With 2023 poking its head around the corner, I find myself at a little bit of a loss over the goals I want to set and share. 

 

(Also, what's happening?! How did we get here?!) 

 

I could say in 2023, I've got my eyes on growing this email list, being featured on some fabulous podcasts, and continuing to book out with badass clients who are all in when it comes to taking their website to the next level. 

 

(BTW, First name / friend, I'm now booking March projects so if you've been dreaming about working together Q1, don't wait too long!)

 

I'm also absolutely ✨manifesting✨ more dreamy clients who want to use Tonic Site Shop Templates for their website because I've got a project I'm drafting up right now and it's gonna be positively drool-worthy.

 

I could tell you, First name / friend, that in the next few months, I'm hoping to launch my very own portfolio (!!!), continue blogging—for myself and for my clients—and keep cooking up fun, fabulous, and informative pieces like this one and this one for Instagram. 

 

I could also share that I'm planning to start slowly squirreling away some money to buy a house (investment property, baby), host at least 2 workshops on writing website and sales page copy, and maybe even create some digital products of my own (like a guide on how to write a services and pricing brochure that gets downloaders to actually reach out and book your damn services?!). 

 

And, of course, no matter what year it is, I'll be taking more copywriting courses, learning more about SEO, and, let's be honest, retaking Site Series approximately 25 more times (I'm currently on number 5), so I can continue mastering and refining my copy cheffing abilities… until I'm dead.

 

Even though all of those things are true and realistic goals (which are so much better than the usually INSANE goals I'm the queen of setting for myself like, I don't know… finishing this scratch-off poster of the top 100 books in ONE year or writing a 50,000 word novel in a month)…

 

… There's something I've been needing to come clean about. 

 

Because, whether I like it or not, it's been resting heavy on my heart and I think 2023 is my year to make room for it.

 

I've always been a writer, First name / friend, since the first “genius” book I penned in my white-and-green flower notebook in the 4th grade (see my About page for details), but since finishing my creative writing thesis in college, I haven't written anything.

 

Well, obviously, I've written A TON this year—according to Grammarly, I've had over 9 million words checked since JULY—but I mean, I haven't written anything for myself. 

 

And lately, I've been really missing it. 

 

Maybe missing isn't the word. 

 

Every time I stop giving into my personal passion for creative writing, it chases after me, relentlessly—and the other night after one large glass of wine, words began to tumble out and start to sort themselves into a story. 

 

A sloppy one, sure, but it was still a story. 

 

While I LOVE what I do for a living, I don't believe there's just ONE thing that can COMPLETELY fulfill you and satisfy every need and desire you have. And there's a part of me that has been hungry for more, crying to be listened to and made space for. 

 

That part is Ms. Fiction Writer Alethea. Or just Creative Writer Alethea with No Agenda. No CTAs. Just me and a blank Google Doc (maybe a large glass of wine) staring at each other until some sort of inspiration squeezes itself out of me. 

 

I'll speak for myself here, First name / friend… 

 

I'm not the best at balancing. I'm in all-in or all-out kind of person. BUT, I also know that if I don't start making space for free range creativity, that voice will slowly learn to quiet itself. And I'll fall into a habit of learning to ignore it until I can't hear it anymore. 

 

So, in addition to all of those things I listed above that relate to Copy with Spice, in 2023, I'm also committing to not filling every inch of white space on my calendar with work-related stuff. 

 

I'm committing to taking more time to write for myself. Bad poems. Half-finished books. Sappy short stories. 15-minute freewrites. 

 

Because that's the beauty of building your own business, you get to decide what you make time for and what voices to follow. 

 

 

ALSO—and on the note of being mindful of time—I'm determined to remind myself to actually take time off next year instead of doing what I did this year which was forgetting that during the holidays all I want to do is watch The Holiday, eat cookies, and sit around doing a whole lot of nothing… 

 

…which could have happened had I been more mindful of my schedule. 

 

Until next year, First name / friend. ;)