of me.

You see, I’ve tried not writing in the morning. I’ve tried to give in to the ever-growing pressure to give up and let go. I can’t. Writing has become such an ingrained practice in my life that I have to write. It’s impossible not to.

If you’re trying to do a deep clean of your productivity bedroom, you need to remember that some stuff you can’t get rid of, your life won’t let you.

Lesson 2: Pay attention to the things that you give up and feel lost without. That will help you figure out your priorities.

3. Give up hoping

The funny thing about difficulty is that it diminishes once you admit that’s the way it’s going to be.

Recently I started getting serious about this writing thing. I’ve been writing for 2 years and only now am I starting to work out what’s next for me in the writing space.

I know that the journey will be a thunderstorm in a cup. I know I’ll get ghosted. I know I’ll flop. I know people will make me promises that they don’t keep. That’s life.

Lesson 3: Expect it to be hard, it’ll do wonders for your productivity.

4. The battle of enough

For a long time, I’ve been in a constant battle with ambition and this idea of ‘enough’.

Yesterday morning I wrote a piece about having enough and the contentment I feel in my life that I do, obviously, have enough. Wishing there is more is a false economy. It’s unattainable. It’s intangible. No matter how much ‘more’ you actually get it’ll never be more than, well, more.

Lesson 4: Concentrate on balancing your ambition with realizing you have enough.

5. A messy system

Systems have changed my life.

No exaggeration. I have a writing system: wake up, coffee, water, dogs, find the draft from the night before, write.

But some days I don’t wake up because I got a shoddy night’s sleep and it’s more important to catch up on some shut eye. Sometimes I don’t find the draft because an idea has been simmering overnight and I want to work on that.

My productivity system is deliberately messy. That’s how I like it.

Lesson 5: Don’t worry about perfecting your system. If you have a bad day that’s cool, that’s life.

If you want to be a more productive creator, here’s my recipe:

1. Get rid of excess stuff.
2. Pay close attention to that stuff and add back in the stuff you can’t do without.
3. Forget hoping it’ll be easy — it won’t be.
4. Balance your ambition and gratitude.
5. Build a system, keep it messy.

Pre-order my new book: 100,000 Words — How to write online alongside your 9–5

It’s 6 am.

Here in England, that means two things for sure, 1. the skies are a medley of black and blue, like a ripening bruise coming to the surface, and 2. it’s bone cold.

Me? I’m wrapped in my dressing gown, sat at my desk. I just sneezed, if you must know.

Today I’ve got work at 9am, I need to paint my utility, to write for 2 hours and it appears the dog has incidentally flicked mud all up the kitchen wall, so that gets added onto the list.

Rewind a few months ago, this list would have been a map to Stresscity. Recent events have meant my relationship with time is changing. Instead of getting stressed, if you work a 9–5 and have ambitions of a side hustle, here’s what I’d recommend.

1. Ruthlessly bin

This is the step almost all the productivity gurus conveniently leave out.

I’ve never heard any productivity guru say “you need to get rid of most things on your to-do list before you start.” Can you imagine? The horror at the reality that there is only so much time in the day.

If you want to be productive, you need to accept some home truths:

• You can’t balance 10 businesses — pick one.
• You can’t please everyone — pick two.
• You can’t achieve all your goals — pick three.

Lesson 1: Getting rid is the first (and most critical step in getting productive)

2. The pain of missing out

Out of all the things on my to-do list, writing will be the one I stick to. I have to, otherwise, I’ll lose part of me.

You see, I’ve tried not writing in the morning. I’ve tried to give in to the ever-growing pressure to give up and let go. I can’t. Writing has become such an ingrained practice in my life that I have to write. It’s impossible not to.

If you’re trying to do a deep clean of your productivity bedroom, you need to remember that some stuff you can’t get rid of, your life won’t let you.

Lesson 2: Pay attention to the things that you give up and feel lost without. That will help you figure out your priorities.

3. Give up hoping

The funny thing about difficulty is that it diminishes once you admit that’s the way it’s going to be.

Recently I started getting serious about this writing thing. I’ve been writing for 2 years and only now am I starting to work out what’s next for me in the writing space.

I know that the journey will be a thunderstorm in a cup. I know I’ll get ghosted. I know I’ll flop. I know people will make me promises that they don’t keep. That’s life.

Lesson 3: Expect it to be hard, it’ll do wonders for your productivity.

4. The battle of enough

For a long time, I’ve been in a constant battle with ambition and this idea of ‘enough’.

Yesterday morning I wrote a piece about having enough and the contentment I feel in my life that I do, obviously, have enough. Wishing there is more is a false economy. It’s unattainable. It’s intangible. No matter how much ‘more’ you actually get it’ll never be more than, well, more.

Lesson 4: Concentrate on balancing your ambition with realizing you have enough.

5. A messy system

Systems have changed my life.

No exaggeration. I have a writing system: wake up, coffee, water, dogs, find the draft from the night before, write.

But some days I don’t wake up because I got a shoddy night’s sleep and it’s more important to catch up on some shut eye. Sometimes I don’t find the draft because an idea has been simmering overnight and I want to work on that.

My productivity system is deliberately messy. That’s how I like it.

Lesson 5: Don’t worry about perfecting your system. If you have a bad day that’s cool, that’s life.

If you want to be a more productive creator, here’s my recipe:

1. Get rid of excess stuff.
2. Pay close attention to that stuff and add back in the stuff you can’t do without.
3. Forget hoping it’ll be easy — it won’t be.
4. Balance your ambition and gratitude.
5. Build a system, keep it messy.

Pre-order my new book: 100,000 Words — How to write online alongside your 9–5