The other day I was talking to my mom and I said something about people being lazy. She then said that I used to say this when I was younger. Apparently it has been a long-time observation of mine that people don’t work as hard they think they do. Have you every wondered how some people seem to work steadily and things start rocking in rolling in their life. Other people seem to feel like they’re working hard and things just aren’t happening. By the way, this post will be a bit disjointed…but hopefully I will make some sense.
Now let’s be clear, sometimes you work hard and things just aren’t lining up for whatever reason. You may need to change your approach or your process in order to make things happen. But, sometimes your 100% isn’t 100% even if you don’t want to hear or admit that, it’s the truth…and it’s painful to hear.
Right Now
I’m having a conversation with myself about what is and isn’t working in the different parts of my life. This is not a comfortable conversation to have with yourself (myself) because you (I) have to be honest about your (my) role in creating the results that I’m getting right now.
I’ve spent the majority of this year getting used to my new career, my new pace of life, and socialization as a freelancer. I began freelancing as a result of my blogging experience, if you’re interested in starting a blog check out the following post. Right now I’m dealing with the following issues:
Failure vs. Success
One of the the realizations that I came to was that while I was doing certain things well…I wasn’t working hard enough. How do I know this? Because of how hard I used to work before. I worked like a crazy person before. I knew the ins and outs of everything that I was working on and I was so freaking focused and driven that I you could see the results of all of that focused action. I also supervised other people and knew the ins and outs of everything that their job entailed as well.
I believe that you will eventually see the results of sustained focused action over time. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some great results of some of my sustained actions…but…I’m not satisfied with what I’m doing right now.
What Worked This Year
- Pitching at conferences-I was able to grow my per project earnings substantially because of the conferences I attended. I am so happy that I was able to attend 3 conferences and speak at two.
- Saying Yes-I said yes to almost every opportunity that came my way. What did I have to lose? Saying yes helped me to: expand my professional and personal circle, discover new places, and actually survive this year working basically for myself.
- Being Selective-While I was saying yes to a ton of opportunities I said NO to things that would not serve me well.
- My Side Hustles-I absolutely love my 2 side hustles. I work 2 side hustles that I absolutely love. One hustle allows me to help people and the other allows me to feed people and myself. Both pay around $22 an hour, are super fun, and I work with great people. My two side hustles also pay me every other week which has helped stabilize my income as I get used to freelancing.
- Prioritizing myself and people in my life-I am so happy that I had a chance to visit my Grandma and other relatives as well as spend time with my friends. On a sad note, the spouse of relative of mine passed away a week after I returned from my trip to visit family (last week). I am so glad that I had the opportunity to spend time with the relative that was most directly affected by this tragedy.
What Didn’t Work This Year
These are hard to admit but I think that it’s helpful to me and to you to be aware of some of the mistakes that I made in order to avoid them and think of ways to manage these choices better. People may feel that I’m being hard on myself but if I’m not hard on myself who else will be?
- Didn’t Work Hard Enough-I am a hard worker by nature. I’ve worked since I was 16 years old and I will be the first to admit that I could have worked harder this year. I could have: pitched more and found more clients, side hustled more, and dug a little deeper. Not working hard enough also affected my debt repayment goals and income stability.
- My Blogs and Podcast-I love my blogs and my podcasts. One of my big goals for this year was to expand and grow my blogs which I HAVE….but, my blogs and podcasts have suffered because of the travel. My blogs and podcasts are my babies and I don’t want to allow distractions from helping me to achieve goals that I’ve set for them. Oh, you didn’t realize that I have 2 blogs and 2 podcasts? Yep, I’m not surprised by that and that’s going to change going into 2016.
- Managing The Uptick In My Workload-After conferences. I wasn’t set up to successfully manage the uptick in my workload after each conference. In fact, FinCon took almost 3 weeks to recover from (exhausted and lost my voice), the other trips took around 2 weeks each to recover from so I really struggled after each trip even though I managed to secure some great projects each time.
- Weight Management-I haven’t gained or lost any weight since about February when I returned from my trip. I’m actually absolutely fed up with the extra 20 pounds that I have on me and every time my belly jiggles when I walk I just want to scream. I am active and I eat really well but I have to exercise more. Pure and simple.
- Dating-I have met some super nice, really hot guys this year. However, they were a little young for me LOL. Traveling every three weeks for the past 3 months has been a huge distraction as well.
Setting Myself Up For Success
There are several things that I will be doing to set myself up for success next year. They are pretty straight forward but I learned the hard way when I didn’t get these things done this year. Here it goes.
- Work My Editorial Calendars-I have around 2 months of blog posts scheduled. I am not married to these posts, but I like to have a well thought out editorial calendar. I’ve been blogging since 2012 so I have an idea of what I want to write about when. It’s nice that I know what I’d like to write about but then I don’t get it done. I will be working relentlessly on my editorial calendar and writing as far ahead on my blog as I possibly can so that I am working offensively instead of defensively.
