Why Annual Review Is Important for Freelancers
And how you can use it to boost productivity
After going freelance for almost three years, I’ve started using some of the tools back from previous full-time jobs. And one of these tools is the annual review.
An annual review is also known as a performance review or appraisal. At first glance, the annual review seems to be just another red tape for working any full-time jobs. And it has no value in the world of freelancers.
But in this article, I am going to explain why the annual review is important to freelancers. And to show how it makes me more productive in my work.
Remember the purpose
The first question you might be thinking: If you are working freelance, then you are your own boss and you have all the time in the world. Why would you need an annual review anymore?
You are right. You have all the time for yourself after going freelance. But still, the amount of time you have is not unlimited.
So, the single reason to do the annual review is time — or more precisely, the use of time. To a freelancer, time is the most valuable resource we have to manage wisely. Because it is not like money that we can earn it back after losing it.
After all, most freelancers — myself included — sacrificing all the obvious benefits of full-time jobs have the same purpose.
That is, to use all our time to work on things that we love.
Review for progress
Unlike working on a full-time job, the annual review that I’ve been doing is not for my performance, but for progress.
The review gives me a chance to look at how much time I’ve spent on my goals during the year. I can then evaluate the results by asking myself questions like: Did any goals take much more time than I’ve expected, and why? Or which of the existing goals am I still interested in for next year?
One of the blessings — or curses, if not managed wisely — for freelancers is we would easily develop new interests throughout the year.
For myself, there are always new technologies I want to try out for building my mobile apps. Or there are ideas for a short novel or a memoir that I would love to try writing about.
The review helps me to find out if I have enough time left for taking on new goals while keeping existing ones.
Wear double hats
The way I set up my annual review is similar to those in my previous full-time jobs. I set out goals at the beginning of the year, then I review them by year-end. And I repeat the same process every year.
Usually, it takes two persons — for instance, a supervisor and a staff — to participate in this kind of review process in a company. But in my case, both the supervisor and the staff are the same person. So, I (as the staff) have to be honest with myself (as the supervisor) during the review process.
I have to answer my own questions like: Did I travel too much and not putting enough time to work on my goals? Or did I underestimate the complexity of some goals and so the result doesn’t meet my expectations?
I know it might look as if I am having some kind of double personality mental disorder. In fact, most freelancers have to wear different hats at different times. In this case, I am simply wearing two hats at the same time. And it is not much different than you think, once you get used to it.
Tuning the schedule
In addition to setting up goals at the beginning of the year, I would also create a schedule of what goals I hope to complete by each month.
And then as I am working throughout the year, I would keep a journal on what goals I’ve actually completed each month.
So during the annual review, by comparing the schedule to the journal, I can see exactly how the progress of each goal has deviated from my original plan. Here is a sample of my schedule and journal:
Doing this comparison is not for me to push myself to work any harder. On the contrary, this comparison allows me to understand my actual workflow and how some delays are inevitable. So that I can better organize my goals to fit the time accordingly for next year.
Going in the right direction
People usually think working as freelancers can be much less disciplined than working in full-time jobs. They can do whatever they want, and whenever they want.
Yet I can tell you, from my own experience, that it is very much the opposite. I have to be far more — not less, not even equally — disciplined in my freelancer work than any full-time job.
Because I don’t have a supervisor anymore to get me back on track when I am losing steam on my goals. And I don’t have anyone else to remind me why the goals are created in the first place. All I have is one person.
But the review allows me to take dual roles at the same time and keeps me going in the right direction.
The review might not make me a successful freelancer, but it definitely makes me a productive one.
