Can you believe that we are midway into 2013 already? Personally speaking it has so far been a hallmark year. Having overcome two major illnesses in the family, I certainly have a lot to be grateful for.
Had I continued working my banking job, now is the time when we’d be engaging in mid-year reviews with our immediate bosses. Taking cue from that I decided its time to chart out the hits and misses towards achieving the goals I had in mind when I became a full-time freelance writer earlier this year.
Here is an honest 360 degree assessment of my performance versus my goals.
My Hits
- Started my full-time freelancing writing career . The trials and tribulations are here for all to see through my many posts, but at the end of the day I still feel motivated to keep going. Stress has been replaced by challenges of finding continuous stream of work. But that can only be a good thing in my book!
- Started my blog at the end of last year. Completely clueless to begin with, I kept the blog private for the first few months before making it public in April . I can truly say that writing my blog and reading posts of other bloggers has been an enriching experience in every sense of the word. Also a big thanks to Nicole (Professionalslippers.com) who took the time to share a few tips with a nascent blogger.
- Registered the domain name for my writing venture to give my business an online identity.
- Started a Facebook page to share my progress with friends, most of whom are either too busy or too lazy to actually view my blog directly
- Got my visiting cards printed mostly to help me answer questions from acquaintances, family and friends on what is it exactly that I do.
- Developed content for Freelance Learner’s Program – A step by step guideline of how to venture into the world of freelance writing.
- Learned to market my skills using Facebook, WordPress and LinkedIn. Even tried print advertising. Created my own adverts.
- Got back to focussing on my fitness with regular workouts. Keeping in mind the health risks of freelancing, this was something that I paid particular attention to.
My Misses: Not surprisingly, these are mostly personal!
- I haven’t done as much cooking and baking as I would have liked to.
- I haven’t taken up any charity work. Contributing money is one part, but actually taking the time out to be somewhere to help others is something that I had planned but not initiated.
- To be very honest I have been dodging a precautionary medical check-up and I’m not sure if this item will get ticked off the list even at the end of the year.
I love this line from a Robert De Niro movie – Be careful what you ask for cookie, cause you just might get it! When I moved from a steady job to a freelance career, more than anything I was moving away from predictability. And there’s no two ways about it, I got more than the expected dose of ‘uncertainties’. But each day has been better than the previous, giving me new insight on how to handle my work better. I simply love the challenge of bagging a new client and completing an assignment successfully. It keeps my brain cells merrily ticking!
I urge you to jot down your hits and misses as well. Why wait another new year’s eve to realize that most of your important goals still stand un-actioned. Jot down your major goals for the next 6 months, be they professional or personally. I’d recommend a combination of both.
Here’s hoping that the second half of the year is even more successful than the first.
Happy second half 2013 folks!