Amanda Smyth Connor

I awoke one morning to a gentle knocking on my front door. I looked through the peep hole and saw no one on my doorstep. Minutes later, I heard the knocking again. I opened the door just a crack, and BAM! The holidays are violently upon me.

Here I sit and here I’ll stay, cowering in the corner, refusing to confront the travel plans, shopping, baking and the traditional family bickering. And to top it all off, I’m in the beginning stages of the Holiday Project Slump; the time of year when the flow of projects begins to go from a gush to a trickle and the number of incoming emails subsides. This time of year it gets harder and harder to get clients on the phone. From now until January marks my official “slow season.”

Grumbles.

It is also during this time of year that I begin to feel a little down. “A busy Mandy is a happy Mandy. A bored Mandy is a miserable Mandy.” Or so the saying goes.

I begin hosting daily pity parties and complaining loudly to my husband. “Why won’t this client sign the contract? When is that project going to get started that they discussed? Why aren’t they calling me back?”

But this year will be different. I’ve made a choice not to let the slump get me down. I’m going to gently decline my own invites to those pity parties and instead throw myself a mini-parade. I’m taking time this year to evaluate old projects and accomplishments and to take a hard look at the big picture.

From personal achievements (launching my own business) to aggressive business ventures that paid off and promising new partnerships, I’m taking five to sit on my laurels. Instead of whining to my husband and friends about my slump, I’m taking stock of my Year in Awesomeness by beefing up my portfolio, spending time putting the finishing touches on projects that I’ve been putting off and in general, polishing my professional presence.

In staying positive during a down time, I’m empowering myself to go into the new year with a positive outlook and with high hopes that this new year will bring more good fortune for my business ventures. There are so any aspects of the freelance business world that you simply can’t control. What you can control is your attitude and your outlook.

This season, stay positive and remind yourself of your year in achievements. You’re a freelance rockstar. Don’t forget it. Take the time this season to celebrate that rockstar status.

Amanda Smyth Connor is a SEMPO-certified SEO specialist, has managed online communities and nationwide marketing campaigns for several start-up and  Fortune 500 companies, and has been an editor for more years than she can remember. She also runs her own wedding planning company, Hummingbird Bridal and Events, throughout the northeast.