I’m the girl who would wake up when my husband woke up to go to work, make a cup of coffee, and work until he came home ten hours later. Then I would break for dinner, grab my laptop, and get in bed and work until I went to sleep. I realized pretty fast (with the help of my husband who bluntly pointed it out) that this was an unhealthy way to work and that I would quickly burn myself out in my business.
Time management has been something that I always felt was easy to preach but much more difficult to practice, so lately I have been making a determined effort to follow the schedules and routines I have created for myself and my business! This is something that I continually change and update because it is a constant struggle. With that being said, I thought there may be other work-from-home business owners out there who could benefit from seeing what I have put into action! This has helped increase my productivity and efficiency so I am no longer working 24/7! We all have different priorities, so obviously all of this needs to be tailored to you, but I thought it would be helpful to give concrete samples of what works for me!
calligraphy by Caddy Corner Designs
Routine, Schedule, Repeat
The best way I have found to stick to my schedule has been to create a weekly routine – one where every day has it’s own task that I knock those out first. Once that day’s routine task is complete, I work my way into my daily tasks/ to-do lists/ etc. My weekly routine with explanatory notes included is outlined below so you can see what has worked for me:
Monday: All things marketing and planning! I plan and write out my drafts for blog posts, create a skeleton for my social media plan (I call it a skeleton because I like to have the flexibility to switch out pre-planned content for new content as I create it), and create any other marketing I need to have ready for the week. This includes any launches I have planned, announcements, events, etc.
Tuesday: I start every Tuesday with business education; webinars, podcasts, blogs, or books – I spend a couple hours of undivided attention on this. I have found it helps me maintain best business practices as well as create and implement fresh and new ideas into my business!
Wednesday: Meetings and appointments; All personal appointments (as much as possible) are made on Wednesdays for me as well as business and client meetings. In addition I try to schedule any “home tasks” for this day.
Thursday: The dreaded accounting days! Just kidding, it’s not that bad if you make time to visit your finances, accounting, paperwork, etc on one morning every week instead of thinking about it every day. I also make sure to update my Quickbooks on this day.
Friday: My favorite! This is my catch-up day. So anything that got pushed to the side throughout the week gets first priority on Friday morning. This includes anything that was missed due to an “exception day”, which leads me to….
“Exception” days: If I shoot a wedding the day before, or have a full day event, I take the following morning to regroup. This is in an effort to prevent burnout- of course in those seasons of hustle it’s unavoidable but rest is so important. Not only on a personal level, but also to make sure you are creating the best and highest quality work for your clients!
I keep chalkboards with my weekly tasks on either side of my desk for quick reference (intentionally leaving Friday blank to fill in as needed). I have the broad tasks on the smaller board, and details on the larger boards.
Next, I have my daily schedule. In my last post I stressed the importance of a planner. I am a little bit of a paper goods addict and I have tried pretty much every planner out there in the last few years. From ones that cost $5, to the full-force daily ones that cost $100, I even tried making my own, and I have FINALLY found my perfect planner. Best of all- it’s only $15 from Target, designed by Sugar Paper L.A. and is a weekly/monthly where the weekly spread is on one page the week at-a-glance and the other page is a to-do-list. You guys, this has made my life so much easier!! I use bulleted lists instead of time increments because personally the anxiety of setting a specific time to accomplish everything gave me a little anxiety, and I found I work better just knocking bullet points off of my overall weekly or daily to-do list. I also divide the day into morning and afternoon blocks to help guide me toward taking an actual lunch break (because I am the person who would work through lunch and then be starving and eat everything in my house for dinner)!
On a daily basis, my schedule consists of knocking out the weekly routine in the morning (coffee, emails, then the task assigned to that day of the week) and then addressing whatever current project I have in the works (whether that is editing a session’s images, a mentoring session, etc). One thing I make sure to include in my daily schedule is some kind of work out, whether that means a trip to the gym or a group class (dance, yoga, barre, etc). I have found this to be the very best way to cut down on cabin-fever when you work from home, as well as helping manage the stress that comes with daily business ownership. Of course another great solution to the stir-crazy feeling you may encounter while working from home is setting up shop at a coffee house, or finding a local co-working space to use! Lastly, my current goal is to actually stop working before it’s fully dark outside. Some days I reach that goal, some days I don’t but at least it is a work in progress, and something I am consciously working toward!
My hope with utilizing these routines and schedules is to create a better work/life balance, and to reclaim all the time that could potentially be lost throughout the day. This way when you find all that lost time, you can start to reclaim your personal life! I’m still working on this one but I’m seeing slow progress into this. I’ll have to revisit this topic in a few months and update how it’s impacted my work/life balance! I hope that this helps you find time to spend on yourself, your family, and all the things that will help you create a more well rounded daily life!
As always, I am cheering you on!!
Everyone in my family approves of this planner!