How I’m Hacking My Time To Become A Part-Time Creator Without Impacting My Full-Time, One-Person Business

Welcome to Impact Thinking.

Hi, I’m Peter. I’m a full-time solopreneur. I’ve run a one-person strategy consulting company since 2019. Before that, I worked in finance & strategy at Harvard. This newsletter distills helps you become an impact thinker. Ditch the noise, spot the signal, and think with impact.

Read time: 5 minutes

How I’m Hacking My Time To Become A Part-Time Creator Without Impacting My Full-Time, One-Person Business

In 2019, I jumped from employee to full-time solopreneur.

Not part-time. Not a gradual transition. I’m talking full leap into the void.

When I started, I bought a bunch of notebooks for client notes, takeaways, day-to-day stuff, etc.

I had this red one specifically for “marketing.”

The first entry was on January 4, 2021, 18 months after I started my business.

I did absolutely nothing with marketing, let alone building a personal brand.

Wrong move.

I read about the value of a personal brand (via creating online), but it was only surface-level.

I’m obsessed with teaching, improving, and thinking deeply about hard things.

But until recently, I kept most of my learnings to myself or my clients.

I took one digital writing course this year, and the whole personal brand and “creator” thing clicked.

(the writing course is Ship 30 for 30; it’s well worth it, and full transparency, that’s my referral link)

Like many people, I admit, I wish I started sooner.

You might hear “creator” and think professional “YouTuber, TikToker, podcaster, etc.” but at its core, it’s simply an individual who does creative work and shares it consistently.

And by sharing the work online, stacks the legos of a personal brand on a global, digital scale.

It’s designed well for the one-person business model because you:

• Get feedback on your insights (to improve them)

• Build an audience of people you can provide value

• Lean into a more flexible, transportable business model around your knowledge and creative work

I’m not here to pitch you but to tell you what I learned.

I am committed to writing, distilling insights, and sharing them.

The problem is it competes with the way I’ve been doing business.

I don’t want that to happen.

So I’ve been experimenting with my time.

And it has to do with “when” I do things.

Performance, mood, and energy are greatly impacted by “when” you do things.

My brain doesn’t operate the same way throughout the day (nor does yours).

No matter how badly I want to brute force my way through, it’s a wasted effort.

It makes me feel productive, but I’m not actually being productive.

I learned this from When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink.

Equipped with this, I use “when” to my advantage to become a part-time creator without impacting my full-time one-person business.

Here’s how I do it:

I structure my workday to align my mental energy with the right activities.

A typical pattern each day is a peak, trough, and rebound.

• During the peak, your mind is vigilant, sharp, and focused.

• During the trough, your mind is most tired.

• During the rebound, your mind is free, insightful, and open (but less vigilant).

For me (and most people), my pattern followed chronologically through the day.

• Peak = morning

• Trough = early afternoon

• Recovery = late afternoon into the early evening

For about a week, I tracked the relationship between what I was doing, when I was doing it, and how I felt at the time. I used Dan’s suggestion to use a specific process:

Every 90 minutes, I answered 3 questions:

1. What type of work am I doing?

2. How mentally alert am I (on a scale from 1-10)?

3. How physically energetic do I feel (on a scale from 1-10)?

After experimenting, I crafted the Slow-Low-Sprint framework to get the most out of my day.

Each day has 3 blocks:

1. Slow block for critical/strategic thinking, writing, or analytical work.

2. Low block for administrative work.

3. Sprint block for collaborative, social, and client work.

Slow block (3.0 hours)

My slow block is designed for slower, focused, and deep thinking.

I focus on analysis, learning, writing, business development, and strategy.

My ground rules are to:

• do this only in the morning

• focus on one topic during this block

For example, if I’ve planned a writing block, I have 3.0 hours to write, research, and take breaks.

Not every slow block is for creating, but it is for the work with the highest and longest impact.

By designing it this way, I use the mind’s sharpness and vigilance to get more done than spreading it throughout the day.

Low block (1.0 hours)

My low block is designed for low-energy tasks.

I do this right after lunch.

I focus on emailing, invoicing, scheduling, and other administrative needs.

My ground rules are:

• do work that needs to be done without a heavy mental load

• execute, execute, execute

For example, I’ll start with emails, then transition to the most critical “administrative to-dos,” and go down the list. After 1.0 hours, move on to the next.

Every day has the same low block.

Most days, I already know in advance what administrative tasks are needed.

Sprint block (4.0 hours)

My sprint block is designed for operating & collaborative work.

There are 2-3 separate sprints within this block.

I focus on client meetings, notetaking, marketing, building templates & tools, engaging on social media, or other business operating actions.

My ground rules are to:

• use time constraints for each sprint (i.e., I have 90 minutes to do X)

• focus on high-impact work, not busy work

For example, if I’ve planned for client meetings in the sprints, I’ll stack back-to-back-to-back conversations with space for notes and breaks (with a cap of 75 minutes for each). After 4.0 hours, wrap it up.

This block is the trickiest because you still have energy but easily get distracted, especially when working alone.

By designing it this way, I use my mind’s openness and insights to maximize operating and collaborative work.

There is one last step…finishing the day

The last 15 minutes of every day are just as important as the rest.

It’s entirely designed to plan for tomorrow.

Using the Last 3 Turns Framework, I installed an end-of-day routine to internalize quality overnight and supercharge daily performance.

My ground rule is to use a timebox calendar.

And to do it by hand (yes, you heard me).

Until this year, I did as much as possible whenever I needed to. But it’s not about getting the most done. Instead, it’s using your energy to help you get done what’s important.

Some days this slow-low-sprint framework needs to change – and that’s ok.

There are also some late-night work sessions - and that’s ok too.

It’s part of the process of building a one-person business…(and becoming a part-time creator).