Looking back at some of the lists of goals I’ve made in the past for the year ahead, not many of them have been successful. This is the funny thing about plans, they never actually happen the way you plan them. Life is not a book that you write about yourself, it is a book that you simply read, that’s about yourself. Who writes it? You, but also the people and events around you.
Now that I got rid of the stoicism in me through that last phrase, you’re welcome, I’ll lay down my ten goals for 2022 as a freelance writer, business owner, and private citizen. Why do I still do this, after seeing just how much of a failure these lists are at the end of the year? Because having goals set for a longer time is healthy for the mind and soul. It keeps you engaged!
In this guide:
Make more money
I know that in the past I was taking the more developmental, self-growing approach when it came to these goals articles. Not this year, not anymore. In 2022, my main goal is to make more money. I don’t care by how much but I want to keep it on a growing streak as it’s been for the past 4 years since I started to meticulously note every paycheck and expenditure of my life.
2018 and 2019 were good years. 2020 and 2021 were amazing years, in terms of finances. There are two possibilities here: one, I’m going to keep growing my freelancing gig and creative agency and make a ton more money because of exponential growth; two, I’ll follow the universal law of making money and actually finally hit my weak year after many of sustained growth.
Travel more
2020 and 2021 were incredible years in terms of finances. But in terms of travel, my sole passion and deadly addiction, they have been weak. Bleak, at best. In 2020 I could not leave the country, so my travels resumed to going around my own country for a few weekends. In 2021, things were a little better, and the Santorini trip (as well as the two Italian ones) were true!
In 2022, I want to travel a lot more, and to places I’ve never been to before. No doubt, I love Italy, but one more trip there and I might as well just move in! I want to see Iceland, Sweden and Norway, Jordan, and many other places. I’ve already got myself two weekend passes for two Formula 1 races, which was a dream of mine since I was 8. Please stop, pandemic, please?!
Work less
It might sound conflicting to say that you want more money out of the next year. And then have your next goal to be working less, in the same year. How are you going to make more money by working less? The answer is made up of two elements: outsourcing and quality over quantity. When you reach a certain level of workflow, the best idea in the world is to give part of it away.
Not completely, but to outsource parts of a project, like content creation, design, even planning, to another freelancer. This takes away a lot of time consuming and pressure, allowing you to take care of the second element, quality over quantity. It’s crucial to find top quality, great paying clients, and just a handful instead of 100 who are paying you quarters. It’s not easy though.
2022 will be the first year here at Gabriel Iosa Writing Services when I’ll be implementing the 4-day workweek. Okay, before you go nuts, I will be going into the office on Fridays, but those will be what they call CEO days in the freelancing business. Meaning, Fridays will be for invoices, calls, directing my team, reviews and planning for the next week. Anything but actual work.
Grow my agency
While the direction for my freelance content writing is clear, more outsourcing+finding good clients, the other main thing I’ll be focusing on in 2022 is growing my creative agency. I launched Magic Agency (currently just for the Romanian market but that’s about to change) with the purpose of providing easy-to-use, fast and reliable websites to local small and medium businesses.
Nowadays, we’ve managed to get the agency into making real money, 9 months after the launch. While we’re not ready to scale it to the maximum, and into a full-time thing, we do want to grow the agency further, while keeping it boutique-style. How? By finding the right clients who’re ready to pay a little bit more for the right level of service. Follow us on Instagram for more news!
Invest in stocks and crypto
My reluctance towards investment has been diminished in 2021 when I’d literally put 100 dollars into my investing app account and just got some stocks and crypto. That money is now at 250 dollars US, meaning I now have 150% more money just because they’ve stayed in the form of stocks/crypto for a year. WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?! Jokes aside I will invest more in 2022.
I’ll buy very few stable stocks, as well as some more volatile stuff like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. I won’t go overboard with the latter, keeping it at 30% of my entire portfolio. I’ll also not go overboard with the money I’ll be putting into it. If 2021 was at $100 as my first testing year, in 2022 I’ll go for maybe 10x that and nothing more. I’m still learning how this works!
