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This is an interesting topic: how to get motivated when work FEELS hard! Honestly, sometimes "work" feels hard. Now I'm not talking about the corporate job you may have! I'm specifically referring to those who are doing photography. You know, those who are running their own photography biz and some days you just don't feel like editing or culling or bringing vision to what you love! Before diving in...

I wanted to give you the opportunity to jump into this FREE class called "Keys to Effective Family Posing, Goodbye Awkward & Stiff"! This is a fresh class all about posing families! We put it out a few months ago and the feedback was amazing. So many of you found it beneficial, so if you haven't checked it out you should! You'll leave with very practical things you can use at your next session.

Now, by all means when you hit that wall you should pause and decide if need rest. Your body/brain will give you signals to rest. And that is so important to respond and allow yourself to take a day off. But there are times when you've got to do some hard things that need to get done. Today we'll talk about some tips to help you get motivated when work feels hard and you flat out just don't want to!

Commit to Your Deadline (With Wiggle Room)

We all have our contracts and our goals. I tell my clients I will get their photos back to them in 2 weeks, although, my actual goal is 1 week. I believe committing to your deadlines are powerful and important. When you plan for wiggle room then you can over serve your clients. But, it's important to honor your word and stick to the contract/deadline you put in place. Here's the key: knowing your deadlines and committing to them beforehand makes it that much easier to stick to them when it gets hard. Those deadlines help us to continue to make progress with things!

Create Workflows

A workflow is simply a checklist of things that are done every time. For example, my team and I use Trello which is a free online business management tool. Basically it's a virtual board of checklists (we LOVE it). This helps me so much because on the days I don't feel like doing anything I can open Trello and look at the checklist. It makes sure everything gets done and allows me to see what HAS to get done for today. Plus, I am a checklist person so there is gratification in checking it off my list! This literally makes me feel productive even when I don't necessarily want to be. Whether the workflow is made up of things you need to do or automations they are valuable! Speaking of automations: I use Dubsado to automate as many things as possible and that is a game changer. I have a Dubsado Workflow in my shop you can take a look at! It translates to Honeybook or other CRMs and shows you how to set up automations. That way you can set it and forget it!

Plan With a Playbook

Another thing that helps you preserve that brainstorming juice is having a playbook to plan by! I use my Mini Sessions Playbook and it keeps me on track feeling accomplished without having to think about it. It start from 8 weeks out from your session and plans out what's needed each week. This leads up to the day of your minis and after. All you have to do is run the play!

Do That One Thing

On days you don't have 100% to give choose one thing that you can move the ball forward on. I'm a big believer in progress not perfection. So, it's easier to choose one thing: maybe clearing out your inbox, maybe responding to DMs, etc. Just pick something and complete it. This allows you to clear a part of your "to-dos" and won't exhaust you!

Change of Scenery

If you'r like me and you work from home your office can either be a place you're running to or running from! A lot of times just getting out of the "funk" allows your creative juices to start flowing again. Move your work outside, to your living room, even your bed! Somedays working from bed is just what you need to rest and check off that one thing!

Go Back to Your Why

Last, but not least (and truly most importantly) go back to the reason you started! Remembering why you are doing this can give purpose back into the day in and day out hustle. What made you become a photographer? Why did you start this business? Reflecting on our why gives us fuel to do it. It will help you get motivated when you work feels hard!

Links Mentioned

+ Keys to Effective Family Posing, Goodbye Awkward & Stiff

+ Dubsado Workflow

+ Mini Sessions Playbook

What We Discussed

Commit to Your Deadline (5:29)

Create Workflows (8:43)

Plan With a Playbook (11:21)

Do That One Thing (12:41)

Change of Scenery (13:24)

Go Back to Your Why (14:04)