Cognition #21: 2022 Reflections ft. Freelancing

Dec 23, 2022

Well, 2022 is ending in a week, and about 10 days ago, I casually sat back and began reflecting on how my year went with freelancing.

This issue is all about my reflections, and I was never more honest than today.

🎵 And it went like…

2022 is entirely different from all the years I lived—Be it my personal life, other commitments, freelancing, or content creation.

It is a year of progress, promise, and growth—a setup for a brighter future if I can keep my focus and discipline.

In 2022, I worked on 20+ projects with clients from saas, nutrition, recruitment, hospitality, IT, marketing, sales, logistics, healthcare, etc.

My best decision was to accept projects that gave me a scope to learn, even if I was underpaid.

I remember writing my first website for INR 6k in February just to get insights on writing web copies.

What did it lead to?

I wrote for 4 websites (from scratch) in the last nine months.

Same for video scripts.

Same for sales emails.

Even last month, in November, when I signed a client to write newsletters for them, I was only supposed to write newsletter content and share it with them.

But I insisted on doing everything—from setting up the account to designing and scheduling the issues.

The objective was to learn all possible things about newsletter/email campaigns and premium providers.

And then see if I can move forward in this direction.

So 2022 definitely made me skillful. But that's not enough. It all boils down to "Am I making the best of my skill and potential?"

Results matter.

So moving forward, I will focus on getting the right price for my value and, of course, keep learning.

That's only the brighter side.

This story is never told right until I honestly speak about the downside, mistakes, and realizations.

So here I am, talking about the things I'm not really proud of.

I always talk about doing 'Interesting work.'

I got one such client in May.

The work was sexy. The pay was good. And I took the client for granted.

They were okay with pushing deadlines and not receiving work on time.

Although many other events happened during the same period that affected my work, I feel I took advantage of the freedom they gave me to some capacity.

I only realized it when they fired me.

There was another client I onboarded in April.

They were and still are one of my high-paying clients. I did good work for them, but there was a phase I got comfortable.

My basic financial needs were met, which affected my hunger to grow.

I'm not saying I lost the drive.

I still wanted to do more, but I surrendered to the comfort.

Again, after a little phase, I realized I had become comfortable and worked on getting more active in the business.

Apart from these two, I feel I pretty much did well.

Did I do my best? No.

Am I satisfied with the results I brought? No.

But I like the path I am on—I feel more energetic, I am more focused, and I just have these positive vibes.

The more time I spend working, I realize how vital discipline is in leading a peaceful life.

Looking back, I can say if my discipline quotient was a little higher, I'd have led a calmer life, if not a better one.

Also, the value of peers >>>

Not only fellow freelancers. Anyone who understands the digital world and can vibe with you is your biggest treasure. (Plus, I have lovely friends from school who keep supporting me.)

I'm blessed to meet some sexy people this year (online and offline), and they impacted my growth.

Some directly, some not so direct.

But conversations with these folks did contribute. The journey was lonely before I got to meet 'em.

I should plan to meet most of my online friends soon.

I don't believe in resolutions, but this can be a cute one for 2023.

So yeah, that's how freelancing went for me in 2022.

I made most things right in the last 3-4 months, and I'm optimistic about the days to come.

On that note, thank you for being patient in reading this.

I wish you get the best in what you aspire and don't forget to have a blast this holiday season!! (Share pictures :p)

Now, let’s hop to our favourite Non-Technical segment.

Non-Technical aka Fun Segment

Favourite quote from a book

Being in a group does not stimulate independent reasoning but rather the intense desire to belong.
The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene

Robert was referring to something called the Group Effect.

Although I don’t completely agree with the perspective, but it does feel true.

Think of a concert, a political gathering, or a religious event—it is difficult to have independent reasoning, you get caught up in the collective emotions.

What feels right for everyone will suddenly start making sense—even though you have a different opinion when you’re not under the group effect.

Robert also says, “When we are in a group of large enough size, we become different” and “You don’t necessarily have to be with people to experience group effect. You can be under it remotely through mediums like social media.”

Interesting, isn’t it?

After learning this, how much of your reasoning you think is independent?