Anyone else out there incredibly proud of the work they do but also low key losing their shit? Aye, aye captain! The most important thing you can do for your business is to learn how to keep your sanity as a business owner. Once you’ve lost your damn mind, your business is probably fried too. So let’s focus on how you can work smarter, not harder, crush your metrics, and have time for yourself again!
Power Schedule
How can business owners save time? Girl, you need a power schedule. Henry David Thoreau said, “It is not enough to be busy… the question is: what are we busy about?” Build a schedule that WORKS FOR YOU and then for the love of Sabrina Carpenter, STICK. TO. IT. Here’s my schedule to get your juices flowing.
5am – Rise Ritual. This is where I wake up, get kisses from my dogs, make some morning tea, write down 10 ideas for my day, and journal morning pages. The morning pages are 3 pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing. If you haven’t read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, it is pretty intensive but has a lot of great ideas for creatives. What I’m not doing? Checking my phone. No emails are opened, I have no idea who’s sliding into my DMs. There will be time for that later in the day. Right now, it’s about that morning bliss.
Work AND play
5:30 am – 8:30 am Creative Block. This is where I work on big, creative projects. I am editing client photos, working on my website, building up my coaching courses. I am designing the hell out of a two day elopement! This is where I am putting all the beautiful ideas into tangibles. If you have a podcast this is a great time to map your episodes out!
I will add a note here that I am not spending three hours in the same position. My sure to schedule a little break every hour and a half while working in longer chunks. I use a timer on my phone that plays a gentle chime to remind me to get up for 5 minutes and reset.
8:30 am – 9:15 am – Morning Break. Time for a healthy breakfast and taking the dogs out.
9:15 am – 11 am – Flex Time. This really differs from day to day, as it should! It’s called flex for a reason. Call a friend to catch up. Read a couple more chapters in the Sarah J. Maas book. Take the dog to the groomers. Get a blowout. You are not working a 9-5. Take advantage of your time!
The afternoon routine
11 am – 2 pm – GTFO of the Office. For me this includes a workout which I highly recommend ‘cause endorphins are the best. But just do something. Go see the mountains, the trees, garden in your backyard, check out the downtown life of your city. **This is where the magic happens** Get outside of your bubble and get inspired by the world around you! Your work will be waiting for you when you get back. The inspiration will not be.
2 pm – 4 pm – Admin Time. This time slot is filled with consultation calls, responding back to emails, checking the DMs. This is for me to connect with my sweet sweet couples. Guess what? They didn’t care that I didn’t respond to their email at 5AM. Didn’t even notice! I also insist that you Automate Your Elopement Business. If you do not, this 2 hour chunk could EASILY take up to 4 hours. The best way to keep your sanity as a business owner is to put systems in place so you can get your time back. Automation isn’t just for my elopement babes, LMR Consulting also shares it as one of their tips for ALL BUSINESS. No one is going to judge you for not personally sending an email back.
Goodbye, farewell, to you my friend
4 pm – Next Day Roundup. How do I stop thinking about work as a business owner? Make sure you leave everything in order for the next day so you can shut your work brain down. Take a quick 15 minute refresh where you set tasks for the next day. Schedule emails to go out for the next morning. It’s important to know exactly where you are leaving off so you know where to pick it all up again. When you leave things in disarray, you are forcing yourself to untangle them the next day. Clarity is an important part of how to keep your sanity as a business owner.
4:15 pm – Girl BYE Ritual. Clear off your desk and literally click the little button that says “shut down” on your computer. DO NOT COME BACK TO WORK! It will be waiting for you. Say a little goodnight to the electronics, and peace out to enjoy the rest of your day!
Your Schedule Will Be Unique to You
Now this WILL look different for everyone. My entrepreneurial parents, for example, may need to include making lunches, school drop offs/pickups, managing activities, and so forth into their schedule. I AM HERE TO HELP YOU! Moms have a special place in my heart. Don’t wait until the kids are older, or the kids are doing this or that. The best thing to do for them and for yourself, is to follow your dreams. In my coaching program, we WILL create a schedule that works for YOU! Same goes for all my travelers, do not wait until time slows down to create a schedule. It won’t. We can create the processes and systems that work now to keep a schedule in place.
