Finding Balance and July Goals

Talk to anyone this time of year with summer in full swing and they will say the days are crazy!  The BEST kind of crazy but they are crazy!  The days are filled with sunshine until the late hours in the evening!  The pools and oceans are warm and the sunscreen calls my name as it lingers on the few breezes we get wafting by!

If you’re like me, I try and be as laid back as I can in the summer!  Linc has a semi set bed time but we adjust it depending on where the day takes us!  Summer is all about spending time with family:  laughing, and playing and soaking up all the outdoors has to offer us!

This is also the busiest time of year for photographers!  My calendar is filling up with sessions and client meetings and I’m beyond excited about all that my business world has in store this year.  There are so many exciting opportunities and so many beautiful and fun sessions coming their way in the next few months that I can hardly contain myself.

Tricky part is finding the right balance for all of these combined!  Finding the perfect combination of summer days and summer nights spent playing and enjoying my little family, while also planning and creating some amazing sessions for my clients and  my photography business!

Balance is not easy (for anyone) and usually it means finding a good system of organization and time management!  For me, it means creating some monthly goals to help me set my priorities and bite off small tasks bit by bit!

So here are my monthly goals for July!  My hope is that in putting them out there on this blog, it will keep me accountable for them! Sometimes just putting them out there in the world, helps drive them home a bit better!  Anyone else believe in that?

Goals for July

• Actually Utilize the Family Calendar:  We have a family calendar and I have always been a HUGE fan of the written planner!  I LOVE to write dates down in a monthly planner and I get really excited when I can use different colors and highlighters!  My biggest problem is remembering to use it for the whole family and setting it out so everyone can see it!  Keeping track of my own schedule with a photography business is crazy enough but trying to keep track of Linc’s busy schedule and now Tuck’s… we need the family calendar something fierce!
• Business Business Business Minded:  This really could have it’s own separate list of goals and bullet points!  I’m learning to be better at the business side of things every single day.  I’m not a business minded person by nature, so trying to change my patterns of thinking and start focusing more on looking at this as my job and my own business is a huge undertaking!  Lucky me that I have Tuck who’s super smart in this area.  He helps me all the time and I’m really blessed that he is super supportive of me!
• Mentoring re-cap with Katelyn James:  Scheduled and on the calendar and I could not be more excited!  This will be so good for soo many reasons!  She is always the positive kick start I need to get my business butt in gear.  I have so many different questions now that it’s been a year since my initial coaching session!  So much has changed in a year and I’m so excited to sit down and share my growth and also talk about the next steps.  I’ll be blogging about that next week for sure.
• Booking Days:  This goes along with the balance I want to create for my family!  Running your own business from your home is like a dream!  It really is… in some aspects.  In other aspects, it’s also amazingly harder than you would ever expect!  You are your own boss, so it’s up to you whether things happen or don’t!  It’s up to you whether you work work work or you set limits on your time!  And with that (setting limits) comes the nagging guilt of am I providing enough for my clients?  Am I providing enough for my family?  It can really be a dangerous catch 22!  This is why I want to set aside days of work for specific tasks:  editing days, session days only, family days only, etc!  This way I feel like I am slicing the pie in a way that grounds me and also refreshes me!
• Reaching out to vendors:  Finding a way to get in contact with local vendors to help spread my name as a children and family photographer!  There are so many incredible ways to share your work as a wedding photographer but not so much that I have found or researched as a children and family life style photographer.  So I need to be creative and hit the pavement a little!  Businesses don’t create themselves, it’s those that work hard and continue to work hard that make an impact!  🙂

These are some of the goals I have for July!

Tuck and I said during this deployment that it was super important for us as a couple to sit down and spend time together one on one…away from the baby, away from the house!   It was something we always tried to do after Linc was born but it just never really happened.  After this deployment, we realized just how truly important time together as a couple really is!  So that’s another huge goal for my family this month!

I think the biggest thing in finding balance while creating your own business or being in photography is realizing that although you will be pulled in different directions… you have to stay grounded and rooted in what is the most important!  You can’t chase your dream without the support of why you wanted it in the first place!  Carve out the time you need in order to refresh and refocus!

images courtesy of my fantastic and wonderful girlfriend (and photog BFF) Elizabeth Friske