Eat and exercise better
I was doing extremely well in 2020 with keeping my mind and body in line, to be honest, despite the pandemic. But then 2021 came, and all of my plans of eating healthy and doing regular exercise went up into flames. Emotionally, I’d say I’m now more stable than ever, but the events of 2021 in terms of personal life were bad enough for me to throw my “fitness” lifestyle away.
I think the main reason why I’ve neglected my exercise, as well as my diet, is boredom. I’m simply bored out of my mind with my treadmill and spin bike. For 2022, I want to get a rowing machine. Luckily my health is great, and as far as diets go, I have no more cravings. After many years of battling cravings, I’m glad they’re over no matter if I feel excellent or very low.
Develop healthy relationships
I got to date here and there in 2021, which is still something I’m not great at. Developing relationships, not just the romantic type, is still new to me. I have my friends that I’ve known for ages, and that’s about it for my social life outside the office. Yet 2021 was a year full of surprises, both good and bad when it comes to making new bonds and breaking them.
In 2022, my main goal is not to find a new girlfriend, necessarily, but to become better at meeting new people in general. I’ve never been shy or anything like that. I just got bored, and uninterested, over the past two restrictive years. The pandemic has made it hard for us to meet in person. I just hope 2022 will be the decline of Zoom and people will physically come together.
Buy another big thing
For the very few of you who’s actually reading all of these blog posts, in 2021 I managed to buy an apartment. All with freelance money. Paid in cash. Yes, I know, I’m as gobsmacked as you are. But that was not that hard, actually. When you have a plan and stick to it, you can do anything, as cliche as it sounds! In 2022, I want to keep this “tradition” alive and get a new thing.
I’m debating between a new car (my current car is a 2006 Opel Astra H, a beautiful hatchback with some functional issues) and a custom made A-shaped cabin. I have the land for where to put the cabin, somewhere far from civilization but close enough to make it into an Airbnb, as with the apartment. I’ll see about this issue in the coming months, nothing is certain for now.
Up my Instagram and Facebook game
For me, social media has become an addiction. I see it now more and more. I just sit there, enjoying a movie, when once of a sudden I feel the uncontrollable urge to pick up the phone and scroll through Instagram, or Facebook. I don’t remember being this addicted to them a few years back but now, it seems to me that it’s getting worse and worse. This is why I want to focus on a more professional approach to Instagram (and Facebook, which is not that big of a deal) in the year that follows.
My plan is to focus on making my Instagram worthy, to give something to the community with every post that I publish, and with every Story that I create. My idea will be this: if it’s not worth publishing, then just don’t bother publishing for the heck of it. I’m already working on content for the first quarter of the year, and it’s really going well. I love doing these helpful-but-funny posts about freelancing, writing, journalism and travel. I’ll post three times per week, with some Stories here and there.
Embrace the idea of saying no
Saying “no” more often is extremely healthy. Not just with freelancing, and turning down those clients that you know are going to be trouble but in life in general. whenever you feel like you’re not great with the idea of a pier, or with an offer, a proposal, whatever it is, simply decline it. In 2022, I want to say “no” more often. Not to life and people, but to places and situations in which saying “yes” will screw me over.
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Hi! Just a quick thing before you leave:
First, nice of you to read thus far, it means that you’ve enjoyed my writing!
I’m not here to ask you for any likes, shares, or comments, although that would be cool of you! Instead, I’m offering you a chance to have an even better piece, sort of like this one, but better, written for you by a content creator. That would be me! Check out my Services, Portfolio and Testimonials pages for details. And then shoot me an email at the address you’ll find on the Contact page.
If you’re a freelancer like me and are confused about learning how to make money online, especially through writing but also programming, design, or social media management, you can buy my book. It’s called “From 0 To $2543 A Month With A Crappy Laptop – The Freelancing Course From A Self-Made Content Creator Boss” and you can find it on Amazon at 50% off!