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Why discipline matters when trying to keep your sanity as a business owner
I can create the best schedule for you, we do this in our BOSS UP! coaching all the time. But, if you don’t stick to it, it doesn’t matter. Literally as irrelevant as The Click Five. Guess I wasn’t just the girl they’re looking for.
How do you develop a business owner mindset? You stay focused and disciplined. I hate to say it but I’m not always motivated to do the things I want to do. Sometimes I just don’t want to! That is when you lean into your discipline. By having discipline and doing things even when you don’t feel like it, that will make the difference in your business success. Sometimes it’s not even that you don’t feel like it, maybe you think you CAN’T.
I get to travel internationally for my wonderful couples!! Fantastic, best thing ever. But that gets me out of my routine. It is 100% harder to work your habits when you are out of your routine. At home, I prioritize 30 minutes of exercise every morning. While it is not as easy to do this while traveling, I make sure to make fitness fit in somewhere. Sorry convenient conveyor belts in the airport, I’m gonna walk next to it, not on it.
Arriving two hours early for my flight, I’m gonna first- make sure my gate is there and not a Platform ¾ THEN, I’ll walk around. I also drop on my guide for how to prepare for an international flight, plane yoga is a thing. Also a big fan of bringing my own snacks to the airport. I’m not saying it’s easy to keep at least elements of a routine when you’re out of place, but I’m saying that you’re a creative. So get creative!
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How to give yourself play and get your shit done
How do I retain my sanity? By not making work the end all be all of who I am. Here’s the deal, you should not be chained to a desk, a phone, anything. You need to be able to enjoy your life, play a bit! That is how to keep your sanity as a business owner. Now, if you decide to just fuck off and do whatever you want right this second, while I will celebrate it, it may actually lead to an increase sense of anxiety/dread. Kind of like the morning after a night you can’t really remember. Like, wait, did you drop the ball on something? Eeek. So, let’s set up a system so you CAN go out and enjoy.
Set boundaries to help keep your sanity as a business owner
First, set the boundaries before you fall off the face of the earth. We tell our eloping couples all the time that it’s okay to set boundaries, especially with awkward family convos. You should also be setting boundaries with yourself. Boundaries I set in my successful photography business include an email response that lets everyone know what our expected response time is. By being transparent that I will be responding to emails on certain days of the week, clients know that I’m not ghosting them. Also remind yourself that emails don’t need a response within five minutes. Setting boundaries in all areas of your life is one of the most impactful habits IMO. If you are looking for more habits to create a successful photography business we have you covered.
Once you have set boundaries so no one is calling missing persons on you, go. Be free! Explore! PLAY! Draw, write, dance. Go meet friends for lunch or take yourself on a picnic. Being by yourself is not a bad thing! This is a great time for self-reflection, introspection, and relaxation to emotionally recharge. Or seek out activities that bring joy and laughter into your life, whether it’s watching a comedy, attending a sports game (go Avalanche!), or taking your furry friend to the lake. Life is meant to be enjoyed!
Keep your sanity as a business owner
While you can build all the schedules and do all the right things, there are two additional elements that I need you to hear. First, you need to limit negative influences in your life. Minimize exposure to negative people, environments, or media that drain your emotional energy and contribute to stress!! Do not pass go. Do. Not. Engage. That can be VERY hard, but once you step away from toxicity, you step into a whole new, lighter world of love which will not only make you a happier fucking person, but it WILL translate into your business.
Numbero 2, practice self-compassion. You are a wonderful, talented, badass and you should treat yourself as such. We expect it here. Every day is not going to go according to plan, where would the fun be in that? It’s about acknowledging life as it is, and then moving forward. It’s not about falling off the horse, it’s about getting back on it. Amiright?
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