I used to haphazardly go about my day. Whatever was most important at the time was what got done. I’d get to the end of my day with absolutely no idea what I had accomplished. The only thing I was certain of was that I WAS TIRED!

Have you been there? Letting your day run you instead of the other way around? The phone rings. I answered it. Email chimes with a question from a client. Off in that direction I went. A photographer friend needed help designing a marketing piece. I’d drop everything to help.

Finally I got tired of being tired and scatterbrained here at the studio. I knew something had to change, so I made my Every Durn Day List! It’s my very technical title for the list of things I absolutely have to get done to call it a successful day!

Brainstorming, I broke my day up into broad tasks I handle every day. Or tasks that SHOULD be handled everyday! And I put them into big chunks of time on my calendar, aka time blocking ;)

So let’s get into it . . . first things first. Health.

Health

It’s a priority. It has to come first. If I’m not healthy and feeling good, then I am no good for anybody - my family, myself or my clients. So I try to get a smoothie in every morning so at least I know I am getting in some good nutrients, and I try to do something physical every day. This might not happen in the morning. It just depends on my schedule. I love a good long walk / run in the evenings with a podcast going.

Mindset

Getting my head straight and staying focused on the big picture is tough for me. I’m not gonna lie. I see something shiny, new and exciting . . . I’m gonna chase after it! I love to dream all the big things and design all the projects. Follow through is an issue for me, which is why I ultimately hired an assistant to check off all the little parts of my big visions I left behind!

So this is what I decided to do. Now I review my quarterly goals and big picture strategy for the year every morning. I have a Trello board with those and I also keep them posted on a dry erase board right in my sites in front of my desk. They are staring right at me ALL DAY LONG! This helps me put my blinders on and stay focused towards what I’ve said was important to me.

Marketing

I heard once before that the smartest thing we could do for our businesses when it comes to social media is to create before we consume. I took that advice to heart and it has made the biggest impact on my business. We have to market EVERY DURN DAY to keep clients rolling in. If we only market during the slow times then there are going to be a whole lot more slow times eventually. By creating before we consume we naturally do what is best for our businesses. When we let other voices in our heads those messages infiltrate our own, and we end up missing the mark. And if you’re anything like me, you get caught up in the good ol’ comparison trap. Ugh. Anybody else?

So before I start scrolling Instagram or Facebook I go ahead and make sure I’ve posted to my own social media for the day. I get it done and out there in the world! Then I can continue on with my happy morning stalking, umm inspiration.

Time Blocking

After marketing comes my time blocks. I try to work ON MY BUSINESS before working IN MY BUSINESS each day. That keeps me moving toward those goals I set. So I am usually concentrating on a current project I have going on at the time. Then it’s on to admin work to session post processing to client meetings and all the other hats we have to wear! But whatever it is, it is getting all done at the same time. I can be so much more productive when I work on ONE THING instead of task jumping all over the place! Shut down the browser windows, put your phone on “Do Not Disturb” and give it a try! You’ll be amazed at how much you can get done in one sitting.

Client Communication

I used to check my voicemail, email, Facebook and Instagram messages first thing each morning and get everything handled. Not bad customer service, huh? No! Not at all. But guess what? None of it was ever really an emergency. By lunch time I was frazzled and lost as to what to do the rest of the day. You see, I am sharpest and most creative first thing in the morning. I need to get my focused work done then because after lunch it can easily go downhill for me. Maybe that’s just me getting old! But either way, I needed to create a way to get my focused work time done so I simply flipped my schedule. Now I only check voicemail and email after lunch. And I do it all at one time. That’s one of my time blocks actually. This one simple thing has been such a game changer for me!

I also try to set aside a little time in the afternoons to nurture relationships. This might mean writing welcome or thank you notes or checking facebook and instagram to see what is going on in the lives of my clients. You can learn a lot that way! Here’s the thing though. This is not mindless scroll time. This is intentional engagement time! Always go to your social media with purpose. That’s a story for another day and something we go over EXACTLY HOW TO DO inside Insta Secrets :)

BONUS! Prep For Tomorrow

I’m a sucker for a bonus, so here ya go y’all! A successful morning starts the night before. Have you ever heard that? Well, if not you have now! Believe it because it is so true! Coming into the studio office each morning knowing exactly what needs to be done is key for a productive day. Do things always go as planned? Heck no! But at least I have a fighting chance. I set myself up for success in a few different ways. At the end of each work day I will glance over my Google calendar to see what’s coming up. Then I look over my Trello boards and calendar side by side to decide when I can do outstanding tasks. I name my top 3 tasks for the next day and block out time to make those happen. If I get more done, great! If not, that’s ok. I can feel accomplished knowing I got those top 3 done. Be sure to check out this blog post where I talk about how to use Trello for EVERYTHING! I seriously can’t live without it.

The Every Durn Dy List For Senior Photographers | Productivity Tips For Photographers

Here’s a quick recap on my every day list in my photography business:

Health: Always first!
- Drink a smoothie
- Move my body (running, yoga, weights, resistance training, etc)
Mindset: Get focused.
- Review My Goals / Big Picture Strategy
- Review Today's Top 3 List
Marketing: Create before I consume.
- Instagram Post
- Facebook Post
- Instagram Story (3 times a day)
Time Blocking
- Current Project first (to push my business forward towards one of those goals
- Then the other blocks: content creation, education, admin, post production, etc.
Client Communication: Always after lunch.
- Return Voicemails / Call Leads
- Answer Email
- Client / Prospect Engagement (write notecards / check Facebook & Instagram - with intention)
Plan For The Next Day: Set myself up for success tomorrow.
- Review Calendar
- Create Top 3 List

So what’s on your list? Do you have one? What are you doing in your senior photography studio to make each day successful and to keep driving your business forward? I’d love to know! Am I missing something? :)

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