The Frog & The Horse: Finding Productivity and Joy in Your Photography Business
Before we get started:
This post was originally shared with my email community in March 2021. Click here if you’d like to subscribe. You’ll also receive access to my library of free resources.
Tackling the Editing Dilemma
A year or two into my wedding photography business, I’d spend many arduous hours editing on my bed. Poor posture, with snacks to my right and Gilmore Girls to my left, it took way longer than it needed to. Editing became my least favourite task in my business and yet I was easily spending the most time on it. I continued like this for a while because I believed there was no other way. I just had to get it done, and suck it up.
There’s a school of thought that in order to be productive and make stuff happen, it’s best to eat the frog first. As in, start work with your least favourite task, to get it off your plate and out of the way. Eat that frog and then move on to something more palatable. But as I think back to the hours wasted in my editing boudoir, it’s clear that eating the frog first doesn’t work for everyone and it definitely doesn't work for me.
The Myth of "Eating the Frog"
I’m a stubborn soul and if my brain tries to force my body to do something it doesn't want to, it will complete the task slowly and begrudgingly. An act of rebellion against myself, even though we’re on the same team. What’s the saying? “You can lead the horse to water but you can’t make it drink?” Yep, that’s me, I’m the horse.
These days, I try to approach work differently, with my energy and enjoyment levels guiding me forward.And if this seems frivolous, over-indulgent or snowflake-y (because sometimes the voices in my head tell me that too), consider this:
I believe to my core that we do our best, most soul-aligned work when we’re able to find a joyful, playful, light-hearted approach to the tasks we have in front of us.
We’re also at our most creative when this happens. And don’t get me wrong, I know that in any session/project/day there will always be the tasks you’d rather not do. Frogs hop around all over the place. Take writing my book for example - it was a long and unpleasant process at times, but I managed to get it done and dutifully eat those frogs along the way.
Bite-Sized Steps for Progress
So next time you’re struggling to get going and just can’t face those less than pleasant tasks on your to do list, here’s what I find works for me:
Breaking the bigger tasks down as much as possible (I’m talking minuscule, bitesized pieces)
Pick the gentlest/smallest actionable step first
This usually creates a bit of a ripple effect and gets me going.
Something else that has completely transformed my working week is learning to tune into the ebb & flow of my energy. I track my cycle so I know what’s going on with my hormones and pay attention to how I’m feeling as I’m working.
Do you do this too?
When I’m creating marketing content for example, if I feel the words ebb and my brain gets fuzzy, I know it's time to switch to a different task. When I'm editing and all the photos start to look the same and my eyes or hands feel fatigued, I know it’s time to move on.
Minimising distractions is also key. It can be tough to keep putting your phone in a drawer in order to garner focus, but honestly, doing this helps me commit to the task at hand so much better. I spend less time procrastinating and those sticky tasks go down much quicker.
But sure, everyone’s brains work differently and although there are things that work well in a *general* sense, it’s clear there’s no one size fits all approach.
So how about you? Is there a task on your to do list that you just keep putting off? A cheeky website refresh, maybe? Or something else? DM me @suziejaygoldsmith if you have a moment. I’d love to hear from you.
“Working with Suzie is like having a best mate with all the inside knowledge, ready to share it with you.”