Strangely enough, I seem to be in a similar position as I was a little over a year ago: eager to quit my “day job” so that I can freelance full time. Only this time, the job in question is a part-time position that was never intended to be long term. And when I left my job in marketing a year ago, I never would have dreamed that I would be where I am today in my writing career.

When I first started doing freelance writing, I wasn’t sure if I would end up specializing in anything, or what that specialty would be. Green living? Yoga? These were some of the topics that got me started, and I still do some work in these areas. I’m even still working for AltGlobe, my very first client. But gradually, I realized that what really excited me were assignments related to health and wellness. I started moving more and more towards work in this area, and feel very fortunate to have secured my work with My Big Life and Healthy Theory.

Eventually, I started giving up the clients that weren’t related to health and wellness. It’s amazing to think that a year ago, I was taking any and every freelance job I could get that paid a decent wage. I wrote a lot of difficult articles on subjects of little or no interest to me. I had to hone my skills, learning how to write faster; how to construct a solid outline before writing; how to write first, then edit. I believe that my writing and time-management skills have improved tremendously over the past year. And having a part-time job has allowed me to do it all without the stress of supporting myself solely on my freelance earnings.

But now that I’ve secured more work in the health and wellness industry – and landed my highest-paying gig yet – I’m feeling a familiar itch. My thoughts are completely preoccupied with ideas about articles. Being at the office is torturous because it is taking time away from my writing. I feel like I’m ready to take that step and move into freelancing full time.

I know when I tried it before, it was difficult. I had trouble staying on task, and didn’t always enjoy being at home alone all day. I craved structure and social interaction. But now, my situation is different. Instead of a cramped apartment, I have a house with dedicated office space. I’ve been more disciplined with my schedule (evidenced by the fact that I’ve been getting up to regularly attend a 6 a.m. yoga class). I have work that I really, really enjoy. And I have a new goal: to become a certified holistic nutritionist so that I can continue expanding my knowledge and services in the health and wellness industry and add more credibility to my writing.

So I’ve decided to give the new gig two weeks to make sure I enjoy it as much as I think I will, and though I haven’t given my notice yet, I have a target date for resigning from my part-time job. Here’s to the year ahead … may it be as full of growth and opportunity as the past twelve months.