Progress Reports

Progress report time! I’ve been doing these quarterly progress reports for the last few years.

I find this exercise a helpful time to evaluate what happened over the last 3 months, to see what you got done, and to ask if you’re happier or otherwise better off than you were when you started.

So am I?

Progress report time!

Why go through this exercise?

It’s time to evaluate what happened over the last 3 months (and in this case to look at the year as a whole), to see if you achieved your goals, and to ask if you’re happier or otherwise better off than you were when you started.

So am I?

In a way, that consistent effort has started to feel a little tedious, like I’m never getting ahead of it, and I’m trying to come to grips with never really being done. There will always be more I want to work on and new projects I’d love to tackle. 

Instead it’s become a game of focus and prioritization, which I know is good for me, but frustrating at the same time for somebody who wants to do all the things.

So why a “progress” report? Because that’s what it’s all about.

Progress report time! I’ve been doing these quarterly progress reports for the last couple years.

I find this exercise a helpful time to evaluate what happened over the last 3 months, to see what you got done, and to ask if you’re happier or otherwise better off than you were when you started.

So am I?

I’ve been doing these quarterly progress reports for the last couple years.

I find this exercise a helpful time to evaluate what happened over the last 3 months, to see if you achieved your goals, and to ask if you’re happier or otherwise better off than you were when you started.

So am I?

One of the best ways to figure out how to better serve your customers or your audience is to, well, ask them.

So I set out to create my (annual?) member survey and see if I could get some insights into where readers and listeners are at in their side hustle journey, what types of businesses you’re working on, and what your biggest challenges are.

I also wanted to find out about how you first discovered Side Hustle Nation, your #1 goal for the year, and what you’d like to see me cover here in the future.

As we move into 2017, on the surface, things are great. I had my best year financially since 2009, we managed to keep our little hustler alive 11 months in a row, and we went on quite a few cool adventures as a family.

Yet I’ve got some weird anxiety. Like I’m working every week, but maybe not on the right things. Like I could and should be taking on more or different projects. Like I’m letting people down who email me. Like I’m in maintenance mode and not growth mode — even though things are growing.

For the past couple years, I’ve been doing these quarterly progress reports.

Why go through this exercise?

It’s time to evaluate what happened over the last 3 months, to see if you achieved your goals, and to ask if you’re happier or otherwise better off than you were when you started.

So am I?

Last quarter I wrote about feeling more stressed, anxious, and tired, and wondering if that was just the price of parenthood.

With our little hustler growing every day, things are definitely getting better. I think we’ve already blocked from memory how horrible the first 6 weeks were!

This quarter he started daycare 3-4 days a week, which has helped block off longer hours of hustle time and rebuild a bit of a routine.

For the past year, I’ve been doing these quarterly progress reports.

Business-wise, the Side Hustle Nation audience has grown, but other projects have taken a back-seat.

I feel like I’ve been in “maintenance mode” for most of the year.

And while happiness is hard to measure, I have to admit it’s gone down since last year. To be sure, there are moments of elation but on average, I’m feeling more stressed, anxious, and tired. Is this the price of parenthood?