I don\u2019t know how I feel about new years\u2019 resolutions. There\u2019s something exciting and daunting about a whole new year, and the ability to use it to mix things up, set a new challenge or change direction completely. It\u2019s a good time to take stock, something about doing it in the cold\/dark\/rainy-ness of winter works well in my head, so that when spring comes you\u2019re ready with new plans. But I also know there\u2019s a trap I regularly fall into of declaring I\u2019m going to conquer everything, and risking myself up for a fall\/fail. So, I\u2019m attempting realistic and optimistic with my belated business new year commitments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of my commitments to myself when I started was weekly continuing professional development, in the broadest sense possible. So I\u2019ve been watching TED Talks, reading articles, logging onto online seminars, challenging my brain with books and doing some \u201clunch and learn\u201d sessions. They\u2019ve (mostly) been great and also mostly been free, which was also a pretty important criteria so far. I think the most I\u2019ve paid is \u00a325 for a session (thank you non-profit sector). But I\u2019ve been stewing on some \u201cproper\u201d CPD options for a while now, and by proper I mean many weeks worth of sessions and additional study time, as well as fairly reasonable money. It\u2019s a whole different ballgame signing up for something when it comes straight out of your own account! But I feel like I\u2019ve earnt this investment in myself, and I\u2019m feeling really excited about the one I\u2019ve picked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I remember hearing someone say that they wished when they had started out that they\u2019d spent more time working on their business, than for their business, and it really stuck with me. Especially lately when I\u2019ve been throwing all the hours I\u2019ve had (and a few more) just checking the work done, it\u2019s made me realise I hadn\u2019t had any time to any kind of longer-term thinking \u2013 what kind of work do I want to be doing, how do I want to work with, what are my goals? I\u2019ve heard good things from a few people about working with a coach and I think it\u2019s making it to my new year commitments list. I\u2019d like to try working with someone completely objective and independent to explore what the future could hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other than the odd meeting or running events, I\u2019ve been completely home-based so far. Not a coffee shop in sight. I think the lack of coffee shops is understandable given the noise\/interruptions\/need to buy who-knows-how-much-coffee\/worry about overstaying my welcome, but there are specific co-working spaces. Local to me is at least one well known one that offers a range of meeting rooms, desk options, free coffee and office dogs. I like the idea of mixing up my location every now and then for a change of scene and a bit of a motivation boost, as well as potentially expanding my local network of contacts. I\u2019m not sure I can justify\/want to spend out on a full membership option just yet but it\u2019s on the list to give it a try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve loved getting involved with other freelances for \u201cnon-team team meetings\u201d, bids, general chats and exchanges of ideas\/expertise. I\u2019ve clocked that there\u2019s at least one active learning set being run and I\u2019m really interested in what it can offer \u2013 a bit more structure than the one-off chat exchanges, deeper reflection and a very practical way to resolve (and support) particular issues. When I\u2019m a bit freer, my plan is to see if anyone\u2019s interested in joining me to create a new one that meets regularly for some peer support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It had to make the list I guess. When I started I was so disciplined. I had lists of work I\u2019d gone for, dates, sources, outcomes and feedback, my cashflow was meticulous, and my filing system for resources, articles and inspiration was beautifully structured. Now it\u2019s\u2026\u2026slightly different. Not quite chaotic but not exactly in order. I need some quality time to tidy out inboxes, update spreadsheets, reorganise filing, shred documents and empty out a drawer (possibly several).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have not taken anywhere near enough holiday so far. I\u2019ve been freelancing now for 9 months and in that time I\u2019ve had a week abroad (wall-to-wall family sickness), a long weekend abroad with just my husband (phenomenal) and three weeks at Christmas that turned into less than two weeks because of more wall-to-wall family illness. It\u2019s definitely not been enough in 9 months of this rollercoaster. So here\u2019s to at least 2 weeks for Easter and at least 2 weeks in summer, minimum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Will they change the world? No. But will they change my world? Hopefully. Here\u2019s to regaining some balance, re-imposing some structure and developing some plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Photo by lucas wesney<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I don\u2019t know how I feel about new years\u2019 resolutions. There\u2019s something exciting and daunting about a whole new year, and the ability to use it to mix things up, set a new challenge or change direction completely. It\u2019s a good time to take stock, something about doing it in the cold\/dark\/rainy-ness of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[38],"tags":[13,11,12,21,25,10],"class_list":["post-335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-development","tag-charity","tag-consultant","tag-freelance","tag-non-profit","tag-self-employment","tag-start-up-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t