So the year has been and gone. A decade down. 2009 was a mixed year for me personally and business wise. It was an interesting year overall now I look back on it with hindsight. It was a year for discovering what I really wanted and achieving a few professional goals. However it wasn’t without frustration and disappointment. Time to reflect on it all.
Previously I have talked at length about burnout and knowing when you are working too much and how to step aside. Friend Derek Featherstone has also written about burnout and finding some white space in our lives.
Kelly Goto at Web Directions South 2009, last week, also spoke on finding more time between moments (YoYu). Ben Buchanan explains YoYu really well too. Everything these good people and I have said is true.
I have volunteered and helped out a good number of professional, sporting and community groups over the years; up till now I have never really questioned why I do it. I guess it’s just the drive to make a difference. Now with my 2 year stint as the Treasurer of the Australian Web Industry Association coming to a close maybe it’s time to reflect on why I nominate myself for such things and what the benefits of volunteering for your community are:
Being a freelancer is the new black. It’s just a crazy fun loving world where nothing can go wrong. Well as a crusty old freelancer I can tell you that’s far from the truth.
Well Miles Burke in his new book The Principles of Successful Freelancing discusses just that. Miles is no stranger to making the leap into world of freelancing having done it three times.
Gary Barber
I'm an independent User Experience Designer. I design and enhance complete web user experiences (websites), usable web interfaces, build web architectures, prototypes, conduct usability & accessibility tests or audits.
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