Living with Clariity is a site dedicated to supporting and equipping moms to be better parents and family CFOs as they navigate the many monumental changes in life: getting married, having kids, buying a new home, changing jobs, putting the kids through college, etc.  I am really excited to be a part of this new project!

Read my first 2 posts on the Clariity blog:

Relationships and Money: Combining Finances After Marriage

Planning an Outdoor Wedding

If you have any requests for topics you would like to see covered that are of particular interest to newlyweds or engaged couples, leave me a comment!

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.

After that’s finished, I’m planning on building an affiliate storefront, which will contain books, yoga gear, and other products related to mind-body fitness, wellness, and eco-sensitive living. I’m really excited about creating the new site — I bought a fantastic domain name, and the store will be closely integrated with Have a Namaste. In the meantime, I have some books showcased on my Recommended Books page. I’ll be keeping this page updated with books that I’m reading as well as others that I find to be of value in the health and wellness arena.

Work is also going very well. After negotiating a rate increase with one of my clients, I have shifted my daily work plan around, and have been very happy about the income I’ve been earning this month. As far as writing goes, I’ve found that the subjects I’ve been exploring for Healthy Theory have all been fairly research intensive, so I haven’t been posting there as often as I’d expected. But I do have four articles up on the site now (see below). Though they are a bit time-consuming, writing for Healthy Theory allows me to learn more about topics I’m interested in anyway, so I don’t mind putting in the extra time. I would still like to post to Healthy Theory more frequently when (or if!) my other creative projects wrap up. But knowing how plans can change, I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m immersed in some new projects before long. (I do still have that wedding album to put together ….)

Healthy Theory articles:

Corn-Fed vs. Grass-Fed Beef

The Health Benefits of Quinoa

The Dangers of High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Not All Sugars Are Created Equal

But I did read a very encouraging article on Freelance Writing Jobs yesterday about finding work on Craigslist. The author, Carly, says she makes more money and works fewer hours than she did when she had a full-time job, and all of her work comes from Craigslist. She spends one hour a day searching through and applying to job ads in all major cities. So I decided to try it today. It took me more like an hour and a half, and in the end I had only found two jobs I felt were worth applying for. But if I’m diligent about applying for jobs every day, I should start seeing some results. I also e-mailed one of my favorite clients to see if they had any opportunities for more work in a different area.

So I know it’s possible to make this work. I just have to keep plugging away. Productivity and career growth are things you have to work at every day.

I used the main body from the layout I referenced before (I love the crinkled paper graphics and the little date flags), but I switched out the background with images from this WordPress theme. Other than that, I left things pretty much as is except for Photoshopping the title block. I’d like to do some further customization of the sidebar, but that may be beyond my CSS skills. And I’m still trying to figure out all the widgets. If you see any issues, let me know. I know it isn’t rendering correctly in IE6 but I’m not sure what to do about that.

I’ll be making modifications as time allows, but I figured if I didn’t go ahead and switch everything over now, I’d be making endless changes. And I have other topics rolling around in my head that I want to start posting, so I needed to get moving on it. Hopefully I’ll be able to post and make some more adjustments in the next few days; if not, it’ll  have to wait until Ryan and I get back from Colorado. We’ll be spending a week camping in Estes Park, rock climbing, hanging out in Boulder, and visiting some friends. It’s going to be a welcome break for both of us!

It looks like I may start working part-time, editing some technical documentation. It would mean spending about 20 hours a week in an actual office again, and I’m kind of excited about that. Working from home can get lonely — usually by the time Ryan gets home, I am starving for some actual conversation. I don’t think I could do it if I still lived alone! And with half my time spent at an “actual” job, that’ll still leave me plenty of time to devote to my freelance projects — it may even give me the chance to cut back on some of my less-interesting or lower-paying gigs and focus on the ones I really enjoy. I’m not sure how it’s all going to shake out yet, but I think it could be a really good thing.

