Welcome to the Rich Coach Club, the podcast that teaches you how to build your dream coaching practice and how to significantly increase your income. If you're a coach and you're determined to start making more money, this show is for you. I'm master certified life coach Susan Hyatt, and I'm psyched for you to join me on this journey.
So many coaches dream about writing a book, and that’s why I’m doing this special three-part series all about books, books, and books. Writing your book, selling and marketing your book, a behind-the-scenes look at the book publishing industry, and all that jazz.
So last week, I released part one in this three-part series. And in part one, I shared the story of how I got a book deal. Go back and listen to that episode if you missed it. Now you’re listening to part two, and here in part two, I’m going to cover how I wrote a book while juggling a million other projects without losing my mind in the process.
So even if you don’t want to write a book, keep listening because I’m going to share some of my personal favorite time-management secrets. Y’all are nosey and I know you want my secrets. These are techniques that apply to all kinds of projects, not just books. So if you’re someone who feels like, I have so many things I want to accomplish but I never have enough time, then this episode is totally for you. Here we go.
We’re starting with a segment that I call your two-minute pep talk. This is the part of the show where I share some motivation and encouragement to get your week started off right, and I try to keep things to two minutes or less. Don’t send me your hate mail if it’s longer. Gift with purchase, okay?
Now y’all, you know I’m a pretty busy lady. Lady is debatable. A typical week in my world is very full. I’m doing private coaching sessions, group classes with clients, three days a week, sometimes four. I release a new podcast episode every single Monday, I put out a new article on my blog and newsletter every Sunday.
Last month I spent three weeks on the road doing a series of events to kick off the New Year, the premier of my documentary film, a retreat with 31 clients, and more. A couple of times a year I release a brand-new digital magazine. You should check it out. There’s also a lot of behind-the-scenes action that you don’t see.
Like meeting with my team to map out our marketing campaigns, hiring and training new employees, doing video shoots, and more. You get the gist. It’s go time all the time in the Hyatt universe, and we’re not collecting dust up in here, that’s for sure.
Oh, and aside from all the business stuff, I also have a husband, two kids, two dogs, two cats, and plenty of stuff popping in my personal life too. All the time. So with all that going on, you might wonder, how on earth did I find the time in my schedule to write a 256-page book?
Well, let’s break it down. Here’s how I did it. Number one, years ago, I decided that Mondays would be my sacred creativity days. Most weeks, Monday is my content creation day. Often, that’s the day that I write, record podcast episodes, do all that type of stuff.
And while I was working on my book, I got very disciplined about this. Mondays were book days no matter what. I protected this time very fiercely. On Mondays, no sales calls with potential clients, no client coaching sessions, no meetings with my team, no emails, no nothing, except for focusing on the book.
Did I stick to this plan every single week? No. There were definitely a few weeks where I didn’t totally stick to my intention because that’s life, y’all. But I was pretty disciplined about this and it made a huge difference. So okay, in addition to that, I make sure to do number two.
Self-care to the max. To write a book, you definitely need time. You need to carve out time in your scheduled and protect this time with all your might. but you don’t just need time. You also need energy. You need high energy in order to write. You need to feel awake, you need a clear, sharp brain.
You can’t be rolling up to your desk, half asleep with droopy eyes and a foggy head because you went nuts last night at taco and margarita Tuesday. You really need a solid consistent self-care routine that helps you feel on your A game.
It’s not the amount of time that you have, it’s the energy you bring to the time that you have. So for me, this means going to bed early. I wake up at dawn. I do my morning run, weights, my Peloton bike. I do all that in the early morning to shake out the cobwebs of my brain.
Having a quiet moment with my coffee to focus on myself, and then getting to work. I define self-care as anything you do to build up your energy levels. It’s anything that fuels you rather than drains you. So self-care isn’t just going to spin class or getting a massage. Self-care also means making important decisions about where your energy is going.
So while writing on my book, I had to be really deliberate with my choices. Do I want to go to yet another holiday party or go to bed early so I can wake up and write? Do I want a glass of Prosecco with dinner or would I rather wake up feeling super clear-headed so I can write? Do I want to cram a few more client sessions into my Friday afternoon or would it be smarter to take the afternoon off and do something to recharge my spirit?
All of these small decisions are important and make such a difference to my energy levels. So, so far, I’ve mentioned Mondays, my sacred book days, and also the importance of self-care to keep your energy levels high. Another thing that helped me write my book was number three, getting help.
And I’m not just talking about writing help, like having a writing coach or an editor, which I did. Although that might be super helpful for sure to you too. I’m talking about domestic help. People, check out these statistics. The average person spends about 260 minutes per week doing laundry. That hurts my feelings.
That time could be spent on your book. A typical person spends 60 hours per year doing grocery shopping. You could write a lot in 60 hours. Hello Instacart, grocery delivery service. Many parents spend five to 10 hours a week shuttling their kids around to school and other activities.
Now I get - I really love that precious drive them home from school time because that’s typically when they would tell me stuff, but some of it on some days you can outsource. You get the ideas. You probably spend an awful lot of time doing things for your spouse or partner, your kids, your pets, your community, and that’s great.
