One thing I like to do at the end of every year is to take time to reflect on the past year. What worked? What didn’t work? What made me happy? How can I get more of that?
And in 2021, I really made some good decisions that helped make life—home and work—happier! I want to share some of them with you here.
I removed Twitter from my phone.
Twitter is one of my favorite social media platforms. Or it was. Twitter has become all too often toxic and unpleasant. It was seriously affecting my mental health so in early 2021 I removed it from my phone and cut back on my posting schedule there. I truly feel so much better without easy access to Twitter!
Keeping Riker
I didn’t want another dog, but I knew my husband missed the companionship he had with Mac who had passed away in 2018. So I said yes.
And I hated him at first. Well, not totally. He was a puppy and cute and cuddly so part of me loved him. While part of me hated the disruption Riker brought to my life. I had forgotten how hard it was to raise a puppy. And it has been hard!
Rex struggled with Riker too. He felt disloyal to Mac by allowing himself to love this new pup.
One day Rex said he wasn’t sure about keeping Riker, he said he was thinking about giving him up. And I didn’t feel relief like you might imagine, I felt my heart sink. As much as he annoyed me, I couldn’t give Riker up. I could see he had the makings of a good and loyal dog if we could just break some of his bad habits and get him to listen to us.
We kept Riker and it hasn’t been easy but it has 100% been worth it. Because I was right, he is a very loving and loyal dog. He does really great with routines and has made us both more active.
Now if he could just learn to get along with the cat…
Focused on getting web-design clients.
I set myself a goal of getting 6 web design builds in 2021 and I did it! My web design projects bring me so much joy! It’s my favorite part of my business! You can check out my portfolio here.
I finally set up Dubsado!
If I wanted more web-design clients, I knew I needed to refine my onboarding process for those clients. Enter Dubsado! Dubsado makes is easy to send proposals, invoices, contracts, and all the things I need to get a client started off on the right foot!
Created a morning routine.
I had been struggling in this area since I went full-time in my business last year. But thanks to Riker who likes to wake me up around 7am every day, I finally have a morning routine! It looks like this:
- Let the dogs out
- Feed and water them and the cat
- Get ready for the day
- Take medicine and put coffee on
- Knock out my daily chores
- Fix cup of coffee
- Read Bible, then journal
I look forward to this routine every morning! And I’ve learned when I start my day with this routine, the whole day goes smoother!
I’ve also found that this routine is helpful in motivating me for the day. So many times I wake up and don’t “feel like it,” but once I get into my routine it’s easier to push myself on into work for the day.
Set and kept hours in my business.
My idea of the freelancer life was being able to work whenever I wanted. This is technically true, but not really great in practice. Instead I found that setting my hours from 9am to 4pm helped be more productive and get more done because I knew I had a stopping point for the day. It also makes going into the next day easier because I’ve allowed myself time to relax between work periods.
Started using a Paper Planner for Home Life.
I’d been resistant on using a paper planner because I had Trello that worked perfectly for my business. I didn’t need a paper planner! But I finally realized using one for home and non-work related projects and appointments could be beneficial. And it has been! I was often forgetting appointments, birthdays, but now my trusty planner is keeping me on track!
Keeping My Subscription to Scribd
I never thought I would be an audiobook person, but I SO am! Being stuck and home because of the pandemic has been a bit lonely, especially since going full time in my business. I rarely get out. Listening to audio books while I work makes things a bit less lonely. I also love listening to audiobooks while I clean or walk the dogs.
Starting This Blog
I finally had some order in my life and I found that with that order came the urge to blog again! And I’m so glad! Penned By Paula is something I’m super excited about and ready to grow in 2022!
What are some good decisions you made in 2021? I’d love to hear all about them and how they improved your life!
