I want to begin this post with the fact that I LOVE being a photographer and a teacher. Absolutely love it! My jobs give me so opportunities, and I am blessed to be able to do what I love — and more! However, like my good friend Caitlin recently reminded me, “Work you love is still work!”, and it can be hard! I know a lot of my other #bossladies out there have struggled with juggling two jobs at times as well, so I thought it would be a great idea to share some insight into how I’ve been making it work so far. As a disclaimer: in no way do I think I have all the answers, or even come CLOSE to having all the answers!! Haha! Rather, I just think it’s so important to recognize that balancing the demands of a full-time job with the necessities of owning a small business is quite a challenge, but it’s one we can do :)

I also wanted to address a common thought in the industry I’ve noticed more and more: that one isn’t successful, that one hasn’t really made it, until they’re full-time! While taking your small business to the next level and going full-time is an AWESOME goal to have, that doesn’t make it the end-all-be-all for everyone. Whether it’s not fiscally possible or you just love your full-time job too much to leave it behind, there are many reasons to keep balancing both. One great perk for me right now is that every profit I make from my business can be put directly back into creating an awesome client experience; I don’t need to stress about paying everyday living bills with my photography income! Regardless of the situation, we can all acknowledge that making both things work is tough, and today I want to share some tips and insight into how I make it happen!

To kick it off, I thought I’d share one huge tip that has transformed the efficiency of my days: creating a schedule.

When I first launched this business last year, I pretty much worked as I got work & took each day as it came. It was fine…but I was crazy busy this fall and came out of the season a bit worn. Then came Creative at Heart. On the second day, Bonnie spoke to us about balancing our personal & work lives, and she encouraged us to write down two schedules: our “typical” day and our “ideal” day.

This task blew my mind, as I realized I had never fully thought through my ideal day. Looking at it logistically made me see where I was wasting time — and where I needed to make my time COUNT. I came home from the conference with a rough idea of my ideal schedule, and after putting it into practice for a few weeks now, I wanted to share it today! Again, not every day looks like this…but I’m trying my best to make it there!!

A Day In The Life Of a Full-Time Teacher & Business Owner:

6:30am Wake up, press snooze way too many times, make some chai, & throw some teacher clothes on (AKA Cardigans…always cardigans!) before heading out the door! When I manage to NOT press the snooze button, I love to be able to have some quiet time with my journal & Bible…but that doesn’t happen anywhere near as often as I’d like!

7:00am – 7:15am Arrive at school. I always try to get in my classroom at least 30 minutes before the day begins so I can make copies and plan for the next day. This is a huge help in getting everything done!!

8:00am – 3:15pm Teach! I have six periods of English throughout the day, which means I get three “off” periods to run copies, grade papers, lesson plan, eat lunch, and keep up on parent/staff communications. If I get to school early enough in the morning, I can get a big chunk of that out of the way, so that I’m able to use one of those “off” periods to work on blog posts or other photography needs when possible! However, more often than not, this chunk of time is devoted to all things teaching!

This was a huge area where I realized I was wasting time! Using those planning periods as exactly that is crucial to an efficient day — and it means I no longer stay at work until 5pm every evening!

3:30pm – 4:00pm Come home & take Graham out! If it’s not -20 million degrees outside, I try to take him to the dog park at least twice during the week so he’s not a wild child in the evenings…because ain’t nobody got time for that!

4:15pm – 7:00pm AKA Business Time! This is when I set aside time solely for running my business! I use this time to edit sessions, write blog posts, hold client meetings, communicate with vendors, assemble packages, and run other miscellaneous business tasks! Typically, I am also balancing this with making dinner too! And that’s just in the off season! During the Fall, I scheduled sessions in this gap as well, which would result in some crazy nights…but more on that later!

This was another area where I realized I wasn’t maximizing time. In the past, I would often come home from work…watch some tv…maybe take a nap…and THEN get to work! This led to a lot of lonely nights for my hubs, as I sat on the other end of the couch with my eyes glued to my screen. Using this time right after school makes for SUCH a better evening!

7:00pm Dinner — AKA put work aside for the time being EVEN IF IT’S NOT DONE and turn off my phone! I am trying to limit my social media time so much, because I hate how tied I feel to that dumb rectangle!!

8:00pm – 10:00pm If I finished all of the HAVE-TO-DOs before dinner, this is my time to relax and hang out with Chris! Sometimes I have to get a few things done during this time, but I am really working on recognizing what has to happen NOW, and what can wait until tomorrow! I spent way too many nights last fall stuck on my computer, and I don’t want that to happen again!

10:30/11:00pm Go to bed :) …or squeeze in just oneeee more episode of our latest Netflix binge season! Haha!

Now, obviously not every day goes this way. As always, it’s important to be flexible! Some days I have more work than others, some days I want to go out with the girls after work for a drink, and some days I really do need that nap!!! And that’s okay. It’s all about making your day work for you :) Flexibility especially applies during “the busy season” of business — you can imagine how things get a little crazy when I am shooting sessions during my scheduled “business time” two or three days a week too! EEK! But for now, this schedule is working really well for me — I feel less stressed and more on-top of my game!

What about you? Where are you lacking efficiency in your day and causing yourself unnecessary stress? If you haven’t done so already, I strongly encourage you to take some time to sit down and think through your day. Even if you don’t own your own business, I’d still say to give it a try :) Set hours aside to be specifically for your job, look through and see where you may not be maximizing your potential, and make sure you put in some intentional down time, too :) You will be AMAZED at how much time you realize you really have.

Are you balancing a day-job with your small business too? Or, has the fear of not having enough time kept you away from turning that hobby into something more? I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you make it work — shoot me an email or leave a comment below! Until then, stay warm — and make sure you check back on Friday for some sweet newborn love :)

Love love love,

Sami

———-

Hey there!! Is this your first time here?? If so, thanks for dropping by & spending time with Sami Renee Photography! My name is Sami Orndorff, and I am a Midwest Wedding & Family Photographer based in the greater Cleveland area with a strong belief in telling stories & spreading joy. Read more here…