It’s the burning question I see thrown around time and time again in the Momtog industry.
Day after day, I see posts, pleads, and cries for help from every corner of the world in regards to this one question: “How can I balance it all?”
I cannot tell you how many times I have been labeled Super Mom, Wonder woman, and all around “put together”, but the truth of the matter is, I don’t have it all together all the time.
Hi, I’m Heather and I am a stay-at-home, homeschooling Mom.
I also manage my photography business, my online Lightroom Presets shop, and I’m the founder here at Call her crazy. While it may seem that I am good at multi-tasking, juggling, and taking on a lot of responsibility, I’m really not all that different from you.
In fact, I am terrible at juggling.
I once bought a Chinese yo-yo from a professional juggler after seeing his demonstration. I practiced with that things for years and never learned more than 2 tricks. Case in point: juggling is just not my act.
As Mothers and photographers (or creative business owners – whatever you label yourself), getting caught up in all the things that we must do daily to keep your lives in order can be exhausting. It can be lonely. Heck, you might even be tempted to call it quits (for the business, not on the kids). But, I am here to tell you that you aren’t alone in asking this question: Can I find balance?
It’s a simple, yet complicated answer: yes and no.
Okay, it might not be simple, but I do believe we can make this duo work with a little bit of effort, sacrifice, and hard work. This is where you need to put your rubber gloves on and get crackin’!
First things first.
Before you can even begin to balance your work and personal life, you must know yourself. Laugh all you want, but this is essential to making this lifestyle work – and not just work, but thrive.
Only you know what you are capable of and how much you are capable of in any given day during the week.
Are you a classic introvert who needs lots of down time to think, recharge, and process your tasks? Or are you a typical extrovert who does best with many tasks and social encounters throughout the day?
For me, personally, I am a sterotypical introvert and I need my space. I only have a set amount of energy per day to connect and work with my clients, home school my kids, and do the whole stay-at-home Mom thing. So, the best thing for MY business is to work with as little clients as possible and create a very personal and custom experience for them.
By doing so, I limit my time taking phone calls and responding to emails. I have developed a pricing system that fits the goals I need financially, but it also runs seamlessly with my personality. In the end, this is how I can stay sane while still taking care of all the other aspects of my life.
So ask yourself this: “what changes do I need to make to not only survive this lifestyle, but to thrive?” Only you can answer that.
Become better.
You read that right. Remember how I said this would take some effort? Well, this is where the hard work begins.
If you truly know yourself and you are questioning how to harness your strengths for a more manageable life, then you are not alone. But, by knowing your strengths, and zoning in on your weaknesses, you’ll be able to overcome this hump and better yourself as a working Momma!
Do you thrive and crave ultra organization in your life and home? Zone in on this strength and come up with a work/life workflow that is simple, organized, and keeps your Momma brain sane.
Perhaps you are good at multi-tasking. Find subtle ways to combine tasks that is faster and more efficient than ever before. For example, I like to exercise while I help home school my children. I do a set of reps, break for a few minutes to help them with any questions they may have, then head back into another set while they work through their assignments alone. Killing two birds with one stone has never been easier!
While we have our strengths, we also have our pitfalls and acknowledging our weaknesses can actually make us more productive!
Maybe you often get distracted by social media and mobile devices? Then lock yourself in your work space without them, bust out a timer, and set a realistic time for you to work without these distractions. You’ll be amazed at how much you can get done when your eyes aren’t mindlessly wondering through Instagram or scrolling through your Facebook feed.
Now it’s your turn; think of your strengths & weaknesses and how you can combine them, shape them, and better them to become a better Momtographer!
Change your mindset
It might sound redundant, but your mindset will ultimately decide if you can be successful and thrive at juggling the Mom life and the entrepreneur side at the same time.
Have you ever woken up in the morning with hardly, if any, motivation to accomplish anything but to get up to pee and maybe get yourself a cup of coffee?
How much work did you actually get done when you were feeling unmotivated? If I had to guess, probably not much at all.
What about a time where you shot out of bed with so many ideas and goals that you wanted to accomplish that day?
I bet you made your bed, cleaned the house, wrote that blog post you’ve been putting off for months, ate a healthy meal, and did something fun for yourself. If not, I am sure you were much more accomplished than that day you woke up feeling like pulling the covers back over and waiting for the next day.
This is exactly how your mindset comes into play.
If you can motivate yourself and tell yourself that “heck yes, I can totally do this today!”, then the odds are that you WILL do it. But, if you are in constant self-doubt mode and can’t imagine pulling off the task of keeping the house tidied, the kids fed, and serving your clients simultaneously, then you most likely will fall short.
So to answer this burning question of “can I have balance in my life, or am I doomed to always being behind and stressed out?”
The answer is OF COURSE you can.
You can with the right expectations, the right system for you, and the right mindset.
Ultimately, your success at this is UP TO YOU!
What ways have you found that help you balance your professional and personal life?
Start the discussion & share your ideas below – you never know who you might inspire to create a better life!
