The 30-Minute System I Use to Write Daily Emails Without Burnout

I spent 30 minutes a day writing a daily newsletter. I wrote this short edition after walking the kids to Summer camp.

I usually find an interesting story on a site like the Drudge Report or on X and write about it.

Today, I stumbled across a fun story about OpenAI founder Sam Altman. He’s looking into a doomsday bunker. He said:

“I have been thinking actually that I should do a good version of one of those but I don’t have what I would call a bunker - but it has been on my mind. Not because of AI but just because, like, people are dropping bombs in the world again.”

That’d make for a good subject line like “Why This AI Founder Wants a Bunker (Plot Twist Inside)”

Even if I don’t use an interesting story like this immediately, I’ll pop it into my note-taking app so I can find it when I figure out a better angle.

On other days, I’ll document a project I’m working on for my business, like the Prompt Writing Studio (my AI course for business owners).

Or, I’ll share some new content, such as a YouTube video tutorial.

I’ve a mortal fear of the blank page, so I usually work on a few ideas during a single writing session.

I keep all of these ideas in a folder of Markdown files that syncs between my computer and laptop via iCloud.

I’ve thousands of notes in this folder (not all newsletters.)

I write my newsletter in a barebones Mac app called the Archive.

It’s great for Markdown, and I can preview the results using another app called Marked.

When I’m happy with the newsletter, I copy the formatted version to Google Docs. I run it through Grammarly for errors and drop the link on a Trello board.

An assistant, who manages the board, schedules my newsletters in Kit.

I could do this myself, but not having to log into a SaaS reduces the friction between ideation and publishing.

I usually work one to two days ahead.

I tried going further out, but hyper-scheduled content loses its sense of immediacy.

I also prefer treating writing like a practice and not a content production line.

That’s just one reason why I don’t rely heavily on AI to ideate and write.

If I’ve more time, I’ll take ideas from the newsletter and turn them into content for Substack or LinkedIn.

I coded a Claude project that helps me strip down longer newsletters for my socials.

(I’m good with using AI for repurposing!)

For a while, I was manic about scheduling daily on my socials using Buffer.

Now, I just post on my preferred platform after writing for 30-60 minutes.

If I miss a day on social, so be it.

I can see the value of growing on one or two platforms, but I don’t chase the algo on any of them. Chasing vanity metrics is a surefire way to burn out.

Frankly, I’d rather get 10 email subscribers over a hundred new followers.

I also can’t control how the algo works.

I can, however, control the growth of my list, what I write for readers, and the offers I present.

If I do that, I usually have more content for my socials too. For kicks, I totalled up my word count from the past 18 months of newsletters. I clocked in over 150,000 words, which is enough for 2-3 books. And all from 30 minutes a day.

You can do this too.

Open a notes app, set a 30-minute timer, and write about one client problem you solved this week. Add an offer. And hit send.

No fancy systems or intensive writing retreats required!

If you need more help, this week I opened up the Newsletter Operator Bundle.

It contains everything you need to start, grow, and monetize your newsletter. The bundle is only open for a few days, though.

Check it out here​