This post has been highly requested and I’m really excited to share. I am constantly being asked how I run a full-time business while also being a full-time mother. So here is what my daily schedule looks like:
The key is to be flexible. I meet with clients when it’s most convenient for them – and most of them are working professionals that can’t get away during typical weekday work hours. This means most of my meetings are in the evening or on weekends if I’m not booked with a wedding. If weekdays are best, I try to schedule when Beck eats lunch and goes down for nap, that way Brent is able to keep working and watch the monitor while he sleeps. If Brent is traveling, then I’m getting a sitter. But we do our best to make sure everything is scheduled around each other’s schedules. We always make sure Brent is here to stay with Beck when I’m photographing a wedding. If I’m traveling and it’s a place we want to see together as a family, they’ll come with me. Lastly, the only way I stay sane is because of my online assistants. I use 17hats (you can click here to get 10% off your subscription when you sign up) for managing workflows, my calendar (including Brent and Beck’s schedules, my personal and professional schedule as well as upcoming publication features), daily tasks, automated emails, sending online invoices and agreements, keeping track of where I’m at with booking new clients and it even has a bookkeeping feature. I use Later.com for scheduling my Instagram posts (which can also be shared to my Twitter and Facebook). And because Pinterest is huge for me, I use Tailwind (click here to get a free trial) for scheduling and automating pins. I spend about 1 hour every month planning my social media, which revolves around my scheduled blog posts and publication features. It’s a well-oiled machine and one that I’m glad I implemented when I was pregnant. To end, the key for me is consistency and staying flexible. I don’t want my life to feel like a routine and I don’t want Beck to grow up thinking I’m a Drill Sergent. I want to teach him hard-work and grit, but I also want him to be free-spirited and grow his creativity. It’s all about finding that balance. I have no issue breaking away from the routine once a week as long as it doesn’t have a negative impact on our personal and professional lives. Yes, we’ll have bad/sick days where we hunker down and watch movies. Yes, there are days where I get absolutely nothing done (I mean, every single person on Earth has those days no matter if you’re at home or in the office). And yes, there are days when I’m at my breaking point and want to hide. Acknowledge where you are in your current state and don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’s healthy to take “me” time (for me, it’s spa day with no screens, no work, no tv, no noise). |