A few days ago I reached the 4 week milestone of being completely freelance, I'm still alive... so I guess at the moment I can consider it some sort of success! 

I actually began freelancing way back in 2009 but I had been working solely with a client within their company until July this year. With my 22nd birthday approaching and Bear getting bigger every day it just felt like the right time to branch out on my own. The major benefit so far has been creating my own diary and not being trapped in a 10-6 scenario... but this has also meant that I'm spending alot more time on Facebook then I used to! lol.

What I've been doing this month: I've settled into my new desk with a spiffing Mac Mini kindly donated to me by Webforward, it was being used as a server for some time but he still runs like new :o) In return I've been collaborating with them on a new website design which is going very well! It's been fun experimenting with designing something that will be multi-platform friendly and playing with new technologies! I've also worked on some interesting projects that will be launched shortly :)

What I'm proud of this month: I feel like I've had a real surge of confidence in my skills since I went freelance. Before in meetings I had other people to be 'the voice' so to speak, but now there is only mine, and I've had to find it pretty quickly! My to-do list is slowly building so it's been a struggle getting myself organised at first as I've been so used to doing things differently but I am getting there! After that I'll be glad that I can get on with the things that matter, designing awesome sites!

What I need to do differently: Working to my own schedule has become the devil lol, I find myself feeling really inspired to start working around 11pm every night, which has meant late nights and late mornings.   So this month I am definitely going to start managing my time better and dedicating myself once I'm at the office. 

If I don't, I am giving everyone permission to poke me, repetitively. 

Going forwards: Going forward this month is something I'm extremely excited about. As I've been getting involved in learning about mobile applications and eCommerce (2 things I've always avoided!) I feel like I need to start writing PHP again and learning some HTML5. So here's my list of what I want to achieve by this time next month:

Design & Print some new business cards

Market Myself

Finish the Webforward Re-Design

Start writing PHP & HTML again

Start developing Android & iPhone applications

Stop spending so much time on Instagram (I am hopelessly addicted!)

Most importantly: Since I've been freelance I've been more conscious about myself and how I feel in myself and I have started back at Slimming World! After years of Costa Coffee's and food on the go my body isn't taking too kindly to the new regime... I know I will feel much better for it so here's another thing to stick to!