Playing with Time
you have more than enough if you know how to use it
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As creatives, we sometimes procrastinate by waiting for inspiration to strike, but the best thing we can do to protect our creativity and our wellbeing is manage our time.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned this year is that just because you have open time on your calendar, doesn’t mean you have time to spare or waste.
I always think of Steven Barlett’s passage in Happy Sexy Millionaire, the one where he talks about time as an hourglass, and if we saw it streaming down, we’d likely spend it differently. And this month alone, the conversation of time came up in three different, impactful ways:
Tamara is doing 75 Hard. I asked how she’s feeling, and she said her biggest takeaway so far is that we have more than enough time to get our work and life in, while also taking care of ourself (which is the ultimate goal of the challenge).
I met Hillary here on Substack, and when we met for a virtual coffee, I asked her if having a paid newsletter adds pressure to write. She said that producing one piece of content a week for Substack isn’t a huge ask, and no matter what, her Substack will go out every week at its designated time.
Gilbert and I met at a dinner party, and he asked us to think of our future selves, and question what we’re doing today that our 50 year-old selves would be proud of.
For some reason, I immediately pictured looking back on myself scrolling in leggings on the couch and freaked out. That is not how I want my time remembered! I also had a moment of gratitude; I’m so thankful to have conversations like these in everyday life. Truly.
While these conversations have all been recent, I have been working on being more disciplined in how I allocate my time since August, when I hired an assistant to primarily work on my calendar and scheduling. I’m learning how to move through time with ownership, and without letting the days get overrun by external expectations.
The writers I work with often try to resist our work on their brands because of a perceived time restraint, and I can see where they’re coming from, if we go by stereotype: writers are creatives, and creatives like to go with the flow. But in reality, taking ownership of your time eliminates chaos and fatigue, and opens up more than enough, giving your creativity room to thrive.
You get to decide what is important, and set your own schedule with boundaries to ensure you complete what you set out to accomplish. Some advice:
Commit to your priorities, but don’t overcommit your time. Before you take on something new, ensure you’re giving everything you’re already doing at least 100%. If something pops up that will lower your percentage, decline it.
You know when you write best, even if it’s at an untraditional hour. Schedule that time and set it as a non-negotiable appointment for yourself.
Don’t confuse availability with downtime. It’s so freeing to realize that you do not need to justify declining invitations.
Find a system that works with your priorities, mental and creative flow, and personal responsibilities. Stick to it.
Remember that taking care of yourself (and marketing, sorry) do not exist only after the rest of your to do list is done, but deserves it’s own dedicated time.
When a day goes sideways, don’t let it spiral. Pick it up at the next time block.
Choose your channels of communication. Go to your phone and notifications when it suits you, not because your devices beckoned you with a ping.
It should feel natural to move through your day. If a task requires three hours, give it three hours. If you work best in 30-minute increments, let your schedule reflect that, including breaks.
My biggest struggle with taking ownership of my time was resetting expectations of access and availability. I felt guilty taking time off or not being readily available when someone needed me. Work would bleed into personal time, and not in an enjoyable way, which was unfortunate because I love work, and I want to be there…just not when I’m hanging with my niece and nephew, you know?
I’m working through this with honest, transparent communication — not to be confused with oversharing — and a few new systems.
For context: I used to accept texts from clients, literally seven days a week. Now, when a text comes through, I let it sit and respond during business hours, kindly asking for it to be resent through email. This one took a good month to stick, but as I’m writing this, I now can’t remember the last client text I received; all messages have been sent via email.
We also made a new scheduling link with accompanying policies, instead of going back and forth with the whole, ‘what time works best for you?’ email thread. The link and its policies are present in all new contracts, communicated in onboarding, put in writing on each client dashboard and on listed the scheduling page of the link itself.
I share my agenda (or some version of it) on my daily Instagram stories. This gives my community a look into how I spend my day, and can help inform viewers into my relationship with time before they reach out or start working with me.
My word for 2026 is shaping up to be chic, and to me, it is becoming increasingly clear that I find it chic to control your time and show up to each of your commitments prepared, with dedication, intention and ownership.
Generally speaking, I work in three-month increments, or annual quarters, even with my schedule and calendar. This gives new habits a chance to develop, but isn’t long enough to force misaligned behavior. We evolve, and each season requires a new outlook, so it’s nice to go into a schedule with the mindset that it is subject to change.
Below is how I’ve been managing my time for the last quarter of 2025:
My calendar and every single thing I do all day is visually aligned (color-coded in my brand colors) and in one place (Notion), which makes it easier for my brain to stay on track.
My Google Calendar is the blueprint for how I spend my day. The paper calendar in my planner is for reminders and tasks. Example: My Google Calendar will say Deep Work - Clients, while my paper planner will have client start and end dates. The link between the two is that I’ll use the Deep Work - Clients time block to on- and off-board that client on the appropriate dates.
All communications are flowed through email, and my meeting scheduler books one full week out. This has been the hardest for people to get used to, but I’m sticking to it! No offense to me, and respectfully to my clients, my work doesn’t require urgency, and therefore, I do not need to be immediately available to meet.
Mornings are until lunch, and afternoons are until dinner. The first half of the day is dedicated to my work and personal priorities, and the second half is for clients, meetings, and community-related tasks. As a routine-oriented person that has been struggling to be excited about routines, this one is interesting for me. It’s the concept of leisure ethic, where work and life are rolled into one, instead of a work/life balance that happens when you try to divide work time and life time.
If I miss a time block, I skip it. HARD. One day, I missed my Deep Work - Brand block, which is my morning allocation to my brand, and the goal was to write a Substack. That afternoon, I was itching to get writing, but the time was slated for Deep Work - Clients, and I had a brand deck to layout. I prioritized the client work and stuck to the schedule, instead of falling behind in two buckets, and I will say, it felt great. That example enters my brain every time I want to go rogue.
All of this is to say: remember that you can do everything, but not at the cost of your personal wellbeing, and managing your time is a great act of self care.
xx
Happy Thanksgiving!
Jessica Sorentino specializes in branding and marketing for authors, helping them connect with readers and position their work for agents and publishers. With over a decade in publishing, she transforms stories into lasting brands through strategy, connection, and visibility.
