The end of the year is a great opportunity to take stock and decide what to do in the coming year. For me, it’s been a feast and famine year. I lost three main blogging clients in the space of a month thanks to budget cuts, which led to me looking at what I’m currently doing and readjusting it. After listening to Tim Ferris’ 4-Hour-Work-Week, I realised the bulk of my income was coming from social media work, but the bulk of my time was spent doing blogging work. I was working evenings and weekends trying to keep up with blog posts, when I could take on half the number of social media clients for at least the same amount of income – and have time to dedicate to other things. Fairly important in particular this year, with a wedding to arrange in April. Additionally, I found my passion in 2012 sat with social media, so it seemed like the most logical move.

As a result, I now have more time to blog for sites I really love, like Dork Adore and The High Tea Cast, as well as The Freelance lifestyle. I’ll also have the time in 2013 to work on some projects I’ve been dying to do.

So, my challenge to you for the first week of 2013 is to work out where your income is coming from, and how hard you’re working to get that income. Are you working all the hours you can find for something that isn’t particularly lucrative? Is there another way you can work, or another income stream you can investigate?

To make it easier, I’ve created the below free printable:

All you need to do is:

• Fill in the tasks you do regularly in the Current Tasks section. For instance, you might blog, carry out social media management and graphic design for your clients.
• Fill in the time you spend and the income you earn for each of these tasks in the right box.
• This should give you a better idea of which tasks are better to focus on. Write these tasks in the third box, and include any additional income streams you might think of (for example, teaching or ebooks).
• Finally, fill in all the things you would do if you have time, in the final box. These could vary from volunteering to spending more time with family.

The reason I’ve added in the last section, is because I know most freelancers don’t just work for the money. However, it’s easy to fall into the habit of working for work’s sake. By stating achievements OTHER than work that you want to fulfil, it gives you something to focus your efforts on so you’re working to live – not living to work.

Are you re-adjusting how you work this year? What do you want to do aside from your freelance work? Leave a comment to let me know what you’re hoping to achieve.