How I wrote a book about work while working a full-time job
With difficulty, is the answer to the question I've been asked a few times recently!
I have written a book! It’s not available to read until August, but when that time comes around, you should definitely read it. Also, you should pre-order it now, because that tells people and algorithms that people want to read it, which is a big help.
But today’s newsletter is not about convincing you all to read said book (I’m sure I’ll attempt this multiple other times). Instead, it’s about a work angle on a work book, and an answer to a question I’ve received a few times since announcing the book. That question is: ‘but how did you write a book while working a full-time job?’.
My usual answer when I’m asked this question in person is: “with great difficulty!”. But I realise some people might actually want a proper answer or perhaps some tips, so that’s what this newsletter shall be. Here are some steps I took that I would recommend, and some things that I definitely should have done and did not do. Hopefully if anyone reading this is trying to figure out how they can do a personal project while continuing full-time employment, they can take the good bits of my approach and learn from my fuckups.
So, let’s get into it. How did I write a book while also working a full-time job?
I booked in writing weeks
In 2024 a significant portion of my annual leave was dedicated to Working On Purpose the book. First, I booked off a week in February to get the full proposal done and dusted. Then I booked a smattering of days over the next few months for interviewing case studies and experts and writing. Then I booked in another full week off work in July where I had nowhere to go and so went to various cafes around London to drink matcha lattes and force myself to work on a chapter.
I would definitely recommend the full, chunky weeks off, which I found immensely helpful. The random days off were less helpful, I think because I put too much pressure on myself to be brilliant on a specific day and then when I wasn’t, or didn’t get as much done as I hoped, I’d spiral, whereas a full week off gave me space to have a shit morning because hey, I still had more days to go. Also, I find that people respect a week-long OOO more than they do a day’s one. I kept getting Teams messages on single days off and then getting sucked back in.
But I also booked time off not to write
I was tempted to use all of my annual leave for book-writing, but everyone in my life said that was a stupid idea and they were right. You need proper rest otherwise you’ll go mad. I’ll be real, I didn’t do a lot of big fun travel in 2024, but I did just enough to not have a breakdown. Whatever you’re working on, I would advise you use some of your holiday to actually have a holiday.
I was forced into planning
I don’t know if this is still the case for kids at school, but back in my day teachers used to really be on you about taking the time to plan your work. We were supposed to plan out our essays before we started writing, plan out stories we were creating, yadda yadda. Sometimes they’d ask to see your plan along with your actual homework, to show that you did it correctly.
Confession: I never planned anything. I faked it every time. Sometimes I’d scribble a pretend plan after I’d written an essay just to appease whoever was marking it. Now, too, when I write an article, I’m not really a planner. I usually speak to lots of experts and case studies, make notes all over the place, but then won’t have a clear view of the format and structure until I start writing (sometimes directly into the CMS, which is a bad habit that no one should pick up).
Writing a non-fiction book does not allow for this style of working. In order to get a deal (ie. someone promising to give you some money in exchange for you actually writing a book) you need to write a proposal, which breaks down a plan for each and every single one of your book’s chapters. I did this over a few weeks early last year and while at the time it felt rubbish (can’t you just trust that the book I write will be good? no?), when it came time to actually write the full manuscript, I was so, so grateful for that detailed proposal. Most of the work had already been done by past me! I just had to fill in the gaps and do what I had said I would. I’m still not a planning convert, but in this particular instance, planning was good.
I made weekends Working On Purpose time
A lot of people did not approve of me doing work at the weekends. I understand the logic; the weekends are for rest, you should keep them for fun, blah blah blah. But look; I had a deadline I needed to hit and I had to find the time to write somewhere. The weekend offered two days a week just for that. I said no to a lot of weekend invites so that I could spend at least a few hours on Saturdays and Sundays to work on the book.
I didn’t wake up early
Every week I told myself I’d wake up an hour early to write before my work day started. Every single day, the snooze button won out. I felt a lot of guilt and shame for this. But I was obviously tired! And on the few times when I did manage to wake up 40 minutes early, I took too long to get into writing to actually be able to get anything done before I had to pack up and leave. Silly! For some people, waking up early and crafting away in the morning pre-work is a great way to pack in windows of work. But you don’t have to do it this way. And if, like me, you tend to be more productive in the evenings, you probably shouldn’t.
I didn’t write on my lunch breaks
I’ve spoken to writers before who are very impressive in that on their lunch break they leave their desk, go somewhere else, and write for exactly an hour, then come back to work as normal. I can’t do that. I knew I would find it stressful and that my day job often requires shifting a lunch break around or interrupting time away from my desk to answer urgent questions. So: I gave up and just let myself say that between the hours of 9am and 5pm, I wasn’t in Working On Purpose mode.
I never wrote on my work laptop
A word of warning I have given to many people over the years: never, ever do personal projects or work that’s outside of your primary employment on time or equipment that your employer has paid for. I say this for legal reasons (a lot of the time, all work you produce during working hours or on your workplace’s equipment belongs to them, even if you do it in Google Docs etc) but also for boundary-related reasons. Writing about work while working in a job that involves a lot of writing (and often writing about work!) means it’s very easy for everything to get smushed and blurry. So I needed to have really solid boundaries between the two work worlds, and having different laptops for each one was an easy way to do that. It did mean that when I went up North to my partner’s parents’ house I had to take both laptops with me, but the added baggage weight was worth it.
