We are now in 2016, and the New Year is an important time for making resolutions and thinking about how to grow and improve over the year to come. As a freelancer, this is the perfect opportunity to take stock of your situation and start to consider both the things that you’re proud of achieving in 2015, and also the things that you’d like to do differently over the year to come.

Approach with a Fresh Perspective

Magnifying glass magnifies laptop

You may well have taken a short break over the Christmas period, and doing so will allow you to return to take a step back from your work and look at it with fresh eyes. This enables you to analyse the service that you have been offering, as well as how your audience is responding to it.

One good approach is to forget about the service that you’re offering for a while and instead think about the problem that you’re trying to address and the needs of your customers. What are their pain points? What are the issues that you’re aiming to solve?

Thinking about what you offer in these terms might help you to come up with a better approach – whether that means tweaking the service or product that you provide, or simply changing the phrasing that you use when you pitch it to potential clients.

Strive to Stay Motivated

cup of black coffee with roasted coffe beans on the wood desk

We know that it’s cold outside and just one more coffee or tea break might seem pretty tempting, but if you can find ways to keep your motivation levels high then you’ll be able to get 2016 off to a flying start. Here are some easy ideas that you can start implementing immediately:

  • Stick to a schedule. If you include dedicated break times, and know exactly when you’re going to take them, that gives you an incentive for working hard throughout the rest of the day.
  • Draw up a check list that includes tasks for the day, the week, and the month. Separate categories will help you to see the progress that you’re making while still keeping an eye on the bigger picture.
  • Think about your own personal working style and plan accordingly. It may help to consider the difference between ‘bingers’ – people who like to power through a lot of work all at once – and ‘snackers’, who work better with more frequent breaks… play to your strengths.

Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help

If you want to provide the best service that you can in the New Year, you need to be able to focus on developing your own skill set and delivering fantastic results – so it can be a good idea to get help from other professionals when it comes to crucial parts of the business, such as accountancy.

Whether you’re a first-time freelancer or are already working as a contractor limited company, we will be able to help you keep on top of the numbers every single time; simply contact us today, online or at 0800 195 3750. We’ll always be happy to help you stay one step ahead in 2016.