It’s officially spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and you know what that means. Temperatures are warming up. You might be gearing up for a spring break trip when your kids are out of school. If you’re really ambitious, you’re planning a full home cleanup as you put the winter coats into storage and bring out light jackets.

But the beginning of spring also marks the end of the first fiscal quarter of the year. And that means that by now, it should be very clear to you what is and isn’t working for your 2023 freelance writing life.

Schedule a few minutes to take stock of your work and clear out those New Year’s resolutions that aren’t serving you. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you’re spring-cleaning for your freelance writing.

Are you charging enough?

It’s always important to charge what you’re worth, and it’s very likely you’re worth more than you think.

If you made even one New Year’s resolution, officially written out on a vision board or just a mental note, it was probably about charging higher rates for your work. How has that been going these last few months? Or if you didn’t consider upping your rates in 2023, how does that feel? Are you being paid what you’re worth? Or are you growing resentful of your clients and questioning whether writing for a living is worth it?

Sit down with your financial records, both for income and your expenses. Are you making enough money to cover your needs? Are you being paid properly with regards to your niche and years of experience? What about inflation and the rising cost of living?

It’s still the first half of the year. Don’t resign yourself to a 2023 that makes you stretch your budget. Three months is more than enough time to decide whether your initial projections for 2023 rates are enough. Ask for what you’re worth.

Did you start new projects?

Was your 2023 goal to break into a new niche or start writing different kinds of content? What about new clients or changing relationships with old ones?

Unlike your rates, three months may not be enough time to make any definitive decisions here. If you’re trying to break into an entirely new market or maybe onboarded at a new part-time position for some stability, you’re still starting out. Things will continue to change as you grow in your confidence and build new connections and skills.

However, three months is a good time to check in with yourself. Do you like your new projects? Are things progressing as you expected them to? What has been surprising or disappointing? Where do you think you’ll be in another three months?

Take some notes, whether digitally or on paper, and save them somewhere you won’t lose them. As the next few weeks go by, come back and take notes again. Starting anything new is always a roller coaster, and you don’t want to forget how you’ve felt about your progress during each step of the way.

Is it time to drop anything?

Spring-cleaning is a cliché, but it can be a helpful process. Sometimes you need to take what’s no longer serving you and toss it.

If you considered dropping a client, retiring a niche, or ditching a type of content like social media copy but decided to stick to it for one more year, it might be time to say goodbye. Watch out for work you procrastinate finishing or contact names that make you groan when they pop up in your inbox.

Remember, there’s more to being your own boss than deciding your work-from-home dress code. As a freelancer, there’s no one to hand you a promotion, no one to take some work off your plate when you take on bigger projects, and no one to tell you to suck it up and keep working with clients you’ve outgrown.

Everyone in the freelance world talks about taking on more, trying for better rates, and managing their time to complete more work. But it might not have occurred to you that it’s just as important to say no. 

It’s the end of March, so no one can say that you didn’t give the status quo a fair shake for 2023.

You have your whole year ahead of you . . .

There’s an argument to be made that spring, not New Year’s, is the best time to think about your work life and make changes. Everyone is back to their office routine, holiday drama is in the past, and you have a whole fiscal quarter of financial information to work with. Best of all, you still have the rest of the year to reap the benefits of changes you make now.

Take stock of what’s working, what isn’t, and be bold about focusing on what works for you.