Let’s get real here…Being a photographer is more than just photoshoots and editing. There’s all the backend work too; building and maintaining a website, promoting your business on socials, customer service and so much more! Sometimes, it can feel like you’re spending more time doing admin work than on the photography portion itself.
Who’s got the time for ALL that? You don’t, I don’t. We don’t have enough time to get it ALL done!
Listen, I don’t only write blogs for you, but also to help me solve the obstacles I’m currently facing as a photographer. And truth be told, I’m struggling with this right now! But when I teach, I learn, and what you learn from me comes from digging up the facts and personal experience. Here are three solutions to help manage your time better as a photographer.
Make a Schedule
Managing your time well is the key to a successful and productive day. A daily or weekly schedule is a great way to organize and manage your time better. I can tell you from personal experience, that not having one can easily result with working from dawn till dinner, and that’s not good for anyone’s mental health! (Ahem, gentle reminder to myself.)
Working by a set schedule will finally help you feel in control of your life and your time.
I personally love to use Trello to get organized. I create a card for each day, and I note what needs to get done that day. Mondays are for backing up all SD cards, culling and editing, then maybe delivering the albums. Tuesdays are for Pinterest and so on.
Create a schedule that works for you and stick to it!
Set Boundaries (And Stick To Them)
Work/life balance is so important. How are you going to live a full, happy life if you’re always working?
Learn to say NO. Practice it often, don’t be afraid of it, say NO when you feel you should.
If you want weekends off, make it happen! Note on your pricing guide that sessions are for weekdays. If you’re worried about missing out on opportunities, don’t be! Plenty of clients are able to attend evening appointments during the week.
The weekend boundary is one I’ve actually set for myself and I feel so much better! It’s nice to have a day off on the weekend, sometimes even the entire weekend. It helps me reset and focus on other areas of my life that are just as important.
Outsource
It can be scary AF to think of spending money on outsourcing or, even trusting someone else with your business, but don’t you want your sanity back? For example, a virtual assistant can help you handle some of the administrative work. My BIGGEST time sucker is social media. Posting is one thing, but then I spend the whole day checking comments and DMs and that kills a lot of my time. I wouldn’t say that’s productive, would you? If you let someone else handle your time sucking tasks, you can focus your energy on getting big picture tasks done.
If you feel like you’re in a constant battle with time, I feel you, because it’s something I struggle with daily. But, when I implement these three strategies, I feel liberated and much happier. I am human and imperfect, after all. At times, I fall off the wagon, and that’s ok. I’ll get back up and do it better next time and so will you! You got this!