- Work My Podcast Editorial Calendar-I’ve actually recorded a ton of interviews this fall that need to be edited. I also was delayed in recording podcasts because I had laryngitis for a month. I’m fully recovered now but I’ve learned the following-have several episodes recorded in the event that I: lose my voice or don’t have a person to interview. Interviews that I’ve done and am in the process of scheduling: Mr. Money Mustache, Tess Vigeland, Lauren Bowling, Tonya Rapley and more! I can’t wait to share their wisdom and I will be recording episodes where I get a little “meta” with you.
- Fewer Trips-I’ve already looked at my schedule for 2016. I’m going to two, maybe three, big conferences and will visit my Grandma as well. Unless I’m getting paid, I probably won’t be going overseas either. If I go on a trip I will have at least 2 weeks of copy done on my blogs and at least 2-3 weeks worth of podcasts edited and scheduled prior to departure.
- Health-I will be running the Colfax 1/2 Marathon in May. I am not a runner…at all so I’ve slowly begun training and will begin running at the beginning of January.
I’m sure there are a couple of other things that I could include…but the post is long enough already. Being self-aware is a hard skill to learn. I don’t want to be too hard on myself, but I do want to be honest about my role in manifesting what I’m manifesting.
I should also mention that my long-term goal is not to freelance 100% in keeping with that goal I have to step up my game. That process has started now.
Are You Doing Your Best?
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Congrats on deciding to do a marathon! I hear you on setting yourself up for success, 2014/15 were high on the disaster level and its time to get success at the forefront. I’m focusing on meaningful for 2016. It sounds like you’ve been working like a trooper this year, try not to be too hard on yourself 🙂
Michelle, I’m only (only) going to do a half-marathon LOL! I think that having an actual goal and activity to work towards will help keep me focused which has been an issue. While 2015 has been pretty good, I have some very big goals for 2016 and I don’t want some of the mess that came with changing my life going into 2016. I need things to be a little smoother. I’ve been working…but I could have worked harder LOL!
I’m always impressed with people who keep an editorial schedule. I’ve tried but that method never worked very well for me. I knew you had two blogs but didn’t know you had two podcasts. Looks like some awesome people you have lined up! Good for you!
I have an editorial calendar but it gets switched around every week. It’s super helpful for those moments when I’m drawing a mental blank. I spend a lot of time thinking about a lot of random things so that’s helpful. By the time those posts hit my blog they’ve been on my mind for awhile. I just need to edit those podcasts LOL! They dropped some great wisdom and advice and I can’t wait to share it.
I know what you mean about “could’ve worked harder this year.” I feel like I could have too but blogging is a great way to meet your goals and keep yourself accountable. I’m working on my editorial calendar also. Hope you reach your 2016 goals and be kind to yourself!
I am now figuring out the best way to share some of my goals via my blog and working on the best way to keep myself accountable as I work towards my goals for 2016. Need to figure this out soon. Maybe I’m my own worst critic?
We are totally our own worst critics! Another goal added to my list: be nicer to myself! Haha.
I need to add that to my list too.
Michelle, well done on what went well and I’m sure you’d tackle what didn’t. Good luck with runnining a marathon – remember that this one is a ‘head game’. You need to be fit as well but whether you finish or not is up to your mental toughness.
Thanks Maria! I’m thankfully only running a 1/2 marathon but you’re right-it’s a head game. I’m working on setting myself up for success for 2016. Will keep you posted. Are you planning to run another race this year?
This is a great post! Sometimes it’s hard to be honest with yourself and call yourself out but it can really help you step up your game. It sounds like you made so much progress this year. What is your other podcast by the way? I only know about Girl Gone Frugal.
Chonce, sometimes I have to be honest with myself-even when it’s painful. My other podcast is about Colorado. I’ve recorded episodes but I haven’t launched it yet. I’ve made progress in most parts of my life except money. Now it’s time to focus on the money!!
I have an editorial calendar too, but I recently fell behind on updating it and I’ve gotten so off-track with my tasks since then. My goal for the rest of this week is to get caught up on that so I don’t loose track of my deadlines.
I’m finding that I consistently run about 2 weeks behind every time I go to a conference. I have a great calendar but I just have to hunker down and get it done.
Excellent post. I felt that 2015 was great, but part of me realizes that I could have worked a little more at my part time job. I also could have sacrificed my B-day trip (Had a blast though). I am already planning my 2016.
Thanks Jason. I had to drop some personal truth-I could have worked harder! I’ve reworked 2016 expectations and obligations so that I can rock my financial goals.
You’re reading my mind. I realized this last year, too. Thanks for dropping truth. Glad that you have part time hustles you enjoy that connect you with people. I want to do more of that this year!
I have a weird cycle. I’ll be really determined to churn out good stuff, focused and social for a chunk of time. Then the next month I get sensory overload and pull back. I realize I’ve done this since I started working, even at my 9 to 5 job.
I took the Myer’s Briggs personality test on a whim and the result matched this quirk to a T. I’m formulating a long post on it. Sooooooo, I feel you girl.
The traveling really exhausted me so by the end of the year I was just DONE! I also realized that I was working the wrong business model and had to make a huge shift in what I’m doing. I’m MUCH happier but all of these changes were a lot to work through. I do have super productive moments and then…not so much. I tend to work really well in 6 hour stretches-even at my old job. So, I just focus on cranking out good work for those 6 hours and then I rest and go at it again.