The email newsletter is having a moment. Just reading about how they are part of the ‘Passion Economy’ in this month’s Courier. I see a new one launch every day, and women are on it. They’re a more intimate form of communication with people who actually want to read your stuff. Mine will focus on writing, creativity and work culture.
What else do I want this year? More fun. Deeper connections. To prioritise my own projects and happiness (getting up an hour earlier to work on my own stuff). To sort out my health. I have rheumatoid arthritis and want to find out what’s causing it and get it into remission. It’s no fun when your fingers keep getting stuck when you write for a living. Over the past year, I’ve been working with Gayle Merchant on my nutrition and have just done a comprehensive gut test to try and get to the bottom of it! (literally – stool samples in mum’s fridge over Christmas). I also want to feel stronger, so as well as running, which keeps me sane, I want to try some weightlifting this year.
I also love a good tattoo so have decided to go for it and get a full sleeve 🙂
More travel. To read a book a month. Better paid work. I’ve signed up to the Hoxby Collective, The Dots, and I’m checking out The Allbright, a members’ club for women. Interesting event programme and some inspiring women on board – member spotlights. It would also be great to have a regular coworking space in London.
So, if you want to take your working life up a notch and set some goals this year, check out The Professional Freelancer by Anna Codrea-Rado. How to set freelance goals you’ll actually stick to, and the importance of distinguishing between outcome goals – things you don’t have any control over like “getting a book deal” and process goals – actionable steps you can control like “emailing five agents this week”. Why it’s important to do both. Here’s some more freelance friendly content to check out, via @JessicaAnneLord.
What I’m reading
How to escape your phone and other life hacks
Family life suffers from always-on work culture
‘I quit life as a BBC journalist to live as a jade carver in China’
Resounding NUJ victory in landmark equal pay case. A wake-up call to all employers!
Little Black Book – A Toolkit for Working Women
DCW chief Swati Maliwal hospitalized after fainting on 12th day of hunger strike
Bittersweet legacy of a blazing talent – Motherwell: A Girlhood
Elizabeth Wurzel and the illusion of Gen-X success
CES 2020 – all the latest news and highlights – the joy of tech!
What I’m listening to
#237 Emma Forrest: Writing & Transcendental Meditation. Dreams and creativity. Keep a pen handy. You are most creative when you don’t realise you’re doing it.
Lana Del Ray – Norman Fucking Rockwell
Where I’m going
StartUp 2020 – the UK’s biggest start-up show of the new year.
Nicci Talbot is a freelance journalist and copywriter. She can be reached at nicci@niccitalbot.com or follow her on Twitter @niccitalbot.
Photo by Lee Soo hyun on Unsplash
