I was looking at my income this week and realized something. I have earned out all of 2020 already. I have all the money in the bank that I need for the year. In fact, my next pay check will pay out January and that’s income I’ve already done and will be billing for in the next few days. I could stop earning any money today and I wouldn’t have to dip into my savings until February 2021.
For most people, myself included, this realization wouldn’t mean anything. I’d just keep working and earn **more** and be happy I increased my revenue and then next year I’d be aiming to surpass the new higher number.
But, this creates a race against yourself every year. Each year you try and outperform the year before and if you don’t hit the goal clearly the year was an **utter failure** and you must be a terrible person that kills puppies for fun.
I want to hop off that train though and I’m going to do it by defining what enough is for the business.
This year it means that through December I’m not taking any new clients at all. I have a few things to write and two clients I have commitments to already, but they’re all fairly minor things. I’ll do some stuff for myself, like finish my Time Blocking course, but no new clients are being accepted until January 2021.
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Starting next year, I’ll give myself a small monthly raise and when I can earn out the year I’ll do the same thing. Stop making new commitments and spend the time doing whatever I want. Maybe it will be cycling. Maybe I’ll release a new course. Maybe I’ll disappear from the internet for a month or two.
I’m really looking forward to December now with it’s much lighter commitments and way more freedom to hang out with my family and do what I want.
What is your enough? Why work to the bone to go for more than that? Why not reap the rewards of hitting your enough?
## I Shipped
Monday I talked about my [DEVONthink, Obsidian, OmniOutliner writing workflow](https://curtismchale.ca/2020/11/23/using-devonthink-obsidian-and-omnioutlinwer-to-track-writing-project-resources). I’ve been using this workflow for many months now as it contributes to my research vault and earns me money as I write for clients.
Today you’ll see a review of [Cognitive Productivity with macOS](https://curtismchale.ca/2020/11/27/cognitive-productivity-with-macos). Overall decent book by a very smart cognitive researcher that’s hampered a bit by delivery, specifically in the companion videos. If you’re not on macOS, don’t bother. If you are, check the review out to see the proper spot to get the book because content changes between the different platforms.
On Sunday I put together a video of my bike ride through the mountains out in Chilliwack. If you’re into cycling [check it out](https://curtismchale.ca/2020/11/22/lost-and-maybe-trespassing-on-vedder-mountain), and I’ll be doing a few more outdoor/fun videos as the mood strikes me.