But if you’re determined to write a book, or if there’s any other big project you want to complete, you have got to free up your time. There’s an amazing feminist writer and speaker that goes by the name of Lux ATL and she often poses this question, “Are you willing to give your greatest dream the same time and attention that you give to your laundry?”
Dear god, I hope so. Isn’t your beautiful book worth some time too? Just as much as laundry? More than laundry? Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I’m pretty sure it is. It’s amazing how much time and mental energy gets freed up when you don’t have to think about laundry for a while, or groceries, dinner ideas, vacuuming, carpool. It’s wild, y’all. Your brain will feel so spacious, your energy levels will go through the roof.
This is why I strongly encourage all business owners and aspiring authors to hire some help around the house. Even having someone help out a tiny bit, like five hours a week, can make a huge difference. You could also hire someone just temporarily. It doesn’t have to be forever.
You could say to yourself, for the next eight weeks, I am determined to finish writing my book so I’m going to hire some extra help for eight weeks to clear a little more space in my life. Oh my gosh, I actually have such a funny story about this.
While I was working on my last book, there was one week that I decided this week, I’m focusing 100% on the book, all book, all seven days in a row, let’s get it done. And for that one week, I hired a personal chef to handle all the cooking so I could just totally focus on the book. But then y’all, things took a crazy turn because I found out that he voted for Trump.
He was going off about how Trump is so great and I could not believe the words I was hearing in my kitchen. And then he lit my barbecue on fire and the alarm went off, smoke everywhere, flames, oh my god, lord, no. So that particular time, things went a little haywire.
But generally speaking, hiring help around the house is a great move. Do it. These days, there are so many options that are really affordable, like Instacart or Amazon grocery delivery. And Postmates and TaskRabbit and Rover, which is an app to hire a dog sitter or dog walker. For a relatively small investment, you could free up a lot of time for yourself.
So people, that’s how I pulled it off. Number one, being super disciplined with my time, especially my Mondays, a.k.a. book days. Number two, self-care to the max to keep my energy high. It’s the energy that you bring to the time that you have that matters.
And number three, getting help, especially domestic help to free up more energy. So the question is, what do you need so that you can write your book? Do you need to delegate laundry to someone else for the next eight weeks or forever? Do you need to take over that spare bedroom and create a writing studio? A space that is yours with a door that shuts.
Do you need your beloved children to stop interrupting you during your writing hours? Whatever you need, I want you to make a scene about it. This doesn’t mean screaming and bellowing. This just means being firm and determined. Set your boundaries, set your schedule, let people know, let yourself know, this is happening for real.
Go all in with your book. You have to tell yourself, “I’m not trying to write a book. I am writing a book. I’m an author.” That’s the attitude that will enable you to get it done. And that’s your pep talk of the week, over and complete.
So now we’re moving into the part of the show where I give shout-outs to you. Listeners, clients, all you wonderful people in this magnificent business community. And today, I want to give a shout-out to KD.
KD gave me a five-star review on Stitcher and KD wrote, “The best way to start your week. I look forward to Monday mornings because I know I’m going to get a healthy dose of butt-kicking inspo from Susan Hyatt and her guests on the Rich Coach Club podcast. What a great way to start the week, and Susan’s sense of humor and down to earth delivery make me feel like I’m having a conversation with one of my best friends. Highly recommended.”
Oh my gosh, thank you KD. And hey, if you have something to say about this podcast, why don’t you go ahead and drop us an email? Support@shyatt.com. You can tag me on social media, or you can leave a five-star review on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts. That’s my shout-out for today. Thank you for the love. I love you right back.
And hey, here’s one more inspirational nugget for you today. If you run a business and you want to write a book and you’re a parent and it can feel like a really challenging juggling act to make it all happen, remember you’re not on this path alone. You’re walking in the footsteps of many amazing women who come before you.
Women who are authors and moms, women who find a way to make both happen. Women like Toni Morrison, Anne Lamott, J.K. Rowling, Nora Roberts, who has written 225 romance novels. What? These women prove that it’s possible to give birth to kids and give birth to books. Both are possible. You can find a way. There is always a way.
Thank you for listening to today’s episode. I hope you’re enjoying this special series. And our next episode is all about how I put together my marketing plan and pulled off a successful book launch. In terms of promoting and selling my book, there were certain things that I decided not to do, and next week I’ll explain why I made those decisions. You get a backstage peek. More on that next week. See you there.
Thank you for listening to Susan Hyatt's Rich Coach Club. If you enjoyed today's show, please head over to shyattagency.wpengine.com/cash where you'll find my brand-new money magazine. Now listen, we designed this magazine to be entertaining, educational, and help you make serious bank.
So you can download the magazine, there’s a money quiz inside, there’s an interview with one of my favorite clients who went from making no money and being served eviction papers, to making over six figures in a very short amount of time. So the magazine includes that feature, lots of resources to help you do it, lots of resources about creating wealth and investing money.
It’s pretty robust, y’all. So head over to shyattagency.wpengine.com/cash to get that magazine. And you’ll also find a link to join my free Facebook community, especially for coaches called Rich Coach Club. So bring your coaching practice and your income to the next level at shyattagency.wpengine.com. See you next week.
