Well, it’s the first day of 2012, so you know what that means…
You’ve got a clean slate. There are 364 days ahead of you, and they’re just waiting for you to do something with them. What do you plan to do?
Me? I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing. 2011 was a pretty good year, both personally and professionally, so I plan to build on what I accomplished during the last 365 days. I just plan to do things better.
My motto: work smarter, not harder.
I made a list of goals for 2012 that spans two hand-written college-ruled pages, but I won’t torture you with the list. I’m just going to summarize it in three sentences.
1. Be the Expert. I spent most of last year making others look good, and I intend to continue doing that this year — but to a lesser degree. If I have the knowledge and skills to make others look like pros, I really need to apply those same skills to make ME look like a pro. To that end, my relationship with content writing is all but ending. I still have a few private clients through content sites, so I will work with them, but my days of writing from the content pool are limited at best. I never close a door completely or burn a bridge (well, not ALL of them, anyway), but I don’t anticipate working with them nearly as much as I have in the past. I have three solid clients, and a handful of periodic clients. Between those and gigs I pick up here and there from job boards and bid sites, I should do okay, only working half the hours I worked last year.
2. Me Me Me. I’m going to make time for me this year. On average, I worked 96 hours a week last year. Ninety-six. I’m not doing that this year. This year I’m going to actually do things that don’t require an Internet connection. I might even, *gasp* date. Baby steps, though. Baby steps.
3. Indulge my passions. I have been a crafter since I was a kid. Crochet, jewelry making, plastic canvas, looming, needlework are all things I enjoy doing, but over the last few years I’ve stopped, with the exception being the jewelry, and even it has taken a back seat to other things. Well, this year, I’m going to reintroduce myself to those passions. Might even pick up a couple of new ones. We will see.
And that, ladies and gents, is how I plan to spend 2012. What big plans you do have?
The Classic Quill 
96 hours a week?! You are Super Woman! I like your resolutions and hope you can keep them! Sounds like you are going to have a very successful 2012 🙂
Hi Erica, thanks for commenting.
It didn’t really seem like 96 hours a week while it was happening, but a 12-14 hour day, 7 days a week was pretty typical for me. Now that I look back on it, I think I was nuts. But, to be fair, it usually didn’t feel like work, because I really love what I do. However, I no longer want to sacrifice other parts of my life, so I’m going to have to learn to work like a normal person. 🙂
Kim, excellent post – as always – but really, it is rather mind-boggling when we tally up the hours and the tasks we do on a daily basis in this “freelance” life, isn’t it? I totally agree with the motto to “work smarter, not harder.” Here’s to a productive and successful 2012 – in far fewer hours than 96 a week!! 😉
Thanks for the comments, K’Lee!
I’m probably still going to work 96 hours per week, if for no other reason than I don’t sit still well. But I plan to work on things I have to do and things I want to do. The 96 hours didn’t always feel like work, but I’m hoping that this year that will be even more so. 🙂
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