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You have about 4,350 hours left this year. Have you figured out where your time is going?

Some of you might know (or guess) that I like productivity topics and books based on the “what I’m reading” and “what I’m listening to” sections below as well as the type of content I feature here and on my LinkedIn page.

I like tracking my working hours because it shows me where I have more time to add a client, when a client is time-consuming and low-paying, and where I could be ramping up marketing efforts.

I don’t track my leisure hours, but many people do, including productivity author Laura Vanderkam. In her new book, Big Time, she shared how we can all find more hours in the day for activities we enjoy, or to further our careers, without completely sacrificing time with loved ones.

She studies how people truly spend their hours, not how they think they do. The void between those two things is where most of us are losing our free time in the evenings, having time for our side projects, and feeling like we’re always behind.

I interviewed Vanderkam for a piece on Inc.com that addressed four things leaders can do to reclaim time.

If I asked you how many hours you spent actually working last week, how confident are you that the number would be accurate? According to Vanderkam’s previous research, many of us are overestimating the number of hours we work each week. (Yes, you have to stop the ‘working’ timer when you take breaks scrolling the ‘Gram or responding to Facebook Marketplace queries throughout the day.)

Most of us are walking around with a story about our time that isn't true. We feel maxed out. We say we're slammed. And then we can't find an hour for the freelance project we actually care about. Vanderkam calls this lack of awareness about how we spend our hours "time blindness."

If you feel like your goal for the second half of 2026 is to find more time for a personal project, foster relationships, build a new business, or just feel like you’ve had an hour to yourself that didn’t go to work or family each day (been there), try these suggestions from Vanderkam’s new book Big Time:

Pick one or two to work on in July.

If dedicating more time to your freelance business is the goal and you want advice on writing better article pitches, finding a niche, or launching a website, the Freelance Writing Weekend Jumpstart does exactly that.

It's designed for people who have limited free hours but want to learn how to kick-start a freelance business (or improve the one they have). One focused weekend — likely less than six hours of real work — focused on this course can light a fire under this freelance business.

Reply to me if you have any questions about it.

Best,

Diana

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What I’m reading: The Last Ferry Out (a novel by Andrea Bartz, an editor I previously worked with in women’s magazines)

What I wrote on LinkedIn: Keep this advice in mind if you’re interviewing sources for client work in the summer.

What I’m working on: Writing articles for a sleep brand, working on another reported feature for Inc.com, helping a global public health organization with their newsletters and social media strategy

What I’m listening to: Can I retire in four years at 60? (Jill On Money)

What I’m reading online: 3 Simple tips working parents can use to create more free time (FastCompany)

What you may have missed on the blog: How do I get into travel writing?

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Forward it to them using this link and if they subscribe, you’re one step closer to landing a fun freelance freebie. (And thank you!)

Here’s a roundup of creative, full-time, part-time, freelance, remote, and hybrid jobs in the editorial, copywriting, content writing, and creative fields. Good luck.

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