Final Year-Quarter Freelance Freakout! How to Reassess, Redirect & Refresh
It’s usually about this point - halfway through October - that I become the epitome of a stressed cartoon character who’s jerking their shirt collar to side, steam billowing out, as I cry a big ‘yoinks!’ about everything I haven’t achieved with my year.
My days start to become plagued by a million questions: How is it October already? Where did the year go? Where the hell is my career going? What have I been doing with my life?
In an attempt to stem the all-out freakout my mind is desperately hinging on the verge of, I know I can’t bury my head in the sand and wallow. I’ve got to face things head-on. As soon as those irritating questions began to buzz around my head, I decided to devise a little plan to help me combat them.
If you’re one of those people like me, who begins to melt into a puddle of hopelessness as the end of the year looms, this one’s for you.
First Things First: Reassess
It is outrageously easy to get caught up in notions that we haven’t achieved enough - or anything at all.
I know I often get completely caught up in the ‘doing’ that I forget to take a moment and reflect, give myself any credit for my hard work, or acknowledge when something really good happens.
Freelance life is defined by the next project, the next pitch, the next commission; we’re always moving forwards. No matter what point of your freelance journey you’re at, it’s really easy to only focus on ‘next.’
Staving off the final quarter freakout requires a little bit of reassessing just how much you have achieved. I love the simplicity of how Robin Sharma breaks this down:
“Five little wins each day equals 150 wins in one month, equals 1800 wins in one year.”
Start by going back to Januaryand making a list of everything you achieved in each month. Absolutely anything counts here. Landed your first online article? Win! Pitched that website you’ve been longing to get published on? Win! Doubled the number of pitches you sent out in one month compared to the previous? WIN!
By the time you reach October, you’ll have a complete list of everything you’ve managed to achieve. I’m willing to bet there’s plenty you’ve forgotten about, lots to learn, and a whole lot of follow-ups you need to get on to as well!
Next: Redirect
Once you’ve got a list of everything you’ve achieved, it’s time to sit down and do a full audit check. The purpose of this is to help you decide where and how you need to redirect your efforts
Looking through your achievements, consider: where have you been getting published the most? What types of articles have been snapped up or commissioned? What pitch framework is working for you more? What clients are engaging with you? Who’s paying you, and who’s paying the highest rates?
You want to build a complete profile of everything you’re doing and who you’re doing it with. You’ll likely start to uncover some ‘dead wood’ in your portfolio. These might be websites you keep knocking on the door of that aren’t getting back to you (or paying you enough), flaky clients, and other odds and ends. You can safely store all those in the ‘archive’ file and redirect your attention to all the good stuff still on the table.
Finally: Refresh
I mean this one in the personal and professional sense.
Personal: Make sure you don’t let the freakout get to you. Take a day, two, or three to switch off entirely and go spend some time doing the things that make you feel good. As a freelancer who’s been pretty poor at work-life balance in the past, I know how easy it is to get dragged into the ’hustle’ and let self-care, mental health care, emotional care - all the care! - go out the window. Refresh your mind and body, so you’re ready to kick some freelance butt in the next couple of months!
Professional: Now you’ve done a pretty nice audit, take the time to think about where you need to refresh and tighten up. Is your pitch template still working? What new clients could you get on your radar? Do you need to reassess anything financially? Is this still working for you?
No matter how long or short you’ve been freelancing for, it’s rarely all roses, and these have been some hella tough times! When reflecting in this way, make sure you take a moment to honestly reflect on what a freelance career is giving you and make sure it’s giving more than it’s subtracting. Freelancing isn’t for everyone, so if you’ve given it your best shot and it’s not for you? Great.
Follow your gut and get back to what you love.
Bye Bye Freakout
Freakouts are rarely founded on reality and more about a build-up of all the other stuff that tries to bring us down: imposter syndrome, comparison fatigue, failing to acknowledge wins, and not giving ourselves time to grow.
If you’re getting that creeping feeling that you haven’t done enough, make sure you take the time to reassess, redirect and refresh.
