The new year is just around the corner. It is that time of the year to make New Year’s resolutions.
Well…
If I want to be truly honest with myself, I never actually fulfill any of my resolutions. Maybe that will change this year if I call them goals instead of resolutions. Maybe not, but it is worth a try.
Goal #1 – Use Time More Efficiently
As a freelancer, time is probably my most precious resource. When I don’t have projects to work on, time continues to flow, even though I have nothing useful to do with it. When I do have projects to work on, those projects compete for my available time, as do clients who pretty much always want projects completed yesterday.
In 2016 I am committed to using downtime more efficiently. There are plenty of ways that I can support my freelancing and support my future clients if I put in the appropriate effort. As for times when projects are pouring in, I would like to save time while still maintaining a high level of writing excellence.
Goal #2 – Build a Tool Portfolio
Between reading and writing, I spend hundreds, if not thousands, of hours each year improving my writing skills. Unfortunately, the ability to write well is only one important requirement for a freelance writer. In today’s market, you also need an electronic drawer full of content creation tools. I don’t have one.
My best tool after my keyboard and my brain is pretty much Yahoo search engine.
That is effectively like saying that my only way of watching movies is on my VCR. It works, technically, but it is very outdated and much less efficient than modern options.
Conveniently, this is one goal that I have already started working on. I’ve been compiling a list of useful tools and I am slowly beginning to practice with them. Hopefully, I’ll have a full set before the end of 2016.
Goal #3 – Write a Novel
As my guidance counselor told me in high school, you should always have a reach goal. She was talking about colleges, but the advice works more generally as well.
This particular goal may not even be as much of a stretch as it seems, either. At this point in my life I have already been published in three different short story anthologies and I am scheduled to be published in a fourth before the end of 2016. Moving from short stories to novels is challenging, but definitely within reach.
If I get the right inspiration and time, I will probably publish as an e-book. I’d love to publish a physical novel, but I consider that a future goal.
Your Goals?
Do any of these goals sound similar to your freelance goals in 2016? At Crowd Content, we’d love to hear about your 2016 freelance goals. Shout out in the comments section below.
Happy new year!