Hey health marketer,
Do you feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get things done? You aren’t alone. 48% of Americans say they don’t have enough time. [1]
We can’t ignore the 52% of people who do have enough time. Why do they feel like they have more time than you?
I mean, we all have the same 24 hours every day. So, why does it seem like some people can do more with their time than others?
People who manage their time well and get things done aren’t any different than you. But they have unlocked the secret to putting more hours into their day.
And you can copy that behavior to create extra time and get more done.
If you had an extra few hours at the end of the day, could you put it into your health copywriting?
That’s the topic of this blog post. I want to help you get the most out of your 24 hours so you can put more time into your health copy.
The more time you spend copywriting, the better your copy will become. Keep reading to learn the best way to use your time and how it can make you more productive.
Do you plan how you will spend each day? Let’s be clear, planning is not running through your mental to-do list while you commute to work.
I’m talking about blocking off time at the beginning (or end) of your day for focused planning.
You might think you don’t have time to do that but spending a few minutes on this can help you create more time. (more on this later)
When we don’t plan it affects how we make decisions. You see, planning ahead of time helps us solve problems with a level head. When we rush to make decisions, mistakes happen. I’m not hating on mistakes here, I mean after all that’s how we learn.
But we shouldn’t keep repeating the same mistakes. That isn’t growth. Our goal should be to make new mistakes as we learn and get better.
Planning helps us do that.
There are studies that back this up. For example, a group of researchers looked at 30 different companies. Some of them had good records of long-term success and others didn’t. [2]
What set them apart? The companies that used strategic planning had more success than those who didn’t.
Why?
Top leaders who didn’t plan forced themselves to make decisions under pressure. They relied on their gut instinct and based company-wide decisions on their opinions. This led to less business growth in the long term.
And what about the companies that did put time into planning?
It gave them a competitive advantage and helped drive business growth.
So, it’s safe to say that planning ahead of time can set you up for success too.
Earlier I mentioned that the way we plan matters. So instead of quickly running through a mental to-do list we should put thought into how we plan.
Focused planning can help us get more done in four major ways:
We can set clear objectives by creating a path between starting a project or task and finishing it. Planning ahead of time helps us fill in the gaps between point A and point B.
As you complete each task you’ll notice that you feel more satisfied with your work. That’s because you have tangible results to show that you’re getting things done.
Focused planning helps us pay attention to our progress. This drives commitment to completing the project or task because we already have skin in the game.
Make sense?
When we plan our steps and pay attention to our progress we open the door to more options.
Think about it. Each time you plan the next step, you’ll also think about better steps you can take. This makes you more efficient on the front end.
And by paying attention to your progress you can identify better ways to work next time.
Another benefit of planning is that it helps you get important things finished. When you look ahead at your day, you’re able to prioritize and put important things first.
So, tasks that can wait until tomorrow don’t slow down your progress. This helps you avoid rushing to complete the things that need to get done today.
Doing this will shorten the time you spend on each project or task and improve your work.
Shortening the time it takes to get things done will give you extra time each day. Time you can spend on your health copywriting.
How much time can you create?
Every 10-12 minutes you spend planning can create an extra 2 hours each day. [3]
You didn’t misread that sentence. Planning can help you 10x your investment on the most valuable commodity on earth: Time.
You may think about taking it even further. If 10-12 minutes gets you an extra 2 hours, what about 20 minutes or an hour? Could you plan enough to get an entire work day back?
No.
There is such a thing as too much planning.
A group of researchers studied successful entrepreneurs and the time they spent planning. [4]
While spending the right amount of time planning can set you up for success. They found spending too much time planning led to ‘Analysis Paralysis’.
Which means you actually get less done when you plan too much. And you could even miss out on opportunities because you were still planning your next move.
Don’t let that happen.
Stick with 10-12 minutes of focused planning at the beginning (or end) of each day to maximize the benefits.
Now that you know how important planning is, how can you start using it?
Think of goals like a roadmap to success and plans like a compass. Setting goals helps you identify where you want to go. Planning keeps you on track to your destination.
Where should you start?
Positive thinking is a good way to prepare your brain for reaching goals. Believing you can succeed makes you more likely to reach your goals. [5]
A good way to start believing is to imagine yourself achieving the goals you’ve set. Think about what you will feel like once you reach them. And then figure out what steps you need to take to get there.
Saying “I will improve my health copywriting this year” is a good place to start. But it’s too vague. Vague goals aren’t really goals at all. They’re more like well thought out dreams.
There’s a big difference between goals and dreams but people mix them up a lot.
