← Book More Photography Clients Podcast | Photography Business, Photography Leads, Marketing
Book More Photography Clients Podcast | Photography Business, Photography Leads, Marketing
How to Handle Overwhelm When You’re Drowning in Sessions
00:16:23
Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:01]
A
If you're listening to this episode in real time, then you know this is the craziest season of the year. Sessions are piling up, editing feels endless, and it can feel like you're drowning. Can I get an amen? Not a hallelujah, right? Because we're not overly ecstatic about it. But if you are feeling this, you are not alone. I am right there with you. So today I want to talk about how to actually handle that overwhelm in a way that keeps you from burning out. And it is going to bring so much peace and time back to your life. Here we go. Welcome to the Book More Clients Photography Podcast. You can stop spending hours on Google and YouTube because you just found your number one resource for growing a profitable and sustainable photography business. Hi, I'm Brooke Jefferson. I'm a believer wife, mama to two and Oklahoma family photographer. I left the classroom in 2018 to pursue my photography career full time. Now I'm here to help you do the same. In this podcast, we're covering the most asked about topics including pricing, marketing, client experience, and all things systems and workflows. You won't find any fluff or BS here. Just tried and true strategy. Are you ready? Grab your kids some snacks and charge those camera batteries. It's time to jump in. All right. The first way that you can handle your overwhelm when you are in these crazy seasons is to first of all know your capacity. So this one is more proactive and this is going to help you for next year or the next time you are feeling this way in like a super crazy season. But this season I want you to treat it like a mirror, okay? It's going to show you what your true limits are. And also I made this episode for myself so that I can listen to this a couple different times throughout the year. Because honestly, this whole episode idea came out of where I'm personally at in my own season. And I have absolutely been noticing what my limits are. This season is very different than last season. Last year at this time I was working a job, but I had the ability to take my computer with me to that job. And so during my downtime I was able to edit while I was at work. This where I'm at this year, that is not a possibility. I can't bring my computer with me to work. And so that leaves me three nights a week where I can edit in the evening. And. And then I have had to. I have had to work a lot on the weekends. Like it is what it is. Thankfully, I feel like I've. There's just been a lot of personal life stuff that's been really good. So I've been able to do both. But I'm not going to lie. Like, it's a lot. And so if you're feeling that, that I want you to use this season as a mirror and literally take notes in real time. What is stressing you out right now? What do you feel like you're dropping the ball on? For me, it was the laundry. The number one was laundry and cooking meals for my family. And I'm like, enough is enough. I cannot go the rest of 2026 like this. Like, something has to change. So if you're maxed out and you're stressed to the brim, then that is a clue for next year. And I want you to make yourself a note right now what those things are. Pay attention to what you're able to handle right now so you can set boundaries and limits in the future. So it. Maybe you're like, I just need to say no. I need to learn the word no. I've said yes to way too many things. Or I volunteered way too much for my kids stuff. And it ended up. I felt stretched thin. Right? I'm not giving a hundred percent to all the areas. So maybe next year you're going to say, you know, I'd love to support you financially, but as far as, like, my time or volunteering, I'm not going to be able to do that in this season. So know your capacity, because if you can, get in front of what you know, you need, right? Like, we know September, October, November, we pretty much have our face in our lightroom and Photoshop for three months. Like, it really does feel that way. And so if you know that, don't add more things to your plate. Number two is to shift and change your routines. And yes, I had to do this because busy season requires a shift. How you were in the summer is not how you can be in the fall. It just doesn't work like that. Another fun thing. I don't even know if it's fun, but something that brings me joy. And it didn't always. I used to dread the winter. Like, truly, you guys. Like, I would have like a seasonal depression about November, just in anxiety and ant anticipation for what December through February was going to be like. Not anymore. The past two years, when winter comes and we're not as busy, we're not constantly going from session every single day, it opens up so much freedom to where I cherish that season so much. And so Now I'm looking forward to when I'm gonna have extra time to. To make homemade bread if I want to. You know what I mean? Like, those are things that I don't have time to do right now. But I'm very much looking forward to doing things like that in the. I usually do, like, major home projects during the winter as well, and I'm just looking forward to it. So all of that to say every season looks so very different, and I want to normalize that for our industry. It's different. It's just different. I listen to a lot of, you know, self improvement and home management and parenting podcasts, and I just have to tell you, like, so sometimes it makes me feel like almost like mom guilt when I listen to what the topic is about because I'm gone at dinner time. Right? Like, we aren't at home because we have sessions before sunset or, you know, a couple hours before. And so we don't get to always be there and follow the traditional routines and time management and all the things. And so I just want to. I know I kind of went on a tangent here, but I just feel this. And so I know this is going to resonate with you. It's okay that we don't have a. Every day doesn't look the same for us and it's never going to, and that's okay. And I just want to normalize that. I want you to know that it is okay every season and every day does not need to look the same, but you need to feel peaceful about it. And when you lay your head down at night, you shouldn't feel so overwhelmed that you're going to have a breakdown. Okay? That's what this episode is for. So back to changing and editing your routines. Maybe this means that you need to reevaluate your schedule and you find that you need to wake up earlier to knock out some editing in the morning when you're fresh, before your kids wake up or before you go to work. Or maybe you need to stay up later at night and you're going to have to sacrifice a little bit of sleep. Maybe it means cutting back on the Netflix shows, which really stinks because it's not even Netflix. It's literally any app, any show, any movie, all the best stuff comes out right now. So from Grey's Anatomy to Land Band to I'm trying to think, what else do I watch? Love