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It’s a very strange time of the year for me. Not just for the obvious reasons, but also because under normal circumstances, I’d be setting my goals for the coming year right now.
It’s the end of the fiscal year here in the UK and it’s when I’d usually be reflecting on the previous year and thinking about plans for the next one. Given that I’m currently struggling to make plans for what I’m going to eat for dinner, it goes without saying that I’m not setting any goals right now.
Having nothing to aim towards feels really alien to me. It’s something I’ve been actively trying to avoid. When I first started freelancing, I struggled with feeling like my work wasn’t going anywhere. I’d take on any project that came my way without any direction – a jack of all freelance trades.
I soon came to realise that in order to give direction to my freelancing, I needed a central peg from which to hang all my work. Over the last few months, I felt that I’d finally cracked what my peg was and that I was really clear on what kinds of projects I would start saying yes to. With that clarity of purpose, I was super excited about taking on ambitious new projects, including publishing exciting content in this newsletter and generally taking a few work risks.
And now those plans are on hold and once again, I’m a jack of all trades. Over the last week, I’ve actively shifted into what I’m calling safety mode. Whereas before, when a potential project would come in, I would evaluate whether it fit with my overall business mission, now I’m looking at it with different priorities in mind. And I’ll be candid, those priorities are simply whether the work pays well and on time.
What this means in practice is that I’m pitching fewer editorial pieces at the moment and instead focusing on higher-paying content marketing gigs. I’m also trying to work with past clients who I know pay promptly and with whom I have a good working relationship. I’ve shelved all of the ambitious projects and retreated back into my comfort zone.
Of course, I’m disappointed that I’ve needed to shift gears. As a freelancer, there is no promotion track; if you want to progress you have to set those goals yourself and push yourself to take risks. I don’t know about you but my appetite for risk right now is at an all-time low so that can’t happen. Instead, I’m seeking any semblance of safety. I’ve tried to make peace with having to let go of past plans. The way I see it now is that I have a new goal – do whether it takes to keep my freelancing safe.
The List
This week’s episode of the podcast was a really special one. We partnered with the School of Life to unpack the huge question of whether we can ever be truly free at work
If one podcast episode wasn’t enough for you, Tiffany and I were also on the Creative Rebels show this week as well. We came on to talk about what it’s like being freelance in this crisis, and ended up putting the world to rights with Adam and David
And lastly in podcast news, we’ve launched a Pateron for the podcast! In response to the coronavirus crisis, we've had to buy special remote recording equipment and software so we can continue to put out episodes as we believe now is a more important time than ever to talk about work. If you want to find out how you can support our work during this time, head over to Pateron to find out more.
The Sunday Scaries will be back on Instagram Live this Sunday. Tune in to chat with us about what’s on your mind this week
Usually this list is full of reading recommendations, but I’ll be honest – I’ve barely been able to read anything on the internet for weeks. Instead, I’ve devoured all the episodes of The Dog House on Channel 4, which is about rescue dogs finding their forever home
The Writerland newsletter is running a lovely project at the moment to help writers channel this time into their work. Check out this week’s post from them about their Flash Non-Fiction challenge.
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