Make It Fit

Balancing your creator life with your day job.

Links:

• If you haven’t grabbed The $0 Solo Creator Business Blueprint, you really should. It’s a great, free taste of what I offer in every PDF I create.

• Do it your way. One of the most insightful pieces of advice I’ve read in a while.

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You probably think you need 4 uninterrupted hours to create anything worth sharing.

I spent 5 years working factory floors, retail shifts, and food service while building this. The spaces in-between were all I had.

Ten minutes on break. Thirty minutes before my shift. An hour after everyone went to bed while I fought to keep my eyes open.

I bet that sounds familiar if you were a working slob like me.

Here’s what I got wrong: I tried to do everything at once.

Newsletter, digital products, community building, Discord server, consulting calls, webinars. The guru playbook.

Turns out that advice only works when you’re not clocking 50 hours a week just to keep the lights on.

I kept overcomplicating until I burned out. And during that break, something clicked. All those small sessions had actually stacked up. I just needed to simplify what I was doing, not add more.

So here’s what fits in the real world:

• Got 2 minutes? Brainstorm ideas. Jot down three post topics.

• Got 15 minutes? Outline something. Sketch a product idea.

• Got 30 minutes? Draft a full post.

• Got an hour? Write and engage with your people.

Keep it as simple as possible, and bide your time while you build.

The instant success everyone promises? Let it go.

Five years felt long while I was in it. Now it feels fast compared to another decade of someone else owning my time.

I’m fortunate now. I don’t need the day job anymore.

But I remember what those 50-hour weeks felt like. The exhaustion. The choice between sleep and creating. Between family time and building something mine.

You’re not behind. You’re just on the slow, steady climb that actually works.

What’s your biggest struggle right now—time, energy, or knowing what to focus on?