Life Tip: Make The Most of Your Workday

My family always taught me to “work hard and you’ll be successful”.  But over the years, I have met very successful people who, to my amazement, actually work fewer hours, are more productive, take lavish vacations and still have time to exercise daily!  It is the exercise part that really makes me mad, how do people actually have time to do this??? Answer: They are “working smart,” not “working hard.”  Here are things we can ALL work on to work “smarter” not “harder”.

1. Don’t spend time doing things you are not good at! This is especially important as photographers to realize what our skills are (shooting obviously) and what we should outsource (editing, marketing, accounting etc.)  By doing this, you will have a clear focus and won’t get bogged down.  Find someone that does this well and ask them to mentor you.

2. Keep a routine in your day and do not get distracted. If you check emails every morning at the same time, then open mail, then pay bills (in that same order everyday) you will get in the habit of doing these tasks quickly and efficiently.  Routine and structure are key, prioritize and be disciplined and don’t get distracted!

3. Do not procrastinate. Do the hardest or boring stuff first, then later in the day, do the fun stuff.

4. Perfect the skill of ending a conversation! Some clients will want to talk forever!  Relationship is key in this business but talking too long will make your days unproductive.  Happily chat for a minute or two and end the conversation on a positive note.  Summing up the conversation is a great way to let people know you were listening but “gotta go”!

5. Maintain passion for what you do. If you truly enjoy what you do, you will be more productive.  So make sure to stay creative and doing jobs you really enjoy.  Sometimes I will do ask a friend to model for the day just so I can shoot creatively (not the client’s vision).

I know I said 5 but I have decided to add a 6th tip in here:

6.  Maintain a balanced lifestyle! Eat properly, exercise, take breaks, be spiritual and take days off.  All of these help to lead towards a balanced lifestyle which can be so hard to keep in check sometimes when you own your own business.  We have recently started to make time again to volunteering and it has really helped us feel good about life, about helping people and giving back to our community.  Forcing us to stop working for a minute, volunteering puts life back into perspective and gives us renewed energy and focus towards our business.  Everybody wins!
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