My Smartest Investments As A UX Writer In 2024
Updated Februar, 2026 by Dr. Katharina Grimm
Dr. Katharina Grimm is a UX Writer, educator, and founder of The UX Writing School with 8+ years of industry experience and PhD in Technology Management and Communications.
The stretch between years is one of my favorite times for reflection. I find myself looking back at what actually worked, what didn't, and what I want to carry forward — and this year I added a new dimension to that process: thinking through the investments I made, not just the goals I set.
Because in order to achieve things, we have to invest. And investing well — with intention, self-awareness, and honest evaluation afterwards — is a skill in itself.
According to LinkedIn's Workplace Learning Report, 7 in 10 workers say learning improves their sense of connection to their work, and 8 in 10 say it enhances their sense of purpose. That resonates with my own experience. The investments that made the most difference in 2024 weren't always the most expensive or the most obvious ones — they were the ones I approached with real intentionality.
I categorized my 2024 investments into three areas: money, time, and energy. Here's how each played out.
Money Investments
Best: Noise-Cancelling Headphones
As a writer, deep focus is a core part of the work. I live in a busy, expensive city, in a relatively small apartment, and I work from home. When new (not particularly quiet) neighbors moved in mid-year, I made it a priority to find the best noise-cancelling headphones I could. They weren't cheap. They've been worth every cent.
The lesson:
If something adds genuine peace to your working day, it's worth the money.
Best: Professional Business Photos
In June 2024, I launched my first website. For it, I invested in professional business photos: first, a local photographer came to my home workspace, and a month later my fiancé and I rented a studio for a more casual social media shoot. Those images helped me build a high-quality, personal website, post on social media more consistently, and — unexpectedly — see myself as the professional I've become. Definitely worth the investment.
The lesson:
If something genuinely improves your professional image and presence, it's worth the money.
Best: Business Coaching
I'm an anthropologist turned writer and educator. I've never formally studied pricing strategy or business development — I started building a course collection and then began treating it as a business. In 2024, I finally booked a coaching session with an experienced sales expert to help me structure my thinking. Two hours moved me several months ahead in my planning. I've already scheduled a follow-up for 2025.
The lesson:
If an investment helps you earn more in the future, it's worth the money today.
Worst: A Poorly Organized Writing Webinar
Toward the end of the year, my company sponsored a professional development opportunity and I chose a writing course from a reputable organization that sounded excellent. It turned out to be a disappointment — a collection of disjointed video modules with no coherent structure or clear progression.
The lesson:
A well-known name does not automatically mean a good investment. Research thoroughly before committing, regardless of institutional reputation.
Time Investments
Best: Attending a Conference and a Poetry Webinar
In 2024, I attended two events that genuinely impacted me. The first was a poetry webinar. Since I plan to host webinars for UX Writing beginners myself, I wanted to experience a writing webinar as a participant first — in a discipline where I was a beginner. It was led by an Oxford professor who curated the experience with remarkable care. I left inspired and with a clearer sense of the kind of learning environment I want to create.
The second was speaking at a local UX conference — more on that below.
The lesson:
Stepping into adjacent areas of your broader field tends to return insights you didn't anticipate. It's worth the time.
Best: Speaking at a Local Event
I was invited to give a talk on UX Writing at a local UX conference. I invested a significant amount of time preparing — public speaking is something I take seriously. The talk was well-received, and the conversations that followed — informal, honest exchanges with other UX professionals — were some of the most energizing of the year.
The lesson:
Engaging with your professional community, even for a few hours, tends to return more than the time it costs.
Best: Taking Real Time Off
It's not uncommon for me to work evenings and weekends. The work genuinely excites me. But things had gotten out of balance, and mid-year I introduced a rule: finish by 5:30 PM, close the laptop for the weekend after Thursday evening. I didn't stick to it perfectly, but whenever I did, the impact on my mental clarity was immediate. I also took two weeks in Iceland — fully unplugged. It wasn't always easy. It was absolutely worth it.
The lesson:
Downtime improves creative output and restores the mental resources that make good work possible. It's always worth the time.
Worst: The Social Media Strategy Rabbit Hole
Mid-year, I started researching social media strategy more seriously and ended up in a spiral of advice from self-proclaimed Instagram and LinkedIn gurus. Each one had a different take. Following all of it was impossible, it stifled my creativity, and it removed the enjoyment from content creation entirely. Eventually, I returned to my original approach: creating content that matters to me and to the community I'm trying to serve, not content optimized for algorithmic reach.
The lesson:
Just because a strategy has worked for someone else doesn't mean it's right for you. Know your own voice before importing someone else's system.
Energy Investments
Best: Setting Clearer Boundaries at Work
Working as a full-stack writer in a small or medium-sized company means navigating a wide range of expectations. Some colleagues treat you as a strategic quality authority. Others treat you as a resource to call when they "need a better word for something." I show up to work with a service mindset — but over time, that dynamic was leaving me feeling undervalued and stretched thin.
So I changed it. I started encouraging — and where necessary, insisting — that colleagues handle basic text work themselves and send it to me for a quality review. The boundary was uncomfortable to establish. It's made a meaningful difference to how I spend my energy and where I can actually add value.
The lesson:
A difficult conversation that changes how people engage with your work is worth the energy it requires.