I was waiting to post this link until I actually had some content up on the target page. I am very excited to announce that I am now the Kansas City Yoga Examiner for examiner.com. Examiner is a site that provides geographic-specific information on a wide variety of topics. It has been successful in other markets and just recently launched in Kansas City. As the KC Yoga Examiner,I have full control over the content on my page, as long as it pertains to yoga and relates to the KC area. So far, I’ve just posted a calendar of local yoga events and one class review, plus some links to local studios, but I have some instructor interviews in the works as well. I’m hoping the gig can get me some free passes to some local yoga studios, since, you know, I’m not exactly working right now. Examiner does pay a portion of the ad revenue, but I’m not counting on this to be a big source of income. Still, it’ll be great to have the opportunity to write about all things yoga-related, especially since I get to choose my own topics. I’m really looking forward to checking out some new studios and exploring more of yoga’s spiritual foundations.

Namaste!

So, I made $55 today. Not exactly enough to live on, and about 1/3 what I need to earn daily to match my former salary. Can I really make this work? Can I earn enough to maintain my standard of living and continue to pay off my credit cards? Can I learn to write faster? Am I going to be able to find higher-paying gigs? This is what I was thinking as I was driving to yoga. And then, another thought occurred to me, one that went something like this: Why not? Look at all the goals you’ve already accomplished.

Several months ago, when I first started embarking on this freelancing endeavor, I started writing down my goals daily (well, at least semi-regularly). I wrote an article about goal-setting for Want to Freelance back in March; you can read it here. The material is based on some self-improvement programs I was listening to at the time, which said that the act of writing down your goals programs them into your subconscious, and your subconscious mind can begin working to make them a reality. Goals should also be written in the present tense. Your subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between reality and fantasy, so when you feed it a statement in the present tense, it accepts it as fact and begins acting as if it were true.

Since I started freelancing full-time a couple of weeks ago (or alternatively, since I got fired, but I am choosing to think of it in more positive terms), I have been more diligent about writing down my goals in order to stay focused and keep a positive mindset. Daily income is one of these goals, as is confidently marketing my skills, learning to write faster, staying focused, and managing my time well. I do think I have made some improvements in these areas (well, with the exception of today’s nap).

As I was driving to yoga today, I started thinking about how much I have already accomplished. It was just a few months ago that I first started thinking about writing full-time, and now I am, or at least, I have the opportunity to do so. Sometimes it’s important to remember how far we’ve come in order to find the strength to keep going. So tonight I pulled out the little notebook in which I write down my goals, and took stock of a few that I’ve already met:

• January 26: “I work from home and have the ability to set my own hours. I can work as much as I want and I have the option to work more hours and earn more money.” Check, check, check.
• February 1: “I have a well-designed professional Web site that reflects my personality, adequately showcases my work, and is designed in CSS.” Still needs some work, but for the most part, check.
• February 18: “I have many writing projects that involve topics that are interesting and enlightening to me, such as personal growth, mind-body fitness, and green living.” Check, to a certain extent.
• March 5: “I am continuing to improve my rock-climbing and yoga skills.” Check, especially lately now that I have had more energy.

So there you go. In just a few months, I have accomplished some very important goals. There is no reason I can’t keep improving in the areas that I want to. It’s not going to happen right away. I just have to keep working at it, and try to improve a little bit every day. As Ryan said last week, it’s just like starting any new job. It’s going to take some time to really start being productive. I am probably going to have a lot of $55 days (or less!), but the important thing is to keep moving forward, keep focusing on my goals, and keep having faith in myself and in the universe.

Now that I am gone, I am happier than I have been in a long time. I have more energy. I wake up excited to start my day and work on my projects. The future may be uncertain, and the thought of finding enough work to pay the bills can sometimes be scary, but mostly, I am enjoying myself. I am living life on my terms. I have been doing some writing and getting more work from existing clients, but since I should start receiving unemployment (and I have some freelancing income saved up), I haven’t been too worried about income. I am using this time to apply for higher-paying gigs, build my portfolio, update my Web site, join some freelancing communities, and engaging in other activities to build and establish my business.

As everyone has been saying, everything happens for a reason. Being fired may very well have been the best thing that could have happened to me. So no need to worry. I have skills, I have resources, I have a plan, and I have the universe at my back. Yeah, things are awesome.

I’m toying with the idea of moving all accounts of my writing life to a separate blog, but that is just a tiny flicker of an idea that will have to wait for a while. I’ve also purchased a new domain name which I am very excited about developing, but again … gotta pay the bills first.

Thanks to everyone for your amazing outpouring of support. My peeps are the best.