Today’s episode is all about routines. And yes, I know, routines are incredibly difficult for some of us creatives. But stick with me because by the end of this episode you will know why they are so important, how they can actually make you more creative and maybe you’ll be inspired to create some routines of your own.

A good morning starts the night before so I’m going to do this a little backwards. We’re gonna to start with my evening routine. Now, my life is a little crazy because I am divorced and the schedule with our kids is week on and week off. This obviously took some adjusting, but we are learning our way through it.

I’m going to chat with you about my routine with kids because it’s probably more applicable to you and where you’re at in your life. But just so you know I basically do the same things without them here except I can work a little later on a project instead of just sitting on the couch binge watching a show if I want to. Ok, sometimes I do the whole binge watching thing. But not too often!

In this episode of the Senior Studio Success Podcast we are talking all about setting up morning and evening routines and they can benefit your senior photography business. A good morning starts the night before, so that’s where we’ll start. Be sure…

In case you didn’t get to hear the intro show, let me tell you about how my weeks run so that you can better understand what I’m talking about on this episode. I only do sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. I’m done by 11:30am and then take a few hours to reset and recharge for afternoon meetings. Those are generally from 2pm - 5 or 6pm on the same days. Those are the only 3 days of the week I work with clients, unless we have something crazy like a rain reschedule or a model team shoot.

Ok, now that you sort of know how my week goes, let’s get into that evening routine. I am generally done with work for the day by 5:00pm, but sometimes it is 6:00pm on those 3 days. Yes, they are long days, but a 4 day weekend is really nice ;)

By 6pm it’s time for dinner and chilling out. There’s always music going while I’m prepping dinner because that’s the way I relax.

After dinner sometimes I go to the pool with my kiddo or I’ll hop out the door for a 20 minute walk to decompress. I just need to be doing something mindless.

I sneak back into my office for a few minutes, clean off my desk, check my calendar & plan the next day. It’s all time blocked & I know exactly what I need to focus on the next morning when I walk into my office. There’s nothing more unproductive than sitting down at your computer in the morning without a plan.

By 8pm I start winding down. This usually means watching TV. When my kiddo is here we are usually watching some sort of competition type show - Blown Away, Hyper Drive, The Floor Is Lava. He loves those & it gives us something to do together. I love that. If it’s just me I get to watch whatever I want!!!

Around 9pm I’ll start shutting things down, set out whatever clothes or things I need by the door for the next day. The goal is to make as few decisions as possible in the mornings.

I’m in bed by 9:30pm, usually reading or finishing my show and asleep by 10:00pm.

Sleep is so important. That’s when our bodies and minds heal and recover. I’ve figured out that I need 7 hours sleep minimum to function well the next day. You can only burn the candle at both ends for so long before you completely burn out.

My Morning Routine:

A morning routine doesn’t mean you have to get up at 5am every day, but it does mean that you have to be consistent.

Here’s how mine goes. Like I said, I am asleep by 10pm, sometimes earlier if I’ve had a tough day. My alarm goes off at 5:30am. Now, I am not a morning person. I don’t want to be talked to or think about anything really for at least 20 minutes. I like to ease into my day in complete silence. I don’t even turn on the lights in my office until probably 9am.

Now, I do have a confession to make. Let’s just go ahead & get this out there in the universe now. I am not a coffee drinker. I know it’s weird. I just don’t like it, at all. But I do need my caffeine, so I have this little energy drink that has caffeine from green tea in it that I am hooked on. It gets me going in the mornings for sure.

After I’ve gotten that caffeine in me, the next thing I do is glance back over my calendar for the day to refresh my memory then I sit down in my big comfy chair in the corner of my office to read for 20 minutes. I try to journal for a few minutes right after that as well.

Then it’s on to my desk. That first block of time, usually it’s an hour to 2 hours to specifically work ON my business. This is when I am working on a current project, like updating my website or writing some blog posts or planning a marketing campaign.

I can’t stress to you enough how important it is to work ON your business before you work IN your business. The client work, the emails, the calls, the post production, the facebook notifications, all the distractions and all those fires you put out will be there for you all day long. If you don’t work on your business first, you won’t work on your business at all.

