6 things saving my life right now...

at work and in my professional life

Author

Diana Kelly Levey
November 26, 2024

In partnership with

Hi Friend!

I also appreciate having partners’ support to make this possible. Today’s edition is brought to you by some awesome brands.

Check them out and click on the ads to see if they’d be a fit for your business.

(No freelance or remote jobs this week. Check back next week.)

Use AI as Your Personal Assistant

Ready to save precious time and let AI do the heavy lifting?

Save time and simplify your unique workflow with HubSpot’s highly anticipated AI Playbook—your guide to smarter processes and effortless productivity.

I want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who are celebrating. I hope you get some nice downtime with loved ones and a break from work.

On Mondays, I frequently listen to Kendra Adachi’s podcast “The Lazy Genius.” She has a regular theme called “What’s saving my life right now” which I think is from other podcasters and bloggers.

I’m borrowing that theme to share what’s working for me in my business and personal life. I hope some of it helps you or gives you pause to think about what’s working in your life at the moment.

In no particular order…

  1. Commenting on LinkedIn. Regular readers of my blogs and newsletter know I share that LinkedIn is my favorite platform for creatives these days. It’s not just about posting though. You’re more likely to get followers and grow your audience by commenting on others’ posts in your industry and those who have good followings in your industry. If you’re feeling a bit shy about posting on your page, write thoughtful comments on others’ posts.

  2. Movement in the morning. I find that I’m happiest and most energized for the rest of the day if I get a walk in or a workout in before midday. It really helps my brain feel supercharged and is a serious mental health boost, especially as it’s getting darker by 5 p.m. in New York where I live.

  3. Setting up phone calls. This year, I tried to get on the phone with either freelancers, editors, or potential clients each month. I found that talking on the phone with prospective clients resulted in a higher instance of me getting freelance work from the client.

  4. Tracking slow seasons. If you’ve been freelancing or running your own business for a few years (admittedly the past few have been weird ones), knowing when your business tends to quiet down from client work will help. You won’t feel like it’s “you” that isn’t getting work but you’ll look back and realize “Oh, this tends to be a slower month.”

  5. Keeping a running list of things to do in my business. I have a Notes list that’s been ongoing of “things to do in Q4” where I’m posting ideas of various tasks, products I can create, or courses I can take, to grow. It’s mostly a brain dump of random ideas I get when reading blogs, LinkedIn posts, or listening to podcasts but it reminds me of things to do when work is slow. (See above post.)

  6. Being hopeful about the future of media and freelancing. I see a lot of media layoffs in my LinkedIn feed, on Facebook groups and in the news. It’s easy to read this and feel the fear about this industry. Yes, it’s changing and it looks different from two years ago, five years ago, and 10 years ago. But the same could be said of many industries. I remind myself that there’s plenty of work out there for all of us if we’re willing to be creative in how we look for it.

Modernize your marketing with AdQuick

AdQuick unlocks the benefits of Out Of Home (OOH) advertising in a way no one else has. Approaching the problem with eyes to performance, created for marketers with the engineering excellence you’ve come to expect for the internet.

Marketers agree OOH is one of the best ways for building brand awareness, reaching new customers, and reinforcing your brand message. It’s just been difficult to scale. But with AdQuick, you can easily plan, deploy and measure campaigns just as easily as digital ads, making them a no-brainer to add to your team’s toolbox.

Let me know if there’s a topic you’d like to see covered and I’ll try to address it in a future newsletter.

I’m grateful to have you here reading and learning from me.

Diana

Receive this email from a friend?

(Thanks, friend!)

Subscribe to the weekly freelance writing tips email here.

Have a buddy who you think wants to learn how to freelance?

I’d so appreciate it if you’d forward this email to them so I can send them free resources and show them how fun it is to become a freelancer.

What to Read Right Now

  • Freelance writer Denise Cullen penned an article of “The Best Writer Websites for Inspiration” on Best Freelance Tips. If you’re looking for inspiration for redoing your site, check it out.

  • I find that many freelancers don’t fill out an invoice properly, making it harder to pay them and easier for their invoice to get lost in accounting systems. I’ve sent thousands of invoices in nearly 20 years of freelancing. Here’s what’s in a freelance invoice.

  • This LinkedIn post on how I’m not a perfect freelancer took off. Read it if you missed it.

How to work with me