Dreams are sort of romantic. It feels good to fantasize about how our lives would be if everything worked out the way we want it to. But we don’t live in a perfect world and spending too much time dreaming can be a trap.
You can get caught up dreaming and stop taking action. That won’t help you get any better at health copywriting. It could even make your writing worse. A better way to set real goals is by acknowledging how much effort it will take to reach them.
Successful people aren’t just confident they will succeed. They’re also confident that reaching their goals will take hard work. [6]
Breaking goals down can help you identify the steps you need to take to reach them. A good way to do this is setting several short-term goals that will help you get to your long-term goal.
Setting short and long-term goals can also keep you accountable. How do you start setting these goals and reaching them?
To set a realistic goal you can follow the SMART framework. [7]
Goals should be:
Why should goals be specific?
Goals need to be specific for us to reach them. Remember, a vague goal is only a dream. And it’s a lot harder to reach a fuzzy idea than it is to reach a specific goal. Setting specific goals will help you progress towards achieving them.
So instead of saying “I want to write better health copy”. You can set a goal to spend 15 minutes working on your health copywriting 5 days a week.
That way when the week is over you can look back and see how close you came to reaching your goal. Setting a specific goal like this makes it easier to measure your progress.
Why do measurable goals drive progress?
Making your goals measurable helps you track your progress and keeps you motivated.
How does this work?
Each time you reach a milestone on the way to your goal you can see your progress. The more progress you make toward your goal, the further you want to go to reach it.
When your goals aren’t measurable it’s easier to lose motivation. You won’t have any idea how far away your goal is and when it gets hard it’s easier to give up.
Want to know how to make your goals easier to reach?
Setting achievable goals makes them easier to reach.
When learning a new skill you should challenge yourself. We tend to underestimate what we can achieve. So, choosing goals that are a little out of your comfort zone is a good thing to do.
But it’s important to be realistic. Setting goals that are too difficult or impossible to achieve can do more harm than good. When you aren’t able to reach them it will drain your motivation and make you more likely to give up.
So, set goals that make you stretch a bit but don’t wear yourself out. As time goes on you’ll be ready to take on bigger goals and reach them.
For example, I’ve set a goal this year of writing 1 helpful blog post for you every week. And it’s hard. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing it and I’m happy to bring you more value.
But between research, writing, editing (and re-editing because I’m a perfectionist). It takes A LOT of time. But before long, reaching that goal will be easy. And every time I reach it I will be motivated to set bigger and better goals.
You can boost your motivation even more by setting goals that are relevant to your life plan.
Why do relevant goals set your motivation on fire?
Not all goals are equal. If the goals you set aren’t in line with your big life plan then you’re better off not pursuing them at all.
Why?
Because when it comes down to it, goal-setting (when they’re the right goals) is hard. And when barriers stand in the way you need to focus on your big Why
So, when making goals you should ask yourself, “how will this goal get me closer to where I want to be in life?” “Does it line up with the type of person I want to become?”
Don’t let the goals your co-workers or friends set influence what you do. You may never reach them. Choose goals that are unique to you and who you want to be.
Want to reach your goals as fast as possible?
Setting time-bound goals will help you reach them quickly.
Setting a deadline to complete your goals makes them easier to reach.
Think about it this way. If you set a goal of writing 1 health marketing email without a deadline it could never get done.
But, if you set a goal of writing it by the end of the week you’ll be more likely to do it. Keep your deadlines realistic. Remember, stretching is good but you don’t want to pull a muscle.
Planning and goal-setting work to help you achieve success. It’s almost impossible to separate one from the other. Together they unlock true potential and maximize your productivity.
So, if you want to create extra time in your day and get more done use them both.
Now you know the key to having more time each day. Setting long and short term goals for yourself will give you a destination to reach. Planning your tasks each day will help you get there.
And don’t waste the extra time you get. Spend it on improving your health copywriting. And before you know it, you will reach your goal of writing better health copy.
Yours, for better health copywriting,
Brandon Davis
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References
[1] Newport, F. (2015, December 31) Americans’ perceived time crunch no worse than in past. Retrieved from news.gallup.com
[2] Kaplan, S., Beinhocker, E. D. (2003). The real value of strategic planning. Retrieved from researchgate.net
[3] Tracy, B. (Accessed 2023, January 10). Start achieving all of your goals – how to plan for success in every way. Retrieved from briantracy.com
[5] Chwolka, A., Raith, M. G. (2009, May) Perceiving the value of business planning. Retrieved from semanticsscholar.org[8] Halvorson, H. G. (2011, December 27) Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals. Boo
[6] Serrador, P. (2012, October 23). The importance of the planning phase to project success. Retrieved from pmi.org