Baby Steps to Setting Boundaries

Do you always feel like you’re working? Do you wake up and immediately check your emails, DMs, voicemails? Are you glued to your computer late into the night answering your clients’ questions? I’m asking because I’ve been there. 

I was stressed. I didn’t feel present when I wasn’t working. I overbooked clients and meetings. My life didn’t have structure. It was just work, work, WORK, all the time. 

I’m going to let you in on a big secret that all freelancers and entrepreneurs figure out really quickly after ditching the 9-5 job. While we all start off thinking that working for ourselves is going to present us with a lot of free time to do with as we please, it ends up being the exact opposite - especially in the beginning when you’re trying to get a business off the ground. But even if you aren’t a freelancer or entrepreneur, you can still feel as if you do nothing but eat, sleep and work. 

But for me, a brand photographer who found her business booming, booking clients left and right, as well as taking meetings, and starting a new side of my business with The Brand Photographer Method, I wanted a more flexible career but I was also craving structure. Finally, I realized that the only person who could bring that structure into my life was me. And setting boundaries was one way to achieve that. 

So I’m starting off with what may seem like two small changes, but they’ve made a huge difference in my business and especially my work/life balance. 

Setting Call Times

I love getting on the phone with potential clients. It’s actually the first step in my workflow. And up until earlier this year, I was taking calls pretty much any day between 8 AM and 6 PM. Which doesn’t sound that bad, but what I started realizing is I would skip breakfast (because I didn’t have time to eat) or I would skip my evening walk if I had a call go on until 6 PM. So for me, my health was screaming for some routine and I had to ensure it was a priority.

Now, I only take and return any kind of client communication between 10 AM and 4 PM. So I can eat a good breakfast and have my coffee in peace PLUS I’m usually wrapped up by 5 PM in time to catch an evening walk. And if I do receive anything outside of those hours, like an email or DM, I don’t open it or listen to it until I’m into my next workday. This does two things 1) I am able to really formulate a thoughtful response if more than my auto-response is required and 2) it allows me ‘not to forget about it’. Once an email is opened, I tend forget about it because it’s showing as read in my inbox.

And while some may think that this might be limiting my prospects with clients, I figure that in allowing myself to have those “work free” hours I am able to fully relax and be present in my life. And that is not only going to help with my personal relationships, it will also make me a better photographer for my clients because I will feel energized during their shoot instead of feeling constantly burnt out.

Designating Shoot Days

I used to book shoots almost every day of the week. But what a lot of people don’t think about is that I also need to leave time for culling and editing their images, preparing shoot plans, or working on the other half of my business - The Brand Photographer Method. So that work was getting pushed into late evenings or early mornings, before and after shoots. But since designating Tuesdays and Thursdays as my “shoot days,” I’ve been able to plan the rest of my week much better, knowing that I would likely be out of the office on those days! That being said, I’m still the boss. I can choose to shoot on a Monday if I want to in order to be flexible for a client. But just having those days designated on my calendar has made a huge difference in planning out my weeks. 

And these are small things that you can also implement into your career, whether you’re an entrepreneur or an employee. When you walk away from your desk for the day, don’t open any emails, DMs or answer any calls that come in after those working hours. And make sure that if you find your work is pushing into the weekend, maybe you need to reorganize your schedule to ensure that you have those two days off for yourself!

Now, just because I’ve cut down on my shoot days, doesn’t mean I don’t have some availability coming up. If you’re in need of branding or headshots, make sure you click here to book! 

All photographs taken by Ali B Photography.