With all the invoicing, marketing, and refining your niche, it can seem like there just isn’t time for skill development. Skip out on upgrading your skills though, and you’re shooting yourself in the long-term foot.
Just setting aside the time to do something different (learning instead of production) can free your mind and even open the door to higher earning so you don’t need to work quite as much.
But how do you know when it’s time to become a student again?
This month, we’re going to cover 5 different signs that it’s time set aside some space and invest a little in your freelance skills.
(Remember, skill development doesn’t have to mean getting a degree or even taking a full-on course. It might just mean a one-day class. Even an audio book or webinar can do the trick.)
A Certain Amount of Time Has Passed
We’re going to start off with the simplest sign…one that’s also the basis for a habit.
There’s a general rule out here that
twice a year, you should be doing something to improve your skills. That might be when skills development month pops up here, or even on your own schedule.
Personally, I like lining it up with
summer months and end of year when I have some down time to invest and focus, but do what works for you.
So…stick it on your calendar. Start whenever you feel like you’ll have time and set up a reminder
for every six months after that.
It might seem like an inconvenience, but remember, this is the stuff that employers (well, some of them) used to keep going for you. Now that you’re running your own
show, you’ve got the opportunity to direct your education in ways you never could at a traditional job.
Megan
Here are the resources that you’ll want to check out this month…