Happy Friday lovelies! This morning, I woke up without realizing that it was actually Friday… I thought it was Thursday! You should’ve seen me when I finally figured it out that it was FRIDAY! You see, when you work from home (& 90% of the time work in your jammies!) then pretty much every day feels like a Friday. Yes, it’s pretty awesome. I’m not going to lie though, it did take me a while to feel productive everyday throughout my career. Today I’m going to share with you a few things that have helped me become very productive around my office and in my business. Okay, so these tips might not work for you exactly like it does for me, but it may give you some inspiration for your very own! Like I said, it works for me & has helped me become more successful at achieving more throughout my work day.
+Wake up every morning earlier than you want to! Yes, I know we ALL want to sleep in and stay warm and cozy inside our beds. However, I’ve noticed that I’m the MOST productive in the early mornings. Once I’ve woken up, fixed breakfast and coffee for Phillip & I, send Phillip out the door to go to work, and I have the house to myself (well…not including the cats..) THEN that’s when I feel a little spark underneath my feet! I get the most done between 8:45am and 10:30am. I typically wake up around 6:45am…EVERY MORNING…yes, even on Saturdays. (Gasp!)
+Have a “Morning Routine”. For me, this morning routine includes fixing breakfast & coffee, saying “bye-bye” to Phillip as he leaves for work, and then tidying up around the house for about 15-25 minutes depending on how much needs to be done. I always try to be in my office, with my computer turned on, and ready to start the workday each and every day by 8:45am. Ok, so I may or may not be a little OCD (don’t let me fool you, I am.) I can’t do anything unless I feel like my house is tidy. SO…that’s why I tidy up the house BEFORE my workday…that way I won’t find myself picking up or cleaning up throughout my 8:45am to 5:30pm workday. Every single weekday morning I’ll make our bed, clean up the kitchen after breakfast, start on laundry, tidy the throw pillows on the couch that have gotten all messed up by Phillip, and I’ve done some light cleaning like dusting, vacuuming, or spot-cleaning a bathroom. Once I’m in my office after I’ve gone through my morning routine (and I have a cleaner feeling house!) THEN I feel like I could do a million things in one day!
+Set Goals…EVERY DAY. I have a great system of how I tackle each day. At the end of each workday I write down some important things to-do for the following day in a spiral notebook. I will have this notebook on me pretty much at all times. I’m such a list maker, so a notebook was the best option for me to make sure I kept all my lists together and in-sight. I’ve tried other methods (to-do list pads, Post-it note lists, keeping my to-do list in my head, or adding it in my iPhone…) but nothing works as well for me as just a plain ole written out list in a notebook. If I don’t get to it the night before, I make a list first thing in the morning when I get into my office. I title the top of the list with the date, or if I feel like I need two or three days to complete everything, I’ll put a couple different dates on it (ex: March 1st – March 4th). I prioritize my to-do list and make sure that I put the most important things at the top. These are the things that I HAVE to get done ASAP and it can’t wait! Keeping up with a to-do list is a MUST when trying to run a business. There is literally SO much to do in every different “department” of your business. Not only do I have to make sure that my to-do lists have the basics on it like editing photos, making prints, or uploading a gallery, but I also have to make lists for communicating with Clients marketing & social media posts (which take up a lot of time!), blogging, communicating with non-clients (such as vendors, networking, website/service reps, followers who email me with questions..etc.) or responding to inquires again and again. It is A LOT to keep up with, but I make sure that my to-do list has EVERYTHING written down so I don’t forget!
+Set times & places for E-Mail. In the past couple of months, I’ve discovered that I’m one of those people who can’t check my email just anywhere. If I check it while in the car driving somewhere with Phillip, I’ll read an important email (especially when it’s from a Client) and then I don’t have the time to respond. Once I read it on my phone, then it’s not in bold when I look at it on my desktop or laptop. If I set aside specific times throughout the day when I actually CHECK my email while I’m sitting at my computer desktop, then I don’t miss out on emails or accidentally forget to reply! So needless to say, I won’t ever read new emails on my phone…I will wait to open all new emails until my specific checking times. I check my email 3 times during the weekday and once around noon on Saturday (unless I have scheduled sessions on Saturdays!) I will check my email once in the morning when my workday begins (& after I’ve written my to-do list!) and then once after lunchtime, and then one more time around 4:30pm. I also don’t spend too much time on just ONE email. If I spent 5-10 minutes replying to ONE email, and did this for EACH email I received, then I’d spend close to 2 hours EACH DAY RESPONDING to emails. If an email takes longer than a minute or two to respond, then I’m typing too much or telling too much to my Client. If I’ve got a lot to say which would take more than 5-10 minutes to type, I will usually ask the Client to call me, which typically those phone calls are welcomed and will take less than 5 minutes to say. (Plus, some actual “time” speaking with my Client will keep them happy!) I draft a ton of my emails (which I’ll explain in a later post) and I typically get the same questions asked to me from clients, so I have saved email drafts for those particular questions that I send to my clients. I don’t usually check my email on Saturdays or Sundays unless I have sessions planned for those days. I rarely check it on Sundays because part of me wants to enjoy life & completely live by that whole “day of rest” thing. God gave us Sundays to reboot, enjoy life, get ready for the next week ahead, but most importantly to praise HIM. So if you email me on a Sunday and don’t see a response until Monday morning, don’t be upset! 😉
+Have Specific Days Devoted to Specific Tasks. This was a GAME CHANGER for me. Seriously, I’ve asked myself over and over why I hadn’t done this before?! When I realized that I could actually SET MY OWN SCHEDULE, then I could achieve more throughout the workday and actually have a life outside of work! Back at the end of 2015, I decided to devote specific days to specific things. For example, my portrait sessions & Client Meeting days are Mondays & Thursdays mostly in the afternoons. I also shoot portrait sessions on select Saturdays and Sundays throughout the month, but I try to keep one weekend completely free (depending on my Wedding Schedule) and I TRY my best to keep all of my Sundays open as well. However, Sundays are turned into shooting days if absolutely necessary if I have to reschedule a session due to bad weather or if it’s the only date/time available for my Client. I treat my editing days as somewhat like a religion. I edit portrait sessions or weddings ALL DAY on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Typically, I won’t even leave the house during those editing days. If I spend those two days devoted to editing, I can get SO MUCH done and have my Client’s their images back within a couple DAYS of our shoot…yes, even weddings! When it comes to my life events, I schedule appointments, lunch dates, or any other miscellanous thing on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Speaking of Fridays, I typically like to have everything wrapped up in my office by 1:00 or 2:00pm on Fridays so that I can get ready for the weekend. My Fridays are a little bit more casual and motivates me to work EXTRA hard throughout the week! I will play catch up on Fridays and get anything that needs to be done before the weekend and I spend the last 30 minutes answering e-mails and checking-in with Clients that I haven’t heard from in a while. Now that I have specific shooting days, I’ve been able to set my availability for my Clients and create a work schedule that will HELP me stay productive instead of hinder me! Plus, I think about the future ALL of the time…and when that day comes that Phillip and I will add some kids into our life, I want to make sure that I have both job titles of a successful “Mom” & “Photographer” going for me! I want to make sure that I am able to tackle BOTH…AT the SAME time, so if I get into this routine/schedule now then it’ll be easy-peasy when the youngins come along! 😉
I so hope this has sparked your productivity and can help you with your business or workday in general! If you have any questions for me, please send me an email at emily@emmaloo-photography.com OR leave a comment in the section below! Thanks for reading! XO! -Emma Loo
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