I can’t be alone when I say “LIFE keeps getting in the way….I HAVE WORK TO DO!”

How vain and selfish a statement on my behalf, that I dare say that LIFE….this precious gift given to me…is some how in the way!

But no matter how selfish, no matter how trivial, its a truth. Its a reality. In order to enjoy some of the blessings of life, you HAVE to work for them. Whether its to save money, to gain knowledge, everyone must WORK towards the LIFE they want to lead.

The problem with working towards a goal, it can sometimes become an obsession. You can become so wrapped up in WORKING you are forgetting to live the life you were WORKING towards. Am I right?

We often forget to stop and look at all we HAVE accomplished and focus only on what we still HAVE to accomplish. OR, once we achieve our goal, we get greedy and want more. And we want more FASTER.

Last year I sat down with a pad of paper and wrote out a TO DO list for the day. It was 2 pages long. I had 2 pages worth of things to do, both for “work” and for “life”. I found that I wrote everything in no priority order and everything was intermingled. I took a look at my 2 pages, put down my pen and took a nap. I had an upset stomach, headache and it was all due to the stress of being OVERWHELMED with things to accomplish. It was then and there I realized that what I was doing was not working and things needed to change if I wanted to maintain a successful and GROWING business.

So, here are my 3 EASY CHANGES you can make TODAY that will give you the time you need to get your work done and LIVE your life without sacrificing either one.

STEP ONE: MAKE 2 LISTS EVERY SUNDAY AND 1 LIST ON THE LAST DAY OF EVERY MONTH

Every Sunday I make one list for work related items that HAVE to get done that week. I even write down what blogs I will try to post each day of that work week. If its there for me to CROSS OFF, I am that much more likely to do it. I happen to love CROSSED off TO DO lists. They make my soul happy!

I then make one for everything I have to do in LIFE that week. (Laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, organize closet, oil change, dinner at friends, etc) This helps me budget my time and plan my days around WHAT has to get done for my family. This is VERY helpful in the school months because I have a limited window where both of my children are at school and can do errands. TIP: Be sure to write things down in priority order and consider what can be done when the sun goes down or when other businesses are closed, etc)

Then the last night of the month, I write a BIG monthly TO DO list. This is stuff I would LOVE to or NEED to get done that month. These are usually bigger things, more time involved projects. One may be clean out garage, take car to get detailed, submit certain weddings to certain blogs, etc) This list is what I look to if there is ever any extra time in my week or I tend to do them on my days off. (This is usually a MONDAY for me…where I only tend to answer emails that day, so I may have time to start on a bigger monthly to do item)

STEP TWO:

OUTSOURCE! OUTSOURCE! OUTSOURCE! Usually when things are said in three’s it sticks better.

Outsourcing what I did not LIKE to do or did not have TIME to do was a game changer for me. I thought I had to do it all to be able to put my name on it. I thought giving up full control made me a failure…a quitter….’not able’ in someway! None of those things were true. By outsourcing my menial office tasks, portions of my editing, business errands, etc, it allowed me to put my time and energy into what I was passionate about (1. Dealing with my clients 2. Shooting)  Not only did it give me my time, energy and passion back….it gave me THE FREEDOM to say, “you know what kids….we are going to the boardwalk today….we are going to the beach, lets go out to dinner”. Sure, it does cut more into your profit margin, but you PAY for what you want and and need in life already…and who wouldn’t pay to have more time with loved ones and to do things in LIFE you work for? PLUS, the more time I had, the more clients I was able to tend to or book, which made up for any monies spent towards outsourcing.

Start small and see how it works out. It may not be for you, or it just may SAVE you!

STEP THREE: 

Rewards. We are human beings, not robots. We are not programmed to run 24-7. We need rest. We need breaks. We need incentives and driving forces. We have bad days. We get tired, frustrated and run down. If not careful, these things can land us in a RUT. Both in your personal and professional life, ruts are bad news!

Learn to say NO! You do not have to say yes to every shoot, every request, every demand. Be your own boss, but be kind. As creatives, being overworked results in poor art. We owe it to our clients to show them that we have BOUNDARIES. We are open for certain hours of the day for consults, shoots and conversations. Put up open and closed hours on Facebook and emails. Work hard for maybe 2 hours straight, then get up and give yourself and hour to do something you want. Read for 30 minutes, work out, grab a cup of coffee, walk the dog without rushing back. Then with a clear and refreshed head, get back to work on crossing something off that TO DO list. You will be benefiting yourself and your clients, trust me!

If your clients have a problem with you taking time to yourself here and there and living a non- robotic life….do you really want that type of client! anyway!?!? Say No, and be okay with it. Make time in the day to reward yourself, I swear it will keep you going.

Here is to you being your own wonder woman/superman. I hope these 3 simple steps brings you to a life where WORK is part of your LIFE and NOT the other way around!

xoxo, Kaitlin