We’re now half way through the year – how’s your 2013 been so far? With the wedding and honeymoon behind me, I feel like I can have a bit of a fresh start to my freelancing career and really concentrate on growing things. More of that to come.

In the meantime, I’ve put together a checklist of things to do and try in July, if you’re a freelancer or home worker.

❏ Subscribe to The Simple Things

The Simple Things is a magazine that doesn’t include any of the following:

• Fashion features featuring a) super expensive clothing and/or b) teeny little models
• Beauty features airbrushed to a completely unnatural point.
• Articles claiming to help you get a bikini body in a week.
• Articles claiming to make you a better lover.
• Horoscopes

Instead, it has:

• Interviews with fascinating artists, female entrepreneurs, nature specialists and crafters.
• Features on seasonal activities, new skills and crafts, unique holiday destinations and unusual ways to spend your weekends.
• Recipes that place taste above looks.
• Methods to be more mindful

It’s an inspiring read that gives you a list of things to do to enrich your life, rather than a list of unrealistic rules you should live by. If you’re a fan of the slow life principle, it’s well worth a read. It’s refreshing to read something that doesn’t contain photos of celebrity cellulite.

❏ Investigate a service to see what other uses you can get out of it

How many online services have you tried out then forgotten about? Or tried out and stuck to using the same features? Most online services have a whole bundle of tools that are barely touched – especially if they’ve been added on during later app updates.

For example, I recently discovered I can email To Do lists from Wunderlist to my inbox, in a tick box format – perfect for printing if you prefer to keep things paper-based. I also researched Autoresponders in MailChimp, and now use them to send RSS updates and a follow up email to subscribers.

❏ Book a Digital Day Off

If there’s one thing that my honeymoon away taught me, it’s just how much involvement technology and the internet has in my life. Every spare moment is filled with tweets, emails and tapping. Book some time off from your tech, whether it be a chilled out Sunday with family/friends or an hour each day without being within reaching distance of your smartphone.

❏ Revamp your desk space

My poor desk is currently swamped under a pile of paperwork, mugs and books. I really couldn’t face tidying it in June….so I worked from the sofa. My work reflected this. So July is all about getting back to basics and revamping my desk space so I spend time there again.

Is your desk space or work space getting you down? Have a look for some great organisational touches on sites like Pinterest, and store away anything you don’t need on a daily basis to keep things minimalist.

❏ Pitch to a local company

Have I bored you all to death yet with my insistence that you go local? Yes? I think this one if probably self-explanatory though. I’ll be doing a post about this during July, with more details on how to pitch locally.

Are you adopting any challenges in July?