Photo by Lindsey Hinkley
I don’t think I’m alone when I say that balancing life and business is overwhelming. Part of owning your own business means there are constantly things adding up to get done, appointments to attend, laundry to get done, meals to be prepped, guides to be created, emails to be sent… I think you get my point- there’s a lot of things!
When I have a week that just feels so overwhelming I’ve found that sitting down for a few minutes and doing one, two, or all of these things can help! This, and a glass of wine! or two! ;)
1- Learn to say no. Ugh. this is the hardest thing ever. But, I have learned the hard way with this, saying yes to everything will so quickly burn you out. You’ll be shooting or doing things that you aren’t passionate about, and that is the quickest way to kill your creativity. Get rid of the stuff you don’t want to do- it’s holding you back!
2- This is one of my favorites. Get yourself a good planner. There are some AMAZING ones out there- I have a erincondren.com planner, yes, it’s pricey but oh my goodness, it’s SO WORTH IT. I write down EVERYTHING in my planner- from my appointments to what the plan for dinner is that night.
Photo from ErinCondren.Com
3- If you are seriously feeling like there is no time, this is the tip for you. Print off a blank week page and start by writing out ALL of your current obligations. I mean everything. Write down appointments, preschool drop off time, weddings, ballet lessons, workouts. Every.single.thing. Don’t forget sleep, meals. I’m serious here. If you’re OCD like me, you can highlight based on what the activity is. (don’t judge.) this is the best way to see exactly how much time you have to get things done that week. It may only be 12 hours, but now you know that you have exactly 12 hours to get everything done that you need to!
4- Next, I write out a list of all of the things I need to do. I then pull out my highlighters again, and will highlight the things that are URGENT and must get done today, and then the ones that must get done this week. If it’s a super busy week, there are going to be a lot of things that aren’t going to get done.
5- If you can’t tell, I love lists and anything that helps me be organized. I am so excited to share this free tool with you! It’s called TRELLO and it’s seriously amazing!! Trello is a program that allows you to create boards, lists, checklists, and best of all you can add your images to it to make it pretty!!
Ashley Eiban is a Wedding Photographer based in Central Virginia- serving Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Richmond, Roanoke, and surrounding areas. We are currently booking weddings for 2016 and 2017. Contact us today for additional information!
