Time to make conclusions and think about new goals for 2014

It's hard to believe that it's the end of the year! In just a few days 2014 is going to begin! So I've been thinking that I really need to do some analyzing and thinking, and planning for next year.

Overall, it was a very good year for me. Some very good things happened in my life and business:
1. I reached my target monthly income.
2. I took part in organizing the world record attempt for the longest webinar. I had a fabulous time!
3. I made some new friends and met some new clients.
4. I added a new type of service for my clients: now I can also help them with blogging. I also write articles about Russian culture and traditions.

5. The number of readers of this blog doubled! Wow. I feel honored. Thank you. You are the best!
6. I finally changed the domain name of this blog. Yay! Thank you, Google, for simplifying the process :)
7. I held 6 webinars and hosted over 15 of them.
8. Besides all these conferences and webinars, I completed over 100 translation and editing projects.
9. Together with other respected colleagues I became a co-author of the book "Diversification in the language industry" written by Nicole Y. Adams. The book is now available at Amazon.

I am very thankful for everything. Can't wait to see what the next year will bring :)

What do I want to achieve next year?
1. I want to double my income.
2. I want the number of my readers to grow at least twice.
3. I want to publish (probably self-publish) my first book. It's going to be in Russian, for Russian freelancers.
4. There's one thing I didn't do this year: I didn't become a member of any professional association. For some reason, I just forgot about it. Granted, I had a lot to do this year. But that's one of the things I really should look into in 2014.
5. Also, I almost killed myself working too much. That was one of the main reasons why I had to leave Sharp End Training and limit my other activities besides translation and editing. Now I strictly observe my work-life balance and make sure I don't work too much. I want to continue this practice of observing the good balance next year. So in order to grow my income I need to learn to work smarter, not harder.

Here are 10 most popular posts in my blog in 2013:

• 13 essential things to do in order to succeed as a freelancer;
• How do you stay healthy and fit? Interview with Valeria Aliperta;
• Top #language and #xl8 tweets in October 2013;
• Being a healthy freelancer: your eyesight matters;
• 15 interesting facts about the English language;
• How do you stay healthy and fit? Interview with Sara Colombo;
• Guest post: 4 effective ways to deal with the translation of PDF files;
• New interview series start: How do you stay healthy and fit?
• Olesya Zaytseva shares 5 lessons she learned about translation expertise;
• Top #language and #xl8 tweets in September 2013

Thank you for all your wonderful, encouraging messages about the Top Language and Translation tweets series. The series will continue in 2014. The December list will be published in January.

Happy 2014 to you! Hope next year will bring you even more joy than 2013!

Olga