Freelance freedom doesn’t have to mean chaos. Join 1,500+ creatives getting honest stories and strategies for building a more structured, sustainable business—that still feels like you—every Tuesday night.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling oddly resistant to goal-setting this year.
After sitting with it for a bit, I realized why.
In past years, I’ve set very outcome-focused goals. Things like:
Grow to X followers
Get X members
Hit X revenue milestone
Sometimes I’d hit one. Sometimes I wouldn’t.
Either way, it often didn’t matter because I wasn’t aligning my work with how I naturally operate.
A simple example: fitness. After years of starting (and abandoning) more 30-day yoga challenges than I can count, I now work out 3-4 times a week.
Yours truly trying reformer pilates for the first time.
I didn’t suddenly become more disciplined. Over time, I built a routine that fits my actual life.
That looked like:
Working out with partners for built-in accountability
Going in the morning, since that’s when I have the most energy
Trying different styles until I found a mix that actually stuck
Once the right structure was in place, consistency followed.
My business goals, on the other hand, were stuck in their pre-gym-girly era.
I could hit them with a burst of effort. But then I’d tire out. Or something else would take priority. Or the pace wasn’t realistic in the long term.
So this year, I’m trying something different.
Instead of rigid goals, I’m leaning into experiments.
This idea was inspired by Anne-Laure Le Cunff, who writes extensively about experiment-driven growth. I wrote a playbook on her for Circle's blog (publish date TBD!), which is how she got on my radar.
I do have rough intentions for the year. One of them is getting more consistent with my marketing.
But right now, I’m focusing more on testing approaches than forcing outcomes.
For example:
Doing my marketing first thing in the morning, before client work, two days a week
Reducing my LinkedIn posting goal from 3x/week to 2x/week
Shifting my newsletter from weekly to biweekly
All I’m trying to see right now is if this is a flow I can actually stick to.
If it works, great. If it doesn’t, I’ll adjust and try something else in Q2.
If you’ve been feeling weirdly allergic to goals this year—or bummed that 2025 didn’t pan out the way you thought—maybe try shifting your focus.
Less on what you did or didn’t accomplish. More on what you learned and what you can apply going forward.
’Til next time!
Big (virtual) hugs,
✨ What’s happening inside The Reach
Inside The Reach, we’ve added a couple of simple accountability threads.
Each week, members share what they’re working on. Once a month, we do a check-in to look at what worked, what didn’t, and what to tweak next. It’s a low-effort way to stay consistent without feeling like you’re doing everything in your own head.
💡What I'm loving right now
Instead of a content recco or tool this week, I wanted to share a couple of copy projects that recently went live.
I updated AV Marketing’s homepage copy to sharpen positioning and decision-stage content. We clarified their best-fit clients through interviews, refined FAQs and case-study titles, and updated messaging to better engage investment-ready, values-driven prospects.
I also worked on a multi-page website refresh for a non-profit organization, Action Dignity. The overall goals were to simplify complex language, balance sensitivity with education, and create clearer messaging for multiple audiences.
Heads up: This newsletter includes the occasional sponsored or affiliate link (marked with an asterisk). I only feature brands and businesses I truly stand by, and these partnerships, along with your clicks, help sustain this work. I appreciate your support!
Jasmine Williams Media is a company founded and primarily operating within the ancestral, traditional and unceded territories of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, also known as Toronto, Canada. This land is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.
Freelance Curious
By Jasmine Williams
Freelance freedom doesn’t have to mean chaos. Join 1,500+ creatives getting honest stories and strategies for building a more structured, sustainable business—that still feels like you—every Tuesday night.
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