Category Archives: Tips & Tricks

I often get asked, “How do you do it all?”  Many people struggle with work-life balance and staying in control of everything.  There is no easy trick, no one-size-fits-all answer. My hope is that the strategies and tips that I share here will help other business owners organize their tasks in a better way.  

So before we get into how I organize and prioritize and all that good stuff, I want to tell you a little bit about me personally.  

I have been married for 23 years and we have three sons.  Our boys are spaced out in age, so that means they fight a lot as all siblings probably do.  Their ages span from high school to elementary so we have a range of extracurricular activities going on year round.  My oldest son has Down Syndrome so that adds a whole level of other challenges.  

I have been an elementary public school teacher for over 20 years.  I work from 7:30 to at least 4:00 Monday through Friday. Although I wish I could retire and focus on photography full time, I need my retirement!  That’s the one thing they haven’t ruined for teachers – yet. So leaving my full time job isn’t an option at this time. I tell you all of this so that you know when I say I’m busy – it’s true!

So, back to the original question then, “How do you do it all?”

1. I don’t bring work home.  When I am at school I work.  What does that mean? Before class starts, on my conference, after class – I’m working.  I get everything done that I need to do at school. I don’t bring my school work home with me.  
2. I pay for a housekeeper.  I cannot keep my house clean on my own with everything else that I have to do.  I pay to have help come in every other week. This is one of the best decisions I have ever made!
3. I do housework every day.  Not a lot, but I don’t let dishes and laundry pile up.  I do one load of laundry almost everyday (and fold it immediately after it dries), usually run the dishwasher, and pick up here and there.  
4. When I get home from my full-time job, I don’t stop.  If I sit down when I get home, I’ll never get up.  When I come in the door, I’ll do a few chores while starting to prepare supper (recipes are simple and easy around here).  After supper I will sit down at the computer for usually about an hour to work on whatever needs to be done. It could be editing, product design and ordering, social media scheduling, etc.  After this hour or so, my “work” is done for the day. We then move on to do homework, baths, etc. I rest when the kids are in bed.
5. I am a low volume photographer.  I don’t schedule more clients than I can handle well.  I typically schedule one client per week. This helps me stay on top of editing, design, and delivery. 
6. I work on weekends.  It’s necessary for me to work on weekends.  One hour per night just doesn’t cut it for all that needs to be done.
7. I plan and schedule all my social media content.  Consistency is crucial when it comes to social media.  There is no way I could be consistent if I didn’t schedule my content.  With Facebook, I plan three months at a time and schedule it right inside Facebook. My Facebook group, I schedule a month at a time.  With Instagram, I schedule 1-2 weeks at a time. I use Planoly to schedule my Instagram posts. For Pinterest, I use Tailwind to schedule posts.  
8. I batch work.  What is batch working?  Batch working is when you devote a section of time to one task.  For example, when I write blog posts, I write several at a time. It’s easier and faster to do the same task over and over than it is for your brain to go from one thing to another.  
9.  I repurpose old content.  I use a free tool called Trello to hold my evergreen captions and content.  That way, when I get ready to use them again, I can just go to Trello, copy and paste.  I repost old images, blog posts, etc. I don’t feel the need to come up with fresh new content all the time.  Chances are, whoever is seeing your post has never seen it before.  
10. I use a calendar.  My paper calendar goes everywhere with me and I write everything down.  I look at it often in order to keep track of what’s coming up. If it’s something I think I may forget, I set a reminder on my phone.  
11. I take time off.  In order to avoid burnout, I take December and most of July and August off each year.  July and August are very slow here in Texas anyway because of the heat. I could stay busy in December but choose to spend the month with my family.  
12. I say “no”.  I have learned to say no to commitments that I don’t want to take on.  If I know that it’s going to make me feel overwhelmed, then I simply say no.