As you may have deduced from my un-resolution post at Freelance Folder and this blog post title, I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions. They’re so… common, and I would hate to be like everybody else (maybe that’s one of the reasons I’m a freelancer?).
Now if making resolutions works for you — if they get you to develop new, positive habits that improve your life — then go for it! Don’t let my personal preferences stop you.
But if you want to do something else, either in addition to or in lieu of, New Year’s resolutions, then I have an idea for you.
Kendall Summerhawk, multimillionaire business coach to other coaches (but that doesn’t mean we freelancers can’t benefit from her wisdom too) proposes the creation of a “Yes” list.
Write Your Yes List
A “Yes” list is a set of 5-6 questions you will use to filter prospective client work. When faced with a new freelancing opportunity, you must answer “yes” to each and every one of these questions for you to accept the project.
Your questions can cover:
- what type of work you want to do
- which clients you’ll work with
- how much you want to get paid
- how you want to work
- where you will work
- and anything else you want to include
My Yes List
To give you an idea, here’s my Yes list (with certain parts omitted, because I don’t want to reveal all in this post):
- Does it involve ___ or ____ type of business?
- Does it allow me to work at home with a flexible schedule?
- Does it make me feel fairly rewarded for my time, energy, experience and skills?
- Is it work I enjoy doing and am confident of accomplishing with a high level of quality and credibility?
- Is the project ethical, moral, and consistent with my religious beliefs?
How a Yes List Serves You
A Yes list helps you be more selective and focused on the types of clients and projects you like. If you’ve identified a niche and target client, your Yes list will keep you from getting off track. It can also help you consider other aspects of a project that are important to you, such as, in my example above, how a particular project sits with my personal beliefs.
Of course, if you’re just starting out or are otherwise desperate to make money, you’ll have a different Yes list. Maybe your list will be made up of just one question: Will I get paid?
The Yes list is very personal and customized. You put whatever you want in it.
Your Thoughts?
Do you like the idea of creating a Yes list? If so, what would you put in yours?
Share you list in the comments below, or let us know what factors you would like to include in it. Don’t worry, you can reveal as much or as little as you want!
photo credit: Xtreme Xhibits
Lovely guest post Lexi
Kelly McCausey´s last [type] ..Today is My Ten Year Online Business Anniversary
@Kelly McCausey – Guest post? And by the way, Happy 10th Anniversary! No wonder you’re so wise
Dear Lexi,
Once again thanks for the great ideas in this post. I will celebrate my 1st year as a freelancer next month and have plenty of ideas for this 2012…
This year I would like to work more for direct clients rather than translation agencies. I gave a shot at writing my ‘Yes’ list, with the concept of the ‘ideal’ direct client in mind – I have 5 main question, and 2 bonus ones
Here’s my attempt:
1 – Is it paid more than what I would charge for an agency?
2 – Is it in a area that I specialise in, or want to start specialising in?
3 – Is the deadline decent, or will I be stressed out for a couple of days?
4 – Am I really interested in the project, other than for money reasons?
5 – Is this a rewarding job? (would I be proud of my performance?)
6 – Is this project the start of a long-term collaboration?
7 – Do I like the client? (is our communication easy, are they respectful?)
@Louise Peron – Congratulations in advance for your first freelancing year! The “Yes” list you came up with is great. I especially like #4. More freelancers should ask themselves that. Thanks for sharing
[...] effective goal setting tips can also be found at "The Savvy Freelancer" which talks about setting effective goals career-wise. I also really liked this quick and to-the-point motivational post from "Big Success". [...]