Staying Organized | Personal

Let’s be real… Owning a business is crazy! Your schedule is always different, you have to keep track of everything as well as have a social life!

Over the last year, I have been able to come up with a schedule that works for me and I thought I would help share it with any fellow busy bees! hehe!

I am a person who has to write things down for me to remember it. I will write things on my phone or in my client organization program (17hats), but I still use a regular calendar to help the rest of my family know my schedule. I also write that same schedule in my Lime Life Planner. (Last year I used Erin Condren… Both are great planners!)

I will write down main events on the calendar inside my planner, but also the calendar for my family to see.

Once I open up my planner, I go more into detail on what is going to get done that day/what is planned.

Although I know during the week I have some space open, come Monday morning, I usually start filling out the rest of my planner for the week of more tasks!

If I am not home by my planner or calendar, I have a on-going list of things to do on my phone! In the beginning of the week, I will take that to-do list and I will spread it out through out the week to make sure it gets done. I write it out (not pictured) as what is most important or what needs to get done first! It will vary from business to personal.

Other creatives are full time or are like myself, and have a part-time job, which makes our schedule just as crazy!

As I mention, I now know what works best for me and specifically this summer, I have noticed that my main schedule consist of:

Sunday: Either take a day off or have weddings/sessions.
Monday: Spend the day at my desk before working at my part-time job. Do not take sessions on this day.
Tuesday: This day is always open for weekday sessions, but I will leave some Tuesdays off to spend with friends or family.
Wednesdays: If I feel like working, I will. But most of the time, I take the evening off and relax as a mid-week mental break!
Thursdays: Another weekday of photo sessions, if not, I work at my desk to get as much done to see if I can take Friday afternoon off.
Fridays: always spent sleeping in a little more than I usually do, but I then take the day to run errands and work at my desk before having a busy weekend of sessions.
Saturday: Most Saturdays are spent with friends or family before having a session in the evening.

Of course every week and month varies, but for the last few months it has mainly been just like this and I love it!

I will take a few evenings off through out the week to spend time with other people. But, I do always try to reserve at least ONE weekend day to spend with David. David works so much at his full time job and then helps me with my photography work when he can. We do spend every weekend together, but we either have weddings, photo sessions, or friends/family to be with. We rarely ever have a WHOLE day to spend together as just us. So, when I have a Saturday or Sunday not booked yet, I hurry and BLOCK it off.

I will be honest, I use to be a last minute person and would randomly make plans with friends or family, but with the last year or two, that has changed. I now have to know at least one week in advanced if you wish to hang out/catch up! It’s been taking time to getting use to, but as time has passed, friends and family are getting use to it. 🙂

Again, everything in today’s blog post is what has been working for me. Things always change, so maybe by the end of the year, my schedule will be at a 180 degree flip! But for now, this is what helps for me. 🙂

You may not be 100% in charge of your schedule, but it always helps to PLAN as much as you can. Plan to get things done. Plan to take time off. Plan those goals of yours. Plan. Plan. Plan!

I hope this has helped you a little bit today! 🙂

Hope you have a great week this week!

XOXO,
Shelby Danielle
{Follow me of Instagram for daily updates: @ShelbyDaniellePhotography}