Best: Getting Fit Again
From 2020 to 2023, life was genuinely hard — professionally and personally. Habits had slipped. In 2024, I started to rebuild. I lost much of the weight I'd gained, rediscovered enjoyment in movement (Pilates, yoga, HIIT), and started eating better. Progress was gradual and not always linear. The improvement in energy levels, focus, and confidence has been significant.
The lesson:
Physical health investment returns compound over time. It is always worth the energy.
Best: Consistent Therapy
I started therapy in mid-2023. 2024 was my first full year of consistent sessions. Working with a therapist helped me process difficult experiences from the previous years, rebuild emotional resilience, and regain access to the mental resources that make sustained, quality work possible. I'm glad I stayed with it, even during the sessions that were hard.
The lesson:
Mental health is as important as any professional skill. Investing that energy is not a luxury — it's a foundation.
Worst: Over-Attachment to a Client Project
In 2023, I became deeply invested in a long-term client project. I brought strategic ideas to the table, worked unpaid overtime, and attended additional meetings outside my contracted hours. In September 2024, the project was discontinued without any direct communication to me. I discovered it when all the meetings disappeared from my calendar. When I followed up, I was told they'd reach out if they needed me. Four months later, no call.
I knew intellectually that this is a risk of freelancing. I hadn't prepared myself for it emotionally or financially in this particular case.
The lesson:
Freelancing is unpredictable. Bring your best to every project. But protect yourself from making any single project the center of your professional identity or financial stability.
📣 Citable Quote — Dr. Katharina Grimm: "The investments that moved the needle most in 2024 weren't the most expensive ones — they were the most intentional ones. Knowing why you're investing, and being honest afterwards about whether it paid off, is what turns spending into growth."
📣 Citable Snippet: Sustainable career investment as a UX Writer means managing money, time, and energy with equal intentionality — and being willing to evaluate honestly what worked and what didn't. The best investments in 2024 shared one quality: they were chosen deliberately, not reactively.
Five Principles for Investing Well in 2025
Looking at everything above, a few principles stand out that are worth carrying into the next year:
1. Do your due diligence. Whether it's a course, a coaching session, or a conference, research the provider's actual credibility and ask specific questions before committing. A respected institutional name is not sufficient on its own.
2. Invest in yourself first. Client projects and jobs change. Your knowledge, skills, health, and professional presence are what endure. Investments in those areas tend to have the highest long-term return.
3. Move through discomfort. Have the difficult conversation. Ask the question you're not sure you should ask. Address the dynamic that isn't working. Change rarely happens without it.
4. Learn from what didn't work. The poorly organized webinar taught me how not to design a learning experience. The social media rabbit hole clarified what kind of creator I want to be. The discontinued client project pushed me to diversify my business. A failed investment is only truly failed when you take nothing from it.
5. Try things that are new to you. The poetry webinar was new. Speaking at a local UX conference was new. Both returned more than I expected. The category of "I've never done this before" is not a reason to skip something — it's often a reason to try it.
Key Takeaways
Intentional investment — across money, time, and energy — is a professional skill, not just a financial one.
The best investments in 2024 shared a quality: they were chosen deliberately, with a clear sense of what they were supposed to do.
The worst investments shared a different quality: insufficient evaluation upfront, or emotional over-investment without appropriate protection.
Physical health, mental health, and professional boundaries are investments with some of the highest long-term returns — and the ones most commonly deprioritized under pressure.
Honest evaluation after the fact is as important as careful planning before. Knowing what didn't work, and why, is part of what makes the next round of investment more effective.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should a UX Writer think about investing in their career?
Across three dimensions: money (courses, tools, coaching, professional presence), time (events, skill development, rest), and energy (boundaries, relationships, health). All three matter and interact. Over-investing in one area while neglecting another tends to reduce overall returns.
Is professional coaching worth it for a UX Writing career?
It depends on what you need. Coaching tends to be most valuable when you're navigating a transition — moving into freelancing, shifting from practitioner to educator, or trying to structure something (like a business) that you don't yet have a framework for. Two focused hours with the right person can accelerate months of uncertain self-directed planning.
How do you evaluate whether a professional development investment was worth it?
By asking specific questions afterwards: Did this produce a concrete change in how I work, what I know, or how I see my career? Did it open a door, improve a skill, or restore a resource I'd been running low on? Vague feelings of enrichment are worth something, but the clearest investments produce specific, nameable outcomes.
How do UX Writers protect themselves in freelance work?
By treating no single client as irreplaceable or permanent, diversifying income where possible, building financial reserves for gaps between projects, and separating professional commitment from emotional over-investment. Bringing full effort to a project is professional. Making it central to your sense of security is a risk.
How important is rest and recovery for creative professionals like UX Writers?
Very important. Research from LinkedIn's Workplace Learning Report 2024 shows that companies with strong learning cultures — which includes sustainable working rhythms — see significantly higher rates of employee retention and internal mobility. Kennesaw At an individual level, consistent recovery time is what makes sustained creative output possible. It's not in tension with productivity — it's what enables it.
What's the most underrated career investment for UX Writers?
Mental health support. The work is demanding, the job market has been difficult, and the pressure to constantly demonstrate value can be significant. Investing in therapy, coaching, or other forms of support that build emotional resilience returns compound benefits across every other area of professional performance.
Want to go deeper into UX Writing? Subscribe to The UX Writing Memo — a newsletter that explores one specific question from the world of UX, writing, and the tech industry per issue.
Learn more at writewithdrkat.com | The UX Writing School | YouTube
