.jpg)
There I was, standing in my kitchen with dinner in the oven, phone in hand. I'd just sent off an invoice and was ready to call it a day. But instead of putting my phone down, I found myself scrolling through emails, obsessing over a message I'd sent the week before. Should I follow up tomorrow? Is it too soon? Am I already too late?
That's when it hit me: something had to change.
The Breaking Point
I've been freelancing as a writer for about seven years now. Along the way, I've published articles on Medium and started offering paid mentorship calls to help other writers find their footing. But for the first five years, I had no real boundary between my work and my personal life.
I crammed as many tasks as possible into every day. I fell asleep thinking about client conversations. I felt guilty whenever I tried to rest, which inevitably led to burnout. After finishing a full workday and eating dinner, I'd fire up my laptop again because I wasn't satisfied with what I'd accomplished. "Just for a minute" always turned into two more hours when I should have been unwinding.
Weekends? Same story. There was always one more small task I could convince myself to tackle.
A Different Approach
Instead of trying to overhaul everything overnight, I made small, gradual adjustments and paid close attention to what actually helped. After two years of experimenting, I've landed on three habits that transformed how I manage my time and energy.
1. I Schedule Client Calls on Specific Days Only
I used to take mentorship calls whenever my calendar had an opening. Tuesday afternoon here, Thursday morning there. I'd say yes to whatever worked, then spend the surrounding hours half-distracted, thinking about the upcoming call. It chopped up my days and left me feeling exhausted and dissatisfied, no matter how much I'd accomplished.
I noticed my best days were the ones without any calls scheduled. On those days, I could sit down and write without rushing or constantly checking the clock.
About 18 months ago, a friend suggested I restructure my availability so calls could only happen on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I adjusted my calendar link accordingly, making those the only options available. Now when someone requests a call, I send them the link. If those days don't work for them, we handle things over email or book the next available slot.
I try to group my calls close together and send any follow-up notes or action items immediately afterward. When the last call ends, that part of my day is finished. On call-free days, I get uninterrupted time to focus on writing instead of ping-ponging between tasks.
2. I Don't Start Work Before 8:30 AM
My old pattern was opening my laptop while making breakfast, even if I'd woken up at 5 AM. One email would lead to another, and by the time most people were starting their workday at 9 AM, I'd already been working for hours without really intending to.
This was draining me before my day had really begun. Without a clear start time, I never felt truly finished with work. A couple of years ago, after reading Cal Newport's "Slow Productivity" about avoiding burnout, I implemented a hard rule: no work before 8:30 AM, regardless of when I wake up. Newport argues that working more hours doesn't necessarily produce better results, and I've found that to be completely true.
Now my mornings belong to me. I make breakfast at a leisurely pace and go for a walk. When I finally sit down to work, I'm relaxed and in the right headspace to be creative and productive.
3. I Handle All Admin During One Dedicated Block
I used to check email constantly throughout the day—on the bus, waiting for flights, whenever I had a spare two minutes. Each response was quick, but it blurred the line between working time and personal time.
The constant task-switching was exhausting. Three years ago, I watched a YouTube video by productivity creator Ali Abdaal about building better work systems. It inspired me to consolidate all my emails into one fixed block during the day, usually an hour sometime in the early-to-mid afternoon, depending on my schedule.
Outside that block, my inbox stays closed and my iPhone is on Do Not Disturb. Since making this change, I no longer interrupt my writing mid-sentence to fire off a response, then spend the next hour trying to recover my focus. Knowing exactly when I'll handle administrative tasks has made it much easier to concentrate without feeling like I'm neglecting something important.
The Results
What surprised me most about these changes was how simple they were to implement. They didn't require massive willpower or iron discipline. Instead, they restructured my life so I was no longer tempted to overwork. Once the systems were in place, I stopped constantly second-guessing myself about whether to answer just one more email or squeeze in one more task.
These days, I close my laptop at 5:30 PM and leave it where it is. My phone stays face down on the table. Most evenings, I end the day reading a chapter of a book and spending quality time with my fiancée. I've reclaimed at least two hours of genuine rest each day that simply didn't exist before.
Do I have perfect work-life balance? Probably not. But now there's an actual line between work and everything else. Unlike before, I'm satisfied with my work, I don't feel guilty about resting, and I finally feel like I've taken back control of my life.