Photography Business - What Happens When You Shorten Your to Do List and Lengt

[Susie Chandler]

Let's face it, many of us are slaves to our to-do lists the things
that we feel we and we alone must do.  But have you ever stopped
to ask yourself "why am I doing this?"  You see with all the
demands of entrepreneurship it's so easy to become caught up in busy
work that we sometimes forget who we are and why became photographers
in the first place.
If you find yourself feeling stuck or experiencing low energy levels
that could be good indicator that you're dealing with some form of
overwhelm which will eventually lead to frustration and potential
burnout.  ((
Typically this happens when our time is too scattered and our mind are
so solely focused on putting out fires that we miss the big
picture. 
The following exercise and questions below will not only help you
uncover the places and areas that is most likely zapping your energy
but will help you to realign your focus and goals. 
The first step: Write a current to do list (do this for a several days
up to a full week)
Don't leave anything out, everything from doing the laundry to
chauffeuring your kids to and from soccer practice to picking up
prints for a client from the photo lab.  The key to making this
exercise work is to leave nothing out.  ((
The longer you do this exercise the better because when we move on to
the next step you will have a clear picture of what you're currently
doing and why you can't seem to "find the time" to get anything done
for your business or yourself.
Next step: Take out at least four sheets of paper and on the top of
each page write the following on the top of each page (one item per
page)


Let Somebody Else Do It
Put Off Till Later
Forget About It
"Fun and Should Be Doing More Often"

Final step: Run each the items on your 'to do' list through the
following four questions:
1. Can someone else do this task, instead of me?  And If so whom?
( - Write these tasks on your "let somebody else do it" page.
2. Can this task get done later? Not urgent and doesn't require your
immediate attention(- Write these on your "put off till later" page.
One word of caution: the key to making the most of this list is that
you eventually move it to one of the other three lists or you could
run the risk of dealing feelings of guilt because it "never" seems to
actually get done.
3. Is this task worth being bothered with?  Many of the things
that we think are so important when facing the cold light of day can
actually be squashed. (- Write these on your 'forget about it"
page.  I would also highly suggest that you physically toss or
burn this page.  Doing this exercise will actually help you
experience a feeling of release.)
4. Is this task a priority for you? Will it bring you more income and
let you have more fun in life?(- Write these tasks on your " fun and
should be doing it more often page.  The next step is too
immediately schedule these items on this list and get busy making them
happen.  The sooner the better.
Clarity is the key to having a successful business and life. 
Often the only way to become clear about where you're going is to
become clear about what you're doing.