Balance
I wrote this post 18 months ago (how time flies) about where my business is going and how I felt I may move forward in year 5, I wanted to create a better connection with the weddings and the couples and find some balance. Where am I now, how have I managed to find some balance in year 6?
For so many years now, I have been working roughly 80 hours a week and, I should add, for less than I earnt when in my day job however it gives me so many other benefits but I really need to find some proper balance and enjoy life. Life is short.
What have I done to achieve some of this so far ….
*I no longer do a wedding preview on a Sunday morning – this waits until Monday. Sunday mornings are for resting and recuperating and the rest of the day is for family time.
*I will now only work one day of the weekend, unfortunately this means I have to take less on as I know people like their shoots at weekends.
*I will not work a Friday evening, I need to rest the night before a wedding.
*I sit down in January and book off weekends for family breaks and somewhere in the midst of it a holiday.
*I am only willing to be out of the house 2 evenings a week maximum.
*I stop work when my son gets home at 4.30pm
*I never work Christmas Eve.
Sometimes it might mean that images take a few days longer to get to people or that I can’t quite fit you in within 2 weeks but for the last 5 years, I put myself and my family second to my business – but now I am trying so hard to keep a good work and life balance. It doesn’t always work out like that and right now, I am in the middle of a month which has felt like I am juggling a lot so I know I need to work harder at streaming my workflow and my business more.
Its all a work in process as there are lots of things I haven’t been able to do, such as using newsletters as a way of connecting, making my emails personalised and on brand using mail chimp, doing a couple of personal projects that I never seem to have time for, never photographing my family, only using my phone as a camera away from weddings and family shoots, and I have a wonderful idea for a new blog. I seem full of ideas and no time to put them into reality!
So where is Year 6 onwards heading. For the first time, I am feeling unsure. I feel connected to my couples, I am pushing myself to be the best I can be at each wedding, I’ve been doing a little bit of second shooting to take that as an opportunity to try new creative ideas, I’ve re-introduced family shoots and Ive capped the number of weddings for 2017. But …. I feel a yearning for something more. To do something creative, personal, that involves exploration, that involves finding myself a little more. I wonder if its an age thing now I am in my 40’s?
I would love to hear how you find balance, how you fill the creativity within you, how you push yourself? I love the sharing of thoughts and ideas in a circle of creatives.
