During the first year of doing TPT full-time I had to learn a lot - how to plan, how to be productive, how to focus, how to spend my day, and more!
In 2015, I lost & quit my job. I know you are thinking that doesn't make any sense.
Well, I was no longer going to be employed as a Special Ed Resource teacher in the district where I worked - I lost my job. They didn't hold my contract - my Special Ed Interlocal did. I was being moved to a position I did not feel qualified for nor did I want - so I quit my job. That's how that works.
For me, it was God opening the door for me to leave teaching where I was burnt out and having health problems. Teachers leave for different reasons. I didn't decide one day that I would go do TPT full-time. I was put into the position to do TPT full-time.
What I learned during that first year of being full-time was that I could apply my teaching skills of planning to help me use my days - most of the time - being productive.
So what does my week look like? It kind of depends on what is going on in my business. But here's how things go in general.
Each day - Monday through Friday - I start my day by getting up and getting ready for the day. Nope I don't spend my days in pajamas. I have time for my morning devotions and have breakfast. I hop on the computer and get caught up on the FB groups that I run.
Every Monday I plan out my week. I review the previous week's work and check off things on my goals/action sheet. I check to see what I still need to do to finish up my monthly goals and pick some priorities for the week. Then I fill out my planner - TPT Seller Planner - for the week so I am prepared and know what I'm working on. If I didn't do this, I'd sit around scrolling FB and IG for most of my day. Planning it out gives me direction!
Throughout the week I work on my priorities. I do not have days where I'm doing content creation or posts for social media or blogging. I just fit in my priorities on the days that work best. For me this works because I can work around appointments, fun things, client calls, etc. It also lets me mix things up throughout the week.
You can definitely have "theme" days where you are doing product creation on Monday & Tuesday, marketing on Wednesday, blogging on Thursday, etc. I tried to do this and it wasn't my style. I do use the first week of the month to batch my social media, emails, and blog posts. Sometimes this doesn't work out well and sometimes it does depending on appointments and other things on the schedule. I'm flexible to go with whatever works best.
I try to check emails & messages in the morning, at lunch, and in the late afternoon.
I do work from about 8-11 & 12-4. That's a choice I make because I don't have kids to look after and my husband still works. I don't usually do focused work that whole time though. I do check into my main FB group TPT Sellers Tipis and Advice throughout the day.
That's how my schedule works. It's very flexible but with planned direction.
Some important things to remember whether you are doing TPT full-time or part-time:
- Know your goals and priorities
- Set your work hours
- Plan out your day/week based on your goals and priorities
- Work your plan but be flexible when you need to be
