Category Archives: Business

Day 2446 – Would We Come Out Of Retirement?

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One question we’re asked a lot is – will you come out of retirement for XYZ? Actually, we’re more asked “do you miss it?” ALL the time.

In answer to the second – yes and no. We made amazing friendships, had great experiences AND got to capture so many Day 1’s in people’s lives. There wasn’t much like the joy after a wedding when we would just laugh at how awesome it was. I don’t miss the stress though! Oh man, it can be stressful! Between the weather, our schedules and our health, just to name a few. Oy.

A few days back, a friend asked if we would consider coming out of retirement. I said probably not. The biggest factor is the gear. I have sold every bit of our gear from our camera bags to our light stands to almost all of our rechargeable AA’s…and the cameras ans lenses of course. I was curious, so I just did the math on how much it would cost to rent what we’d need to photograph a wedding.

Since we don’t have ANYTHING left, we’d have to rent it all, from cards to lightstands to backpacks. Just the rental costs for three days is well over $1000. Adding in our time (photographing, editing and doing administrative work), the total package would be nearly $3000. And that’s not including any products.

So! If you want us to come out of retirement, you’re looking at at least $3000. Now you know! 🙂

But I mean, don’t you want us photographing your wedding?

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Day 2435 – My New Secret To Productivity – Habitica!

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You may remember that I’m a sucker for new productivity ideas. I shared in that post that I learned that I have finally accepted that my secret to productivity will change. What will motivate me today will most likely not motivate me in a week or next year.

I am a list person. I am a spreadsheet person. I LOVE that feeling of crossing something off the list. I love seeing progress based on records I’ve kept. I’m a huge nerd in this regard. I geek out over Pivot Tables in Excel (go look it up, trust me). Give me a chart to fill out and I’ll most likely get it done.

Or, at least, I’ll plan and plan and plan to get it done. As I’m reading Die Empty, I’m finding I’m a Mapper (planning my objectives) and a Mesher (education, doing things that challenge me, cultivating curiosity). But I’m a terrible Maker (actually doing the work). Doing all three is the goal. This goal of actