Preparing a PhD proposal while working full time

I am planning to undertake a PhD in English literature in autumn 2024, and as such I am currently preparing a research proposal. I am also working full time, in a job that has nothing to do with my research topic or literature in general (I have not been in academia since completing my master's almost a decade ago). I recently had a call with a prospective supervisor, who was very enthusiastic about the proposed project and advised me to read as much as possible to strengthen my proposal. I am already reading a lot (the author's works, biographies of him, works by his contemporaries, academic literature, etc.) but I am concerned that I should be doing more. It feels very challenging to fit in any additional time for reading and research alongside my job and the general demands of life, but I also want to make sure I have a strong proposal to maximise my chances of securing funding. I would be interested to hear if anyone else is or has been in this position, and how you balanced preparing a proposal with other life commitments. It would also be useful to get a sense of approximately how many hours one should dedicate to preparing a proposal, though I appreciate that's very much a "how long is a piece of string" question! Any advice would be appreciated.

https://thesiswhisperer.com/2016/08/24/how-to-get-into-a-phd-program-2/ might be a useful resource.

One thing I would really recommend is actually logging into the portal for your funding application as soon as it is opened and looking at the way their form is structured to make sure you're application is actually answering the right questions. Usually the portals open around October, and you may also be able to access a document providing guidance on exactly how the consortium wants you to answer each question. I didn't do this the first time I applied and really regreted it. I logged into the portal last minute and realised I needed to format my application in an entirely different way to how I had for my application to the university itself, and wasted a lot of time here. I'd also recommend getting your application off to the university itself as soon as you can - admissions for actual PhD places aren't as competative as the funding applications, so you want to be putting more attention into the funding application.

It's a research proposal, not a research piece and you've either got a good research question or you haven't. So don't over think it. Once you've read a few books (3 or 4) around the subject and your research question holds good and still seems worth exploring, then just put the proposal together, which is just a paper about the logistics of the future research. Once you've read a few books, it's a weekend's work. Put it via your proposed Supervisor first to get feedback, but the question is at the core, and if that is good and the logistics work, you are done. There's only so much 'strength' you can put into a proposal. Remember, there's a greater than 50% chance you will change something substantial in the first year of your PhD anyway.