Once I finish that first block of time I will put on my social media hat. This usually isn’t until 8 or 9am. I don’t open up instagram, facebook or email before that time. I had to learn that lesson the hard way. All of those apps are fighting for my attention and they are full of someone else’s agenda for the day, not mine.

It’s a hard and fast rule of mine to work on my business before I look at anyone else’s.

“Always create before you consume.”

It will save you in so many ways.

My content is planned out and ready to go (for the most part, I’m not perfect) on Sunday afternoons. So it doesn’t take me too long to actually post. But I am running 2 accounts, one for my studio & one for Senior Studio Success. I try to engage with both accounts for 15 minutes and then do my posts. Then I head over to my Facebook groups to see if anyone needs help. All of this takes about an hour.

Then I do a quick workout or run (on non-session days). Shower & get ready for the day. I love listening to podcasts or an audiobook while I’m getting ready. Taking care of my health & keeping my mind active & growing are 2 big priorities for me.

Now you may be listening & wondering how in the world I stay creative with such a strict schedule? Well, structure actually helps with creativity. It’s not stifling at all. When you know that you need to focus on this one thing during this one block of time, you aren’t burdened by all the other things on your list. It frees your mind up for less decision making, less noise and distractions and gives you more bandwidth for creativity. It also will do so much for your confidence because you are getting so much more done.

Does it take a while to train yourself if you are easily distracted? Yes, it absolutely does. If you are chasing multiple things at once I would encourage you to start with short spans of time, even 10 to 15 minutes of no distractions to focus on one thing. Do that for a solid week, giving yourself a little break after each block of time. Then increase your time block by 5 minutes, then double it, get to an hour, then get to ninety minutes. You are going to be amazed at what you can accomplish when you turn off the distractions and work on one thing at a time.

Here’s one more amazing benefit to that morning routine. When you get your work done earlier in the day it allows you to be more present in other areas of your life later on in the day. I love sitting on the couch watching a show with my kiddo at night, knowing that I worked hard that day to get to spend that time with him and not feel pulled in 10 other directions at the same time.

Is it always hearts and butterflies and rainbows around here? Well no. Absolutely not. This business is seasonal. We all know that. There are definitely more stressful and busier times than others but having consistent routines has taught me how to manage that stress and my workload so much better now.

Creating routines (for myself and the kids) has been a lifesaver for me. I hope you’ll take some time to sketch out your mornings and evenings to make them just as successful. It takes a while to form new habits, but that investment will pay off! And remember what I said - a great morning starts the night before :)

If you want a group of hard working, action taking, senior photographers to do life with, hold you accountable for things like sticking to your routines and growing your business, listen up because that is what you get inside Studio Secrets.

Once a year I launch my business mentoring program called Studio Secrets. If you need somebody to come along beside you and help you do business the right way so that you can bring home a paycheck, spend more time with your family and save for retirement then you need Studio Secrets.

The doors open November 4th for something very special for a handful of photographers who are ready to get laser focused on their businesses.

Studio Secrets is a 6 month business coaching intensive where we dive deep into your business together. It’s not a DIY course on one or two topics. This is EVERYTHING you could ever need to know (and all the tools & resources) to run a senior photography business - branding, messaging, websites, pricing, sales, marketing, social media, senior model teams, systems, workflow, automation and SO MUCH MORE! And bonus - you get me to lead you through it in our hot seat calls and a private community to bounce ideas around with.

If you’re ready to turn your expensive hobby into a thriving business be sure you are on the waitlist. You can do that at www.seniorstudiosuccess.com/studiosecrets.

JOIN MY 6 MONTH BUSINESS COACHING INTENSIVE WAIT LIST - DOORS OPEN NOV 4TH!

Plus everyone on that wait list will save $500 on launch day - November 4th. Woohoo! I can’t wait to work with you!

If you want to continue this conversation there’s a facebook group dedicated to all the business stuff behind our pretty pictures and I’d love to have you there.

I’d love to connect with you on Instagram as well. Screenshot this episode, tag me and share it to your story! And if you’re the type of person who loves to help other people the biggest and most awesome thing you could do right now is to give this podcast a rating and review on iTunes. That helps it get found by other amazing photographers around the world who want to build their dream businesses too.

Until next time my friends, see ya soon!