Giving myself a mid-year performance review

A breakdown of my work so far in 2024

This year has not gone as I’ve expected but perhaps that’s always the case and part of the freelancing adventure. I should know by now four years into it. Somewhat unplanned, I took my birthday week off earlier this month to get some much needed time away from email and screens. I found myself struggling to finish assignments I was once excited about and asking for extensions on stories I had procrastinated. I’m becoming more aware that this means I’m approaching burnout and thus need a break. Hiking, reading, watching dumb TV, rearranging art, doing house projects, and just generally forgetting what time it is seems to always bring me back—at least for a little while until I need another break.

Along with time off and birthday reflections, July is also the perfect midway point for giving myself a performance review. I always do an end-of-year review, but I’ve started looking halfway at how my year is unfolding and what I want to do differently in the second half. Below, I’ll share my weekly and monthly workload by the hour, the number of pitches vs. assignments vs. rejected pitches, and analysis around what’s working/what’s not working/what I want to adjust. To conclude, I’ll share about a few stories and systems I’m proud of.

Workload breakdown by the numbers

Copy writing: 32-60 hours a month for a corporate client