Finding Balance and Setting Priorities

*Yawn* Good Morning! Yes, this article is running late. It was supposed to publish at 6AM, but I let it go because I was spending some quality time with my family until very late last night and just did not feel like writing an article at midnight. You weren’t going to be up at 6AM, anyway, and even if you are THE most devoted fan, I’m pretty sure you weren’t waiting by the computer for the latest article to pop up.

That, my friends, was an exercise in priority setting. Now, if I was just a little bit more organized (ok, a LOT more organized), the articles for today would have been written a few days in advance, but life intervened this weekend and I was writing about 6 hours ahead. I decided that getting some sleep was more important than trying to hammer out an article at midnight. I probably would have written it with a little less thought and a lot more speed, just to get it done. And that wouldn’t have been good. It would have been less than my best effort and that would have been unfair to you.

So, let’s talk about setting priorities and maintaining balance in our lives.

When I first started seriously contemplating going into business as a photographer, the topic consumed my every waking moment, thought and conversation. Suddenly I was “that girl,” the one who wouldn’t shut up about photography. I was a photographer, dammit and I wanted the world to know. I was opening my own business and was constantly picking the brains of other business owners. I was always on the computer doing research about marketing, pricing and ductless splits (hey, I was the general contractor during the construction phase of the studio!).

I would NOT. SHUT. UP. I was annoying. I’m surprised my husband did not try to stage an intervention.

On top of that, I spent 15-18 hours a day working. I was up at 5 and in the office by 5:15 and sometimes had to be drug away from the computer at midnight. I was shooting, post-processing, designing, ordering, organizing, planning and every other ing you can think of.

Thank goodness my husband is the cook, or we would have starved to death.

Don’t be that girl.

Photography is a job. Yes, it is a job that you absolutely adore. It is a job you are passionate about. But… IT. IS. A. JOB.

Too often, because we invest so much of our personal selves into our work, we begin to let it become an extension of ourselves. Don’t. Just don’t. You will regret it. And you will burn out.

I’m going to give you a few challenges:

• Set office/studio hours and stick to them.
• Stop “working people in” and making appointments during the evenings and weekends. That’s personal and family time.
• Schedule one or two evenings a week to accommodate these special requests if you must. For awhile I scheduled Wednesday evenings from 6-8 and Saturday mornings from 9-12 for these requests.
• Get a separate phone line for the business (or a separate phone for you, personally) and shut the business phone off during the evenings and weekends. Record a voicemail message that indicates when your office hours are and that you will return all after-hours calls on the next business day. You do NOT need to be available to your clients 24/7. Most cell phone companies have a family plan and you can add another line onto your account for about $15. A small price to pay for a little bit of peace.
• Work 8-10 hours if you must, but stop with the 12-18 hour days. If you are working that many hours a day to keep up with business, RAISE YOUR PRICES. Yes, you’ll lose a few clients, but you will be working with less clients (ie less time) and making MORE money. That’s called “working smarter, not harder.”
• Take weekends OFF. Ok, if you’re a wedding photographer, that won’t work for you – but make your weekend Sundays and Mondays or Wednesdays and Thursdays. Just take some time off to re-energize and have a personal life.
• Spend more time with your family. If you have young children, I feel sorry for you. This is going to be hard. I had tried to open a business in 1988. I shot weddings for one summer until I gave up and went out of business. I had two toddlers, a husband and a full-time job. I quickly realized that I did not have the time or energy to devote to getting a business off the ground. I waited until my youngest child graduated from high school to attempt it again (and this time it worked!)

OK, that’s all I have for now, but that’s enough to get you started.

Do some thinking about that while I drink my coffee, eat my pop-tarts and watch TV in bed with my kitty girls.