December is nearly over so it’s time to reflect. I love to review my month as you don’t always realise just how much you’ve gotten done! December is a good month for reflecting as we head into a new year. I always carve out time to prepare for the new year too. Ironically, I hate New Year’s celebrations but I love the feeling of a new year! Let’s crack on with my December 2023 in review.
BLOGMAS
I decided at the last minute that I was going to do Blogmas. My aim was to write 31 posts across 31 days and whilst I didn’t complete it, I’ve posted 21 times in December. I’m pretty proud of that! I stuck to my rough schedule with lots of organisation content posted, which is 100% my favourite topic. Daily blogging is not for me full-time but I might do it again next year. I’d definitely get more scheduled in advance though if I tried Blogmas again! I want to work on all four websites in 2024 so Blogmas might be a stretch goal. For 2024, I want to get a week ahead with my content too. I haven’t set up my content plans just yet but it’s my plan for over the new year. Four websites is a lot but I want to challenge myself.
GETTING ALL OF MY INVOICES PAID
My last invoice was paid on the 27th so my 2023 invoices have all been paid up! It’s the worst part of freelancing for sure. With a regular job, you know you get paid on the last day of the month or on set paydays (like when I worked in retail, every 4 weeks). With freelancing, I get paid whenever I submit an invoice and my payment terms tend to be 7 days. Some clients get an invoice after every piece written, some get one at the end of the month. That makes it so hard to get a consistent monthly income but it’s something I’m working on for 2024.
PREPPING FOR 2024 EARLY
Speaking of 2024, I’ve spent much of December preparing for it. I’ve prepped my planners, spreadsheets, lists, goal-setting, and budgeting ready for the new year. It’s something I like to do before Christmas but then spend Crimbo Limbo finalising everything. It’s not a five-minute job for me so it really does take me all month! I’m organised this year in advance because I had some spare time across December to get ahead. I just love seeing everything planned out roughly for the year. And yes, I do rough planning before filling out my pretty planners. Also, I colour-code everything to make it easier visually for myself.
PREPPING FOR Q1 + JANUARY
Because 2024 is prepped, then I could move on to Q1 and January. Quarterly planning for me is goals, content, and travel. All of my travel is booked for January and February, with just March left blank for now. I’m hoping to squeeze in a trip to London but we’ll see for now. My quarterly and monthly goals are simply my annual goals broken down. January is busy for me because it’s my birthday and I’ve got quite a few day trips planned. In terms of content, I have four websites so I have to get on top of it now if I want to be consistent across them all. I’ve set my January budget too so I can work out how much more I need to earn. I’m hoping to save quite a lot in 2024 too so I’ve also done a rough budget for the year.
A CHILLED CHRISTMAS
If there’s one thing I enjoy about Christmas now is that it’s so much quieter. No longer do we rush around over Christmas Day and Boxing Day visiting family. In fact, when I have my own place, I’ll visit my parents and that will be it. Gone are the days when I’d fill December with 1000 social plans. I think I was kidding myself thinking I was an extrovert when really, I’m an introvert! I find Christmas quite overwhelming because of this. That’s why I try to plan out my time and schedule in solo time. Next Christmas, I will be more organised though and buy gifts earlier!
FINISHING THE VAMPIRE DIARIES
I have finally finished the Vampire Diaries for the first time ever. I’ll admit that the later seasons dragged by quite a lot. I’m not even sure if I gave them much attention, to be honest. It was nice to see other characters take more of a leading role with Elena gone though. I’ve always thought that Stefan and Damon’s relationship was the most important on the show too. I know I’m not alone but Bonnie deserved better. She saved everyone else constantly! Now I have to decide what to watch next!
And that’s my December 2023 in review. I love this month but I’m a huge fan of starting a new year. December is basically the warm-up to my favourite month anyway! I really enjoy writing these short monthly recaps so I’m going to continue them into 2024.
If you enjoyed this December 2023 in review, you can read my monthly goals and reviews here. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram ready for 2024!
