“How do you have time to do all of that?” That’s a question I get a lot.  When people find out that I work a full-time corporate job, have a photography business, and have a family with young children, they are usually very surprised.

I will say this: it’s definitely not easy.  But as I have added more and more things to my plate over the years, I have learned that planning and getting myself organized has gone a long way into helping me manage it all and be successful.

I have some shortfalls (for example, I still haven’t found the time to fit regular exercise in my schedule since having my youngest daughter, but I hope to resolve that issue very soon), but overall, I think I do pretty well.

So with this post, I want to share some tips with you on maintaining work-life balance.

1)      Take care of yourself and do what you can. This means understanding that you can’t do everything and especially not everything at the same time.  Accepting this is the beginning of having balance and being in a happier mental space.

2)      If you’re able to, outsource where necessary. How do you value your time? This is something to ask yourself. If you can pay someone to do something that makes your life easier, and what you pay them is less than what you can make yourself, then I think it’s a good investment.  For example, I would rather take on more photo sessions than to clean the baseboards in my house, so I hire someone to come in a couple times a month to help with the house cleaning.

To be honest, even if you’re paying more than what you make yourself, if it brings you peace and satisfaction, then it’s probably worth doing.  Again, it’s possible for you to do everything, but not in one day and not at the same time.

3)      Work in “bulk.” This means dedicating a certain amount of time to complete a specific task for multiple days.  For me, some of the things I do in bulk are:

o   Preparing meals. I use a crock pot to make meals while I’m at work and I also bake casseroles that we can eat for more than one day.  I also sometimes prepare more than one meal at a time and freeze the prepared meals to eat later in the week.

o   Ironing clothes (multiple days, sometimes even the whole week).

o   Preparing school lunches/snacks for multiple days.

o   Trying to schedule multiple doctors’ appointments on one day.

Working in bulk tends to save me time over the long run, rather than doing each thing every single day.

4)      Set a specific amount of goals to complete on any given day.  For example, I typically aim to knock out three major tasks on my corporate job’s “to do” list in a day and one or two major tasks related to my business in the evenings.  Then I dedicate more time to my business on the weekends.

5)      Schedule time to have fun.  Sometimes when you’re very busy with work, you can forget to spend time doing the things that you find fun! Spend time with your family. Spend time with your friends.  Take your children to the park.  Go to a concert. Take a weekend trip with your spouse.  While working is important, you also want to be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Fill your cup up. This makes everything balance.

So how do you balance work and life? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Sharetha Monique is a maternity, newborn, child, and family portrait photographer in Charlotte, NC. Follow me on Instagram: @sharethamoniquephotography and on Facebook: Sharetha Monique Photography. To keep up new content, and stay informed of exclusives and special offerings, sign up for my newsletter!

Note from Sharetha:

Thank you so much for reading this blog post!  I love featuring my clients’ images (as well as some personal favorite images), and this will give you a glimpse into what you will receive when you commission me for your Charlotte Family and Children’s Photography.

If you would like to see what an entire gallery looks like, please don’t hesitate to ask.  Some of my favorites are posted here, but all of the images you receive are worthy of being in a frame, an album, or displayed on your walls!

For pricing information, please click here.  If you would like to reserve your date on my calendar, please fill out my contact form or email me directly at sharetha@sharethamonique.com.

Due to the custom nature of portrait sessions, I take a limited number of clients each month.

Capturing a family’s story and creating beautiful images brings me tremendous joy, and I would be honored to capture yours!