What Are You Doing With Your New Year?
As I’m once again catapulted into a new year, people ask if I have made any New Year’s resolutions. My usual response is: “No, I don’t believe in making things I know I’ll ultimately break.”
Fact: Only 8% of New Year’s Resolutions Succeed
Admit it. You’ve made resolutions at one time or another, and eventually, they fall by the wayside.
Instead, I’ve made some promises to myself. I believe a promise, especially to yourself holds more weight, more intention than a mere resolution. I, for one am much more likely to keep a promise than a resolution because a broken promise means the bane of any good Jewish girl’s existence; guilt. And there is no worse guilt than the guilt we inflict upon ourselves.
Several of the promises I’ve made to myself relate to my writing and the career path I embarked upon a little over three years ago. Though I have come a long ways since that fateful December day when I said good-bye to my co-workers…and a steady paycheck, there are things I learned as a deadline driven accountant which are still valuable today.
Tip 1: Hold Yourself Accountable
One of those things is accountability. I need to not only set goals, but hold myself accountable, but how? After much thought, I realized I needed metrics. In fact, according to an article Dan Diamond published in Forbes, New Year’s resolutions that do succeed are both measurable and specific. His findings are corroborated in several other articles as well.
It occurred to me, I keep time sheets for work performed for hourly clients, so why not a time sheet tracking work I do for myself?
I created a very simple spreadsheet with tasks down the left side, and days of the week (Sunday to Saturday) across the top. The boxes in between are meant for hours spent on each task. As I typically work at least 6 days out of 7 on something (or at least I should be!), I’ve set my initial goal at 6 hours per day.
My task list would baffle some as it includes things like studying and meditating. But then, those are essential to an artistic endeavor like writing. I get some of my best ideas during meditations, and without study, how can I improve my skills?
Tip 2: Allow Time for Professional Development
Any artist, and really, any person with goals must not only practice their art, but be open and ready to learn new things. I’ve yet to meet the person who truly knows it all. We can always learn new techniques, new skills and new tricks to make our best work even better.
Admittedly, I’ve gone off on a few dead end tangents over the last 3 years, but have finally come to the conclusion that I can and will create interesting and meaningful content for others while pursuing my creative writing career.
That is not to say you should buy every book or sign up for every course offered in your field. While you shouldn’t be afraid to dabble in a few things before finding your sweet spot, avoid going off in too many directions at once.
Early on, I signed up for half a dozen courses in copywriting, Virtual Assistance, blog writing, and even website development. I was soon overwhelmed and discouraged and ended up walking away from it all. Though I did learn a few things about what fit my personality, it’s taken time and backtracking to get back to those books and courses I need to move forward on my chosen paths.
Tip 3: Broaden Your Horizons
You’ll notice I said “paths” and not “path”. There are people who are perfectly content to do the same thing, day in and day out with no variation, no challenges, and no stress. Others of us would be bored to tears in that kind of lifestyle. If you are like me, a variety of tasks makes you better and brighter. Don’t be afraid to pursue more than one avenue. My only caution is to keep it to two or three at a time.
I learned one simple truth the hard way: two or three interests is variety. A dozen is chaos. In chaos, nothing is accomplished, and nothing you try to learn is retained. So start small and determine how much variety your brain can handle at a time. But also determine how much sameness is enough to keep you balanced rather than bored.
Tip 4: Start Networking Before You’re Ready
People typically start talking about their work only when they have the necessary infrastructure in place and feel confident in their ability to perform as promised. I disagree. In the first place, unless you’re the type who hits the ground running and sends out 100 cold pitches a week (more on cold pitching later), it’s going to take awhile for those relationships you begin to yield anything more than information. Secondly, that information is valuable! The more you learn about what people want and need, the better prepared you’ll be to hone the skills necessary to deliver.
Become known as someone who listens to others and values their concerns. Offer up others in your network if you see a need they might fill. The time you invest in doing for others will enhance your reputation and make you a go-to person long before your product or service hits he market. Think about how often you choose products or services based on your level of trust in the company or person who offers them.
Tip 5: Strategic Partners
Every product or service out there has complementary products and services. Web designers need content writers, graphic artists, photographers and more. And those same people need the web designers and each other. Growing businesses need administrative services such as bookkeepers and accountants, virtual assistants, customer service professionals, advertising specialists, and salespeople. Again, it goes both ways. In this age of virtual business, the traditional office is growing less and less important to a successful business. Connect with people who have services which complement yours. Get to know what they do, how they do it, and the quality of their work. Even give them a small taste of your work for nothing.
Most important, take every opportunity to share their name when someone asks about services in their field. But be cautious. There are many people out there who want services “on the cheap”. You won’t enhance your partnership by inundating your partners with work they don’t want. Sites like Fiverr and Upwork will happily fill the needs of those who don’t have the budget for your partner’s skills.
Interested in a Strategic Partnership?
Tip 6: Patience and Perseverance
If, like me, you break out in hives at the mere mention of cold pitching, you’re going to have to be patient while the seeds you sow take hold and begin to sprout. You have to keep feeding the relationships. You need to expand your skills. Above all, you need to pay attention to the market. Listen to people. Learn what worked for them and what didn’t, but most important, why it didn’t. What didn’t work for one person, might be a golden opportunity for you. You don’t have the exact same skill set, nor do you approach things in the same manner. Someone else’s failure could be just the right fit for one of those goals you set.
Be Your Unique and Special Self
I don’t claim to be wildly successful at this point in my new career. You won’t see me touting a course promising you a six figure lifestyle. What I do have is decades of life lessons which have taught me one thing: there is enough work out there for everyone. We can’t and won’t go after that work in exactly the same way, nor will we all go after the same things. We have to find the methods that work for us, the skills we most want to offer and the relationships which allow us to do what we love and make it our living too. In this ever-changing world where so much business is conducted in cyberspace, we must also be both flexible and willing to keep learning.
I leave you with these five final thoughts:
Make promises instead of resolutions.
Believe six impossible things before breakfast.
Love the life you’re making for yourself.
Step outside your comfort zone as often as you can.
Pay it Forward
Others are also musing on what works and what doesn’t. Check out what they’re saying:
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