We are so close to one of my favorite times of year! School is almost out and summer is near. One of my favorite things about this time of year is that I decided a few years ago that I would work less during the summer. My kids are home more often and making this decision has allowed me to really spend this time with them and enjoy the summers we have together.
And I love summer (who doesn’t love summer?)! We’re busy, we’re on the road, we’re at the pool, and I want to not have to work as much. But as a photographer, you may be wondering how the heck that is even possible.
Today I’m walking through how I logistically work less in the summer, because this decision wasn’t just made and implemented on a whim. There’s quite a bit of effort and planning that has gone into it, but I really think it can be doable for you as well if you are wanting to lighten your load during the summer. Here are some of the main points I talked about in this episode:
- Consider your why
- Balancing seasons of hustle and rest
- Examining calendar patterns
- Planning and mindset shifts for your off seasons
- Setting boundaries
- Understanding goals and income expectations for different months
- Scaling back with what you are doing
- How stacking and batch days can be helpful when you have limited work days
- Relying on my team and outsourcing to reduce my workload
- My typical summer schedule
A few highlights from this episode:
[4:56] – The big difference between taking off those months and being okay with it and panicking is simply making a conscious decision that you’re going to approach those seasons with rest in mind.
[13:31] – Just understanding that your goals are going to look different that month, your income might be lower, but your time is more abundant and just your pure enjoyment out of the summer months is higher. And that’s more what we’re measuring goals against during that time as opposed to what you’re bringing in from a paycheck perspective.
[19:27] – I think there are so many creatives headed for burnout because we just say yes so often, and we don’t have boundaries around our schedules. And there’s no shame in that.
[19:40] – You need to understand that your availability does not necessarily equal your availability.
[19:50] – Just because there is open space on my calendar does not mean that it needs to belong to someone else. It can belong to me.
I encourage you to take a look at your calendar from previous years and take note of when you are busy and not so busy. Start playing with the idea of taking some extended time off and what has to happen to make that happen. Can you save a little bit more during your busy season? Do you just need a mindset shift to view the off seasons as rest rather than panic or lacking?
This is one of the best things I’ve done for my business and my family! And also for myself – to rest, rejuvenate, have a light at the end of the tunnel to look forward to, to reward my hard work. This schedule works really well for me, and if you are wanting this for your schedule too, find a way to make it happen!
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