3 simple changes freed up 2 hours of my day. I’m no longer overworked and close my laptop at 5.30 p.m. guilt-free.

• Five years into his freelancing career, Matt Lillywhite was struggling with work-life balance.
• He started making small changes to his routine, which led him to form three key productivity habits.
• Having a fixed start to the workday and a dedicated admin slot helped him find time for rest.

I’d planned to log off once I’d sent my client an invoice. Dinner was heating while I stood in the kitchen, scrolling through my phone. A few minutes later, I thought about an email I’d sent the week before. I wondered why I hadn’t got a reply yet, and whether following up tomorrow would be too soon or already late.

I realized something had to change.

I started freelance writing around seven years ago. I sometimes publish articles on Medium and also offer paid 60-minute mentorship calls to upcoming writers.

For the first five years, I didn’t have much of a boundary between work and life. I’d squeeze as many tasks into my days as I could, and fall asleep thinking about conversations with clients.

I felt guilty about taking time to rest, which often led to burnout. After working a full day, I’d finish dinner and carry on answering emails, since I wasn’t content with what I’d achieved already. Opening my laptop “just for a minute” would turn into two hours of work when I was supposed to be relaxing. Weekends weren’t much different, as there was always some small task I’d convince myself to do.

Instead of trying to fix my tendency to overwork all at once, I made small, gradual adjustments and paid attention to what helped. After two years of working this way, I’ve identified three habits that have made the biggest difference to how I manage my time and energy.

1) I have client calls on set days of the week

I used to take mentorship calls with clients whenever there was space in my schedule. A Tuesday afternoon. A Thursday morning. I’d say yes, then spend the hours around it half-focused on my other tasks. Since it made the day feel chopped up, I’d end up feeling tired and dissatisfied with anything that I’d achieved.

I noticed the days I felt best were the ones without calls, as I could sit down and not rush my writing. So about 18 months ago, a friend suggested I change my calendar so calls could only happen on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and set my calendar link so those were the only options available.

Now, when someone asks for a call, I send them the link. If none of those days work, we keep things in email or book the next slot that does. I try to group the calls I do have close together and send any follow-ups or action items to clients straight after. When the last call ends, that part of the day is done, and on days without calls, I get to sit and focus on writing, instead of switching back and forth all day.

2) I start my workday at a fixed time

My old way of life was to open my laptop while making breakfast in the morning, even if I woke up early at 5 a.m. One email would turn into another, and by the time most people were just starting work at 9 a.m., I’d already been working for hours without really meaning to.

I noticed this was one of the reasons I’d feel worn down as the day progressed. My work had no clear start time, which made it hard to ever feel finished. A couple of years ago, after reading “Slow Productivity,” a book by the American author and academic Cal Newport about avoiding burnout, I decided work wouldn’t start before 8.30 a.m., no matter how early I woke up. After all, in the book, he says working more hours doesn’t always lead to better results.

Now my mornings stay separate. I make breakfast and go for a walk. When I eventually sit down to work, I’m relaxed and in a good headspace to be creative and get everything done.

3) I set aside a specific time for admin

I used to check my emails frequently throughout the day, whenever I had a spare couple of minutes. Even on the bus or while waiting for a flight. Each reply was quick, but it blurred the lines between time spent working and time spent relaxing.

The constant task switching was draining. After watching a YouTube video three years ago by the productivity creator Ali Abdaal about building a better work system, I was inspired to put email into one fixed block during the day. This is usually for an hour sometime between early and mid-afternoon, depending on my schedule.

Outside that block, my inbox stays closed, and my iPhone is set to “Do Not Disturb.” Since making this change, I’m no longer stopping mid-sentence to answer someone and then spending the next hour trying to get back into my writing. Knowing when I’ll handle my email admin has made it much easier to focus without feeling like I’m missing out on something.

These simple changes made a big difference

None of the changes I made were complicated to implement, which surprised me. They didn’t really require motivation or discipline, but they helped me organize my life in such a way that I was no longer tempted to overwork. Once the rules were in place, I wasn’t constantly asking myself whether I should answer an email or squeeze one more task in.

These days, I close my laptop at 5:30 p.m. and leave it where it is. My phone stays face down on the table. Most nights, I end the day by reading a chapter of a book and spending time with my fiancée. I’ve gained at least two hours of rest each day that I didn’t have before.

I’m sure I still don’t have the perfect work-life balance, but now, there’s a line between work and everything else. Unlike before, I’m satisfied with my work, I don’t feel guilty about rest, and I finally feel like I’ve taken back control of my life.

Do you have a story to share about reclaiming your work-life balance? Contact the editor, Charissa Cheong, at ccheong@businessinsider.com