Autumn Reflection on the Freelancing and Blogging Journey

As autumn nips at my heels, or should I say my rotten little dog, Jepetto, bites at my ankles…I have a moment of freelancer zen. The joy of entrepreneurship wafts through the cool air.

Now, this moment won’t last. In fact, it’s nearly over the minute I first typed that line. My teen reports that she heard a thump from the toddler’s room. I know the routine. My precious baby will destroy the toys I recently tidied, pass her pacifier through the crack under the door frame then eventually poop her pants, and bang on the door until I let her out.

So, I have a few minutes.

A few glorious minutes to semi-reflect on this gorgeous fall weather, the crunching of acorns under car tires and random squeals and barks of neighborhood strays. With all the activity on my street, it’s quite evident that no one is hunkering down for the winter yet.

Here’s the thing—I don’t often reflect on my accomplishments, except for that hurried hour each month that I run through analytics and administrative tasks. Most days I keep my head down, sloughing away at caregiving, household management, my part-time day job, and my writing business. However, this month I had a little more free time than normal, and I allowed myself to enjoy the small things that the freelancer life offers.

Small joys are hidden among the writing workload

• I spent a few mornings lounging in my bed until 7:30 am. Enjoying the calm before the storm.
• I snuggled my pup more.
• Plus there were nights that I fell asleep well before 10 pm and didn’t stress over not getting a blog post or other writing-related task completed.
• I took the time to breathe in the weather and reminded myself to be present in interactions with my children.
• Lastly, I worked in my yard and garden for a few hours without guilt.

After spending every month this year engrossed in my business, it felt good to spend time finding joy in everyday moments and pleasure in the direction I’ve taken my life.

Even better, this month I adjusted to my business growth. This adjustment began by writing down a few processes that are client-specific and ended with me organizing my data. After many months of spending every spare minute working, I had research, half-started blog posts, guest post submissions, and a hundred other writing and business-related data strewn across my devices.

So here’s a small list, out of many other things I’ve long forgotten about, that I knocked out this month.

Freelancing and Blogging non-writing tasks 

• Cleared out several email accounts and created new files for emails I need to reference.
• Brainstormed with my buddy over a future website that’s been “in the works” for nearly two years now.
• Wrote down my process lists and organized my client files.
• Hammered out my hours in a productive manner using Toggl for time management.
• Worked on my website. Learned how to upkeep and navigate it more efficiently, thanks to Sarah at XeraSupport.
• Began to adapt to Gutenberg.
• Finally, I input my password list into a protected document that I can easily access.
• Ah, I can’t forget about the two tons of research. Honestly, I never thought I’d tire of discovering new information, but this blogging, keyword research, and search engine optimization is a real buzz killer some days.

Along with getting everything organized, I logged around 51 hours of client work for the month.

Now, I’m not making light of all the work ahead of me. My lists and overflowing notebooks are a constant reminder. As I look forward to the remaining three months, I hope to accomplish and grow even more.

Jessica’s Blogging goals 

As both a freelancer and blogger, I struggle to find balance with my time. Is there even such a thing? However, with much of the background work completed and organized, I look forward to spending a little more time playing with my blog. For accountability purposes, I’m including a few things I’d like to get done before the year’s end.

• A consistent twice a month blogging schedule.
• Upload my blog freebie (but first I need to use it to update my accounts).
• Up my Pinterest game.
• Figure out my email marketing.
• Clean up old blog posts.

I feel like I should add something more data-related. That I should dive into analytics and aim for x-amount of viewers on my blog. But you know what? If I’ve found anything out in the blogger world, it’s that it’s okay to do it our own way.

Build your business, but don’t discount the value of a supportive tribe

Speaking of the blogger universe, my end of the month reflection certainly takes into consideration all of the support that I receive from bloggers across all niches.

Joining Twitter and finding writers from all walks of life added a great deal to my writing experience. Even when I’m underwater at home, swimming towards the top, not able to check my Twitter feed to see what all my pals are doing…

I jump back in, and everyone is still there, blogging away. Sharing encouragement, parenting pains, and funny quips.

Knowing that I’m not alone in my freelancer and blogging journey is a good feeling.

So I’m ending September and beginning the fall season, with an optimistic spirit. Freelancers, bloggers, entrepreneurs, and small business owners all handle their strategies differently. Each of our journeys, whether you’re trying to build a personal brand, a business brand, or both, is unique.

However, it’s possible to share similarities because many of us are also caregivers. That’s a connection that extends across niches, ages, and location-specific boundaries. Throughout my writing journey, I’ve met lovely people, and I’m thankful for all the ways they motivate and encourage me and so many others.

Leave a note below or send me an email and tell me about the obstacles you faced in September and your plans to end your year on a positive note.

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