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For the entire month of August, I worked 14-hour days: I blogged, did essay rewrites, researched and interviewed up a storm for several story assignments, and proofread direct mail copy.

The only thing missing was the self-marketing, which is why — as I finish up a ton of projects — I have nothing new on the horizon (nothing concrete, anyway).

No matter how much talent you have, you won’t succeed without a business-side sensibility. So. How can I get it all done? After the jump, the way my days should run:

7:30 a.m.: I wake up effortlessly with the rising sun and, straight off, brush my teeth, feed the cats, and shower. I put on an outfit that is comfortable yet still appropriate for any surprise visits from the UPS Man. Then, I dive into my daily blogging for Nerve.com, with a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice at my side. This is the work with the most immediate deadline, so I like to get it out of the way. Afterwards, I throw up a Freelancedom post that manages to be both groundbreaking and typo-free.  I finish by 10 a.m.

What actually happens: My eyes open with the rising sun, and I consider getting out of bed. This proves too daunting, and so I linger for an additional 30-60 minutes.  Finally, I get my ass out of bed, brush my teeth, and feed the cats. There’s no time for a shower, because I need to quickly throw some blog posts up. Unfortunately, I have no idea what to blog about, so I spend about an hour reading new e-mails, scanning through my Google Reader, and catching up on my Twitter feed. When this fails to yield any post ideas, I play around with StumbleUpon. A pot of coffee gets me through the morning and, if I’m lucky, I shower by noon.

10 a.m.: I scan through the to-do list I wrote up the night before and give myself blocks of time to complete several tasks for each project. I break at noon to fix myself a sandwich, and then take a half hour walk through the neighborhood. The fresh air and natural light rejuvenate me for the coming afternoon.

What actually happens: It’s noon and — fingers crossed — I’m done with my daily blogging. Lunch time! I heat up a microwave meal and eat it in front of the TV. I have Project Runway and So You Think You Can Dance DVRd, and I’m eager to find out what happened with my favorite contestants.  If I’ve already gone through my DVRd programs, I watch HGTV. This makes me want to shop and/or redecorate, so I spend some additional time looking at kitchen islands and country-style desks online.

1 p.m.: It’s time to drum up some new work. I open an excel spreadsheet that contains all of my story ideas, in addition to the publications I’m considering pitching them to. I knock out a bunch of new pitches, or devote some time to a personal essay. After a couple of hours, I switch gears and get to work on the ebook I’ve been developing. I’ve recently decided that I should develop a book proposal first, and see if an agent is interested. I want to get the proposal out by the end of the month. I wrap things up at 5, so that I can get started on dinner.

What actually happens: It’s time to get to work on all of the writing, researching, interviewing, etc. that I didn’t get to before lunch. This manages to take up the rest of the day and, when my husband rolls in at about 6 p.m., I’ve neither sent out any new pitches nor started on dinner. I’m also frustrated that — once again — I’ve had no time to work on my ebook.

8 p.m.: We’ve eaten dinner together, caught up on both our days and our DVRd shows, and are eager to get in a couple more hours of work before hitting the sack. While Michael pulls up to his desk to work on some freelance web development projects, I retreat to the bedroom with my laptop, where I make headway on my career coaching certification program. At 10 p.m. (shut up; I’m old), I turn off the lights and get a good night’s sleep.

What actually happens: We’ve eaten dinner together, caught up on both our days and our DVRd shows, and…have lost all forward momentum. We pop in the latest disc from Netflix and veg out for the rest of the evening. We eventually crawl into bed at about 11 p.m. He falls asleep immediately (I can hear him snoring), but I toss and turn for hours, thinking about all of the work I didn’t get done.

So, basically? Break your days up into blocks of time dedicated to urgent work, ongoing projects, self-marketing, and future plans. And be sure to save some time for food, fresh air, and loved ones. Easy, right?

Ha!

Related: Resource Roundup: 4 Time Management Applications

I start out the day blogging…searching for new products, combing through stock photography, attempting to be clever despite the fact that I haven’t yet had my morning coffee, and I’m still wearing my Cookie Monster pants. I break for lunch and then work on Freelancedom other  (paying) freelance projects. By the time my husband arrives home from work, I’m wiped out, but I’m still scanning my Google Reader and stockpiling posts. No matter. Now that he’s not at the office, he can work on freelance web design projects, complete homework for his online courses, and fiddle with his own personal projects. When will we spent time together? Saturday? Maybe?

Forget remembering to take a vacation. It’s enough of a struggle just to remember those day-to-day priorities. What should you make sure to put at the top of your to-do list?

Eat:

It’s tough to remember to pour my Rice Kirispies With Real Strawberries every morning, especially when I’m trying to get at least five blog posts in before the afternoon. And once lunch comes…well…it’s usually a very late lunch. As for dinner, who has time for that when you’re both still working?

Not cool, guys. When I first left my full-time job, I was interning at Nerve, working night shifts at the New York Sun, and taking on additional projects on the side. I stopped exercising, and the bulk of my meals came from a vending machine (coffee was also a huge part of my life, used as a means to stave off the hunger). I quickly gained 25 pounds and now, though I’ve started cooking meals again, and have started walking and hooping regularly, it’s proved impossible to get those pounds off. And let’s not even talk about the low energy levels and irritability I was experiencing.

When you “risk it all” to start your own, at-home business, you’re not supposed to be risking your health as well. Remember to eat all three main meals. And string cheese doesn’t count as a meal.

Sleep:

I’ve posted several times about making sure to wake up in the morning, as if you were headed out to a typical office job (here and here), but this rule was made under the assumption that you’re getting to bed at a decent hour. When I first started working from home (around the same time that the hubby’s web design business really started picking up), the two of us would end up at our computers late into the night, back to back, unwilling to turn off the lights before absolutely everything was complete.

I’ve recently started instituting an 11 p.m. curfew, which is still a ridiculous hour to be working at, but it helps. We’ve also discussed scheduling which days we would work past normal business hours, as a means to allow more time for each other, let alone sleep.

How many hours do you need in order to function properly? I need 9. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Making sure I get my optimal amount ensures that the work I do once I wake up is of a higher quality.

Breathe:

This means allowing for Me Time. For me, that means taking my lunch break in front of the TV. Or spending a few evenings a week relaxing with a book or magazine. Or fitting in my daily walks and sporthooping. Or going out on a date, or a girls’ night out. Didn’t we all leave our jobs in order to create the career that would fir into our ideal lifestyle? How did we end up as bigger taskmasters than our former psychotic bosses!? Type of a list of the things you would do if only you had the time. Then, for the love of god, make time for it.

I suppose this means I should finally bite the bullet and go hang gliding.

Bond:

Just as important (I suppose) as Me Time is the time you set aside for your friends and family. For example, I hoop every evening with my mom (yes, we hula hoop in her backyard together; people probably think we’re nuts), and do evening walks and weekly date nights with my husband. Couple Nights are harder to come by, but we try! I swear! If you’re always busy when your loved ones call, eventually, one-by-one, they’ll drop out of your life. Without your even noticing it. God, don’t make me tear up.

What have you been struggling with fitting into your schedule?

Okay, so this isn’t the prettiest clock on the block, but it is one of the most customizable:

Schedule your tasks of the day on this dry-erase board based on when you want to do them. A nifty concept, no? You can find it here for a trillion dollars (okay, $246).