As a business owner, no two weeks are ever the same. I think I had embraced this point a little too much, and realised I had to have more control of my weeks.
After reading the Get Remarkably Organised book earlier this year I realised that my lack of a weekly routine was causing chaos in my life. As a result I felt I always had work on mind, no matter which day of the week it was, no matter what time of day. The house was a mess, I was spending $20+ a week on a gym membership I no longer used and unfinished personal creative projects were piling up (or were never even started in the first place).
The simple fact was I was allowing other people to fill my schedule for me, without giving any thought to when the best time of the week to do certain tasks and activities actually was. What is the point of working for yourself when you are still allowing others to choose when you work anyway?
When I got back from a recent overseas trip, I knew it was time to actually do something about it. Travel never fails to allow me the opportunity to reassess what is and isn't working in my life at the time. The weeks went by while I struggled to get back into a routine. This was mainly because I didn't actually have one to begin with!
Around this time I saw that Lorraine Murphy was doing a workshop about to the techniques and tricks. The timing couldn't be more perfect!
First things first, I needed to claim back the weekend. As a photographer who understands I need to provide some weekend availability to my clients, I decided I would continue to work Saturdays and allow Sundays and Mondays to be my days off. Before I rarely had two days off in a row, so this was a huge deal for me. I realised the importance of having a proper two-day weekend, not just two days off each week.
I was also considering hiring a cleaner, as I felt I never had the time in my week to focus my attention in this area. But after claiming back my weekend I realised I actually did have time to clean, I just never had a specific time blocked out in which to get it done. This would also mean saving the $80+ a week I realistically didn't actually have to be spending on a cleaner.
Monday is now my favourite day of the week. That's a sentence I never thought I'd say! Not only because it's now one of my days off, but because it sets me up to have the best working week I possibly can. By the end of Monday my house including my office and home studio is clean, ready to have clients over for meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday. I've had the chance to get to the gym (Body Balance and Zumba are my classes of choice), meaning my head is clear for the week to come. The mental clarity I now have is a game-changer!
I also now book photoshoots back-to-back on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays only and very rarely make a special exception to this, so that I'm travelling to and from locations less often (saving money on petrol) and using my time more efficiently.
You can download the My Perfect Week worksheet to design your own!
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