Progress Reports

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?

Last year I published my first annual review, and have been doing quarterly progress reports since then.

Overall, I felt happier in 2015 than I have in a long time. I think that’s the result of a lot of factors coming together, including lower stress, fun projects, and a growing comfort as to what’s “enough.”

This is my recap of what went down in Q4 and in 2015 overall, plus my wins and losses for the year and my top 10 articles and podcast episodes.

This is the third installment of my quarterly progress reports. If you want to travel back in time, you can check out the first two here and here. Why “progress”? Because that’s what it’s all about. To me, progress means forward motion, or actively taking the steps to improve each day. It’s one thing we … Read more

Yikes, the year is already half over!

This is the second installment of my quarterly progress reports. If you want to check out the first one from April, you can do so here.

Why “progress”? Because that’s what it’s all about.

To me, progress means forward motion, or actively taking the steps to improve each day. It’s one thing we can control.

This is my first attempt at what may turn into a regular series: a quarterly progress report.

Why quarterly? Because months are too short.

Why “progress”? Because that’s what it’s all about.

To me, progress means forward motion, or actively taking the steps to improve each day. It’s one thing we can control.