is Blind, right? Like, there are so many shows that renew their seasons and they come out in the fall when we are at our busiest Season. But maybe we need to just, like, cut back on those Netflix binges and save them for our slower season. Maybe it's dedicating Saturday mornings just for you to wrap up and do gallery deliveries. You kind of need to look at everything. And none of these changes and shifts have to be forever. It's just temporary. It's just for this busy season. So go look and see what needs to change. And in your daily and weekly routines, number three, number three, and number four go hand in hand. So I might knock them both out. This is the biggest one. Okay. This is where I had to get real with myself. You got to delegate your housework and your business tasks. You cannot do it all. You cannot. I cannot. I just told you guys I'm failing on the laundry and the meals. Or I was, I should say, because I made these changes, and in real time. The washer and dryer are going. I have a pile of laundry on the couch next to me, and I already know what we're having for dinner and lunches every single day this week, which is so helpful. Like, I already feel so much peace being able to say that out loud. But I don't have time to do it all. You don't have time to do it all. I had to figure out what housework or what chores I needed to ask my husband and kids to take over because I cannot do it. I used to take pride in doing everything by myself. Yeah. No, in this season, I would love to do none of it. I would love to do none of it. And so I have had thank you to my husband and my children for, you know, they live here. They need to pull some weight. And it doesn't need to all fall on me, especially when I don't even work from home five days a week anymore. You know what I mean? So the hours and the energy and all that, it's not there. So I let them take over some of the laundry. They help me with dishes. My kids unload and load the dishwasher. I kind of do some of the more heavy lifting cleaning tasks. But, like, they sweep, they do dishes, they help with laundry, they take the trash out. They're 9 and 12. Just so you know. So I understand if you have littles. This is not your season right now, but one day it will be. I promise you it will be. You will be surprised how much stress will melt off of you just by outsourcing a few things that are falling through the cracks. So if you haven't done this, I really encourage you to do it. I really, really encourage you to do it. Number four is delegating or outsourcing your business tasks. And so maybe in your home life that really does fall on you for whatever reason. Maybe you're a single parent, maybe you know, your spouse is deployed, whatever that looks like. Maybe you can't delegate your housework, but maybe you could delegate some business tasks. This could be editing. This could be someone to manage your inbox, your emails, all of your client communication. Doesn't mean that they're the only person talking to your clients. But it just means if clients reach out and they're like, hey, can you remind me what day and time we booked? And they could be like, yeah, of course, blah, blah, you know what I mean? So it could be things like that. Maybe you have someone help you with blogging whatever is falling through the cracks, business wise. See if you could, if you can't hire somebody there, maybe it's a bookkeeper for your finances. You don't have to carry it all on your own. You don't. I know as a photographer, we, you know, we've glamorized being a one man or a one woman show. And I'm sorry, but like, I'm not glamorizing that because I think that's very unrealistic. And I know for some of you, you have really big profit and revenue goals. I'm just gonna tell you it's very rare for you to hit the really big ones, like over six figures by yourself. Just saying. I've done it. And I also will tell you it was the most stressed out I've ever been. It was the most miserable I've ever been. And when I was able to even bring on just one virtual assistant, just one, it takes the weight off of me and it just helps so much. So please, if you have not outsourced any of your business tasks, I really, really want to encourage you to. Okay, last one. We could go on and on, but I know you are stretched for time and I've already been on too many tangents. Number five, Batch, batch, batch. Batching is your best friend, especially in busy seasons. Now for next year or for the next busy season ideally, I would love for you to have already batched all of this way ahead of time. Okay, so this means that right now you're drowning in overwhelm and you're behind on like marketing next year I want you to like make a plan for it and batch everything in September so you don't even have to lift a finger in October. Okay, so instead of switching back and forth a hundred times a day between working on a gallery and then turning around and answering an email and then trying to write a social media post. I want you to sit down and do one type of task in one block over and over and over again. So, for example, today is a Monday when I'm recording this. And so I am actually, it's. It's my home day, so I'm at home. I'm working on editing, but I'm also, like, getting my house in order. Okay. So when I'm working, I do about five to 10 minutes of cleaning out my inbox, going through all the emails, making sure everybody's been replied to, and then I check that task off, and then I go on to the next thing, and I keep doing that. When I'm editing, I'm literally, like, setting a timer for, okay, you're sitting down for 45 minutes. You're not getting up. You're not going to even open the Internet like this. 45 minutes. And then I'll get up. I'll go walk, I'll switch laundry. I'll do something just to break my brain, like, give it a break, and then I'll go and I'll do something different. When I'm working on social media, I am sitting down for one to two hours, batching one to two weeks worth out, and then I'm doing something else. So please batch as much as you can. You will save yourself so much energy. You will help your brain. I promise. It is worth it to batch. So here is your reminder. Yes, this season is crazy, but it won't last forever. And it's crazy in a good way because remember those days that you prayed that your business would get bookings, that your calendar would fill up, that your bank account would reflect this passion you love so much? You are getting paid to do what you love. And so make sure that you are so grateful for this crazy busy season. Protect your energy, adjust your routines, lean on your people. The calmer you are, the better you'll serve your clients, and the more you'll actually enjoy this season instead of just surviving it. All right, you guys, that is it for today. This is my hug to you. It is my virtual hug. I literally would give every single one of you a hug if you were in person with me right now. You've got this. Get after it. Take at least one of these strategies that we talked about. Implement it into your season right now, and come tell me what you chose. Okay, Come tell me what you chose. I hope you Have a great day, and I'll see you on the next episode.