Slow Down & Reflect First

Regularly evaluating your progress and systems is like being your own coach in the game of life. Just as a coach watches over the team, guides them, and helps improve performance, self-evaluation plays a similar role in your personal and professional development. When you take the time to reflect on your progress, you are essentially reviewing your playbook. You get to see which plays are scoring you points and which ones need a little tweaking. This self-assessment not only highlights your achievements but also shines a light on areas that require attention.

Celebrating your successes is like cheering for your own team after a hard-fought victory. It boosts morale, keeps you motivated, and reminds you that all the effort you put in is worth it. On the other hand, learning from your failures is like studying game tapes to understand where things went wrong and how you can improve for the next match.

It just doesn't make sense to set goals before you've really reflected on the quarter you've had - especially as a creative freelancer. I call this my “freelancer audit” and it’s something I do after every calendar quarter.

First, identify the Quarter’s "YAY" Moments. As it suggests, this is about compiling a list of things that you're incredibly proud about - big or small, these could be the projects that you're just glad saw the light of day or the fact you hit 5k followers on socials. All that matters is that the outcome is important to YOU. You accomplished things last quarter, even if it doesn't feel like it. Celebrate them!

Next, think about this question - "what can I do to lean into these existing wins further next quarter?"

→ Is there a faster way to do this?

→ Can I turn this random opportunity into something more consistent?

→ How can my work reach even more people?

Do more of what works!

Secondly, recognise the rough spots. Whilst this is not about beating yourself up, there's no room for toxic positivity round here! You made some mistakes, there were things that you didn't follow through on and moments you didn't always give it your all. It's okay. Forgive yourself.

Definitely try to think of yourself holistically here. Reflect on:

→ your mental health

→ levels of motivation and discipline

→ the goals & targets you had set for the quarter

→ aspirations for self development

Take a moment to acknowledge what might have gone wrong, what lessons there might have been in them, and then move on. So, the next Q to consider - "what can you learn or take away from those experiences?"

It's easy to dwell, but you must move on.

Next, it’s time to grin about your growth. Between the wins and the losses, and the moments in between them both, you grew so much this quarter. Sure, growth isn't always linear but maybe a new branch of your "life plant" sprouted and perhaps you had a new leaf bloom...

So now take take your points from the first two steps, and write down how you GREW from them. That might be new skills learned, new habits built etc. Ask yourself - "how and in what ways did I grow last quarter?" Dig deep and you'll realise that you've evolved!

Finally, once you've spent some time looking backwards, it's time to start looking forward again.

A few questions to get you started:

→ What goals do I want to reach this 2024?

→ What habits and routines do I want to have?

→ What kind of person do I want to be?

→ How do I want to spend my time?

→ What kind of work do I want to do?

→ Which relationships do I want to nurture?

→ What do I want this next quarter to look like?

Always trust your gut here -  it'll tell you what's really important.