After last month’s focus on Writing and creating this blog, plus all the other life happenings lately, I really felt like I had no choice but to declare this month’s focus to be Relax & Reflect.
Most Decembers, this mode seems to happen automatically and I've learned to keep the holiday season from getting too overwhelming and overbooked. With the extra stress of my mom’s health being up in the air, plus the ongoing stress of parenting through a pandemic, I know this is as good a season as any to take it easy and not push for a big project.
On top of resting, I’m using some of the extra white space I have in my schedule to reflect on 2021. This is usually something I dread doing, mostly because in my head I can’t keep track of accomplishments or things I’m proud of so I get this fear I will have done nothing this year. That’s never the case and usually once I start scrolling through my photos and Instagram, I remember all my accomplishments and things that worked out well for me and my business.
By the way, I hope you'll use this post as a reminder to take stock of your accomplishments this year. For many of us, it hasn't been an easy year and some days just getting up and dressed was an accomplishment. Congratulate yourself on continuing and getting to this point 😉
The year-end review for me also means taking stock of the things that didn’t go so well, but I know to reframe those as lessons to carry on into the new year and not dwell on disappointment for long.
Last December, I took part in a fantastic 2021 planning session with Janice Chaka from Introvert Media Lab. She sent out a reflection guide with prompts that included reflecting on the accomplishments of the year, as well as setting goals for 1 year and 5 years into the future beforehand. This was the first time I was really able to get a good bird’s eye view of my business. For the group session, we used those reflections and goals to plan out the next year for our business and I was so revved up for 2021 because of it.
But by the end of January, I realized that I was getting burnt out with marketing and hating it. I saw my carefully crafted Instagram and website copy get stolen by other podcast coaches, consultants, and editors, and repurposed for their own marketing efforts and branded as their own. I got bitter and resentful, especially when they didn’t even bother to change my branded hashtags sometimes 🙄
I wrote about this a lot more in my post Friends Over Followers.
My podcast editing roster was full and I'm so glad I worked with a coach when I started my business who helped me get very clear on my ideal clients. For me, if I'm working on a client's podcast, I know I need to be interested in the topic in order for me to be able to listen to it and edit it for hours. I count myself lucky I have some fantastic clients whose podcasts have all educated and inspired me!
I all but quit Instagram for a while. I wanted to enjoy social media again and wasn't sure if I could again for a long time actually. Luckily the real friends stuck around, even while I shifted from marketing my business and podcasting to becoming more lifestyle-focused and thinking of IG as more of a personal blog.
I decided to save my podcasting knowledge, guides, videos, and information to give exclusively to those who signed up to work with me.
I stopped talking about podcasting on Instagram unless I wanted to. Turns out, I only wanted to talk about it probably 3-4 more times this year, and when I did, I had a simple hope that it would help other indie podcasters grow their shows. I didn't check to see if it was repurposed by other podcasting folks because I knew it would just anger me and put me back onto that resentful spiral.
My goal for the year ended up being to try to find a way to enjoy myself online again without feeling like I was constantly marketing or selling or riling up engagement posts, and my goal for my business was to see how behind-the-scenes I could actually be, especially for chapters in my life like now where my schedule is so up in the air and there are tons of factors that are out of my control that I need a way to make money that’s flexible and on my terms.
I won't give too much away right now, but I do see a lot more shifts that may bring podcasting and writing back into the mix in a big way in 2022. And I'm looking forward to starting my 5th year of being my own boss, and my 8th year in podcasting!
Goals for the Month — December 2021
Continue my writing practice and blogging as my main creative outlet.
Rest and keep intentional white space in my schedule. Give myself the grace to say no and recharge when needed in order to do the things I truly want to do.
Reflect on the year, what went well, what needs improvement, and plan for 2022.
What’s your focus for the month? Do you tend to keep busy this season or are you also in favor of taking it easy and resting over the holidays? Let me know either here or on Instagram 🙂 Links to follow me on social are below!
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