MOVING YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD WITH LIMITED TIME
Before we get started: This post was originally shared with my email community in October 2020.
Moving your business forward with very little time can be a challenge. If you’re struggling to feel productive working from home, I shared some thoughts with my community of subscribers a few weeks ago and thought I’d share them here too. If you’d like to receive letters like this to your inbox every other Saturday, you can sign up below. You’ll also receive two free photography e-books: Simple Snaps & Looking for Light and a creative self-care planner.
How have you been since my last letter? Are the kids back at school? Nursery? Jasmine started at nursery this week and despite the tears in the days leading up, so far, so good.
Her little hand filled mine as we made our way up the path. Leaves crunched under foot and I felt the sun on my back. Charlie’s never far away but knowing that this week would have been his first at school sure stings a bit. Crisp uniforms and the promise of new adventures. I kick myself that I didn’t take photos of Jasmine this morning but cuddles and love took precedence. I’m hard on myself to capture as much as I can, but it didn’t happen and I’m learning every day to forgive myself. It’s the one thing that really helps.
We arrived at the door and were met with a sea of smiley faces. She’ll be going every day from 9am-12pm. Three whole hours. A member of staff said to me “you can run the hoover around!”
This brought me back with a jolt. The thing is, I know I can do more than run the hoover around. And if life is teaching me anything, it’s that it’s too precious to squander. There’s plenty we can do with limited time on our hands. And it starts with believing it’s possible.
I don’t know about you but I don’t do well with a large chunk of time or project in front of me anyway. I find it a little intimidating, too much opportunity for doubt to creep in. When I flounder, my other half always says to me “think small picture”, and this is exactly what I try to do. This goes for everything. The overwhelm of a positive pregnancy test, a book to write, a business to build, a course to create. If I think about all the steps from A-Z, my chest feels tight and my knees start to wobble. So I find it best to think small picture. Just one day, just one paragraph, just one thing. Over time, it all adds up, eating that elephant one small bite at a time.
So how do you run a successful business with limited time? Well here’s what works for me. For each day, each task, I ask myself this question:
Is this busy work or impactful work?
The busy work will keep us on that hamster wheel longer than is helpful. Too much of it will have you scratching your head as to why you’re working so hard, but not necessarily moving forward. Impactful work feels different. With less stress but more concerted steps, you can follow the path towards whatever it takes to build your thing.
I thrive on short bursts of time. I’ve spent the last two years pivoting my business on just 30 minutes here and there. It’s how my 1 to 1 photography mentoring service came to fruition and how The Rallying Cry was born. So if you’re keen to explore the possibilities with limited time, start asking yourself the question “what can I get done in just 30 mins?” And try to choose things that might make a difference in the long run. Here are some examples of impactful work :
Learn one new thing
Practise a skill you’re trying to master
Update your online portfolio with 5 fresh images
Tweak your website copy to make sure it aligns with your ever-shifting brand values
Reach out to 2 or 3 brands for collaboration
Start a blog post that speaks directly to your ideal client. Help her with something.
Here are a few of examples of busy work:
Scrolling and over-engaging with Instagram
Taking on work that doesn't excite you
Over-planning
Spending too long in your inbox
I used to think I could “clear my messages”, but before long I realised, once you clear them, MORE COME. Busy, busy, busy….
Here’s what I did with three glorious hours of impactful work (once I’d put my phone in a drawer):
Watched two learning platform tutorials so I can start building my Preset Detox editing course
Scheduled all my 1 to 1 mentoring Zoom calls for the rest of the month
Had the idea for this letter and smashed out the bare bones to flesh it out later
Drank a whole cup of (hot) uninterrupted tea
Scheduled my Pinterest pins for the week
Chipping away feels good.
Motherhood looks nothing like I thought it would. And part of that means granting myself permission to want more. We’re allowed to want more for ourselves than a tidy home. Creative dreams and personal goals feel important. They light the fire that glows from within when the dark draws in. They help us find greater meaning and purpose from our days. We won’t all want the same things and this works in our favour. It means there’s room for everyone.