I was really strict on those boundaries in other ways, too
People who work at Stylist will have likely grown very tired of me saying “let me just put my Working On Purpose hat on”. But I needed to do that, and still do, as a really clear demarcator for myself. I needed to very clearly know when I was in Stylist mode versus Working On Purpose mode versus any other mode. Another way these boundaries were clearly marked: when I did my timeblocking for the week, I had one colour for Working On Purpose and one for Stylist (and one for fiction, and one for relaxation, and one for admin/essentials). I still do this and it’s oddly helpful.
I completely failed my fiction writing goals
Along with Working On Purpose and my job at Stylist, I also had a lofty fiction goal for 2024. My deadline for the first draft of Working On Purpose was the 1st of November and I told myself I’d complete the first draft of a novel by December 31st, too. That, obviously, was a ridiculous goal to have. I had to give myself permission to put the fiction goal on pause. One full-time job and a book is enough. No one should attempt a full-time job and two books. This is a lesson I need to write out despite it being obvious to everyone else, because I still feel like a failure for not managing to accomplish my target.
I plotted in relaxation time
I’ve mentioned timeblocking above. That has been hugely helpful over the last year, and not in the ‘here’s how I’ll optimise every waking moment’ way I anticipated. I looked at the layout of my week in its colour-blocked half-hour windows and assessed the balance. As much as I knew I needed a lot of time for writing Working On Purpose, I also recognised that I needed time that was spent neither working on the book, working on my main job at Stylist, or doing domestic work like tidying the house or sending emails. I needed a good chunk of time to rest, relax, and do fun stuff. Everyone needs this. Scheduling it in helps you treat this carved out dedication of time with proper respect.
I accepted I’d be shit in other areas for a while
I did not go to the gym one single time in 2024. I did no woodworking. I didn’t read many books at all. I was probably also not a great friend or partner. I gave myself permission to give up on a lot of other things that I really value because I knew it was a temporary refocusing of my energy. I’m very into the idea of living in seasons, and I wanted to view the months in 2024 as a work season, so I can come back to all the other stuff next season. I’m still in my work season at the moment (it’s a loooong season). Acknowledging this means I’m not beating myself up for still not having painted the stairway in the house.
I did a lot of it last-minute
The week before my deadline, I was still writing. I was very much down to the wire. I have learned that I need a deadline and that my productivity will absolutely speed up as I get closer to the finish line. I hated myself at the time – why was I so stupid? Why had I not started writing in the spring? – but it worked out. It’s worth sussing out if you work better last-minute or if you’re someone who can do stuff way in advance and then relax in smugness. There’s no ‘wrong’ way to be (but there probably is one that’s far less stressful).
I was honest and explicit
I told my bosses what I was up to at every step of the book writing process. I probably over-communicated. But I think this was better than leaving anything unspoken. I was writing a book about work… I wanted everyone to know that I wasn’t mining my colleagues and managers for content. Also, I didn’t want anything to come as a nasty surprise. I never, ever want to feel like I’m being sneaky. Clarity is key and I’d rather give everyone too much information than leave them wondering.
Working On Purpose, the book!
Quiet quitting, bare minimum Mondays, resenteeism, pointless meetings, toxic bosses, the anti-work movement, the great resignation, the death of the dream job, the death of the career. We're in a moment where our relationship with work is seriously negative. The dream of work-life balance feels further out of reach than ever. We're recovering from the damage wrought by the overworking ideals promoted by the leaning in, hustle culture, girl boss era, and desperately trying to claw back some sense of control by reclaiming our time, energy, and effort, each new buzzword giving us hope that we might be able to make work less miserable.
But each work trend, each attempt to restore the balance, is coming at the problem all wrong. We've lost any hope that work can be anything other than a pain, and so lean on productivity hacks and boundary-setting to at least stave off the looming wave of burnout. As a result, many of us teeter between working too hard or hardly working, burnout or boreout, productivity paranoia and total apathy. According to Gallup data, Gen Z are the most disengaged group at work. Ask a twenty-something for their perfect job and they're more than likely to respond that they don't dream of labour. Nobody wants to work anymore, the managers and boomers say. They're right; and fair enough. Who would want to work when we've defined work as inherently bleak?
How did we get here? And how do we get out?
Working On Purpose promises to not only reduce the misery of work, but instead to actually help us find joy in it. Covering topics from the generation gap and identifying what type of worker you are to the importance of how we use our non-work time, it will combine expertise and data with personal experience, case studies, practical exercises and work hacks to be the reference point for anyone who wants to make their work life better.
Work-related reading recs:
I commissioned and edited this so I’m biased, but I think it’s a must-read. It’s a first-person piece on just how destabilising it is to lose out on your dream job, along with expert advice on how to move on.
Interesting piece on the reality of driving a train as your job – spoiler: it’s not the cushy gig you probably imagine.
Good piece on the fears that continue to linger around AI use on the job
I wrote this feature on career enmeshment, a topic I also cover in the book!
Please don’t hire people based solely on vibes, but yes, ‘soft’ skills do matter…
This sounds soooo interesting! Would you say it's also aimed at people who work for themselves?
I never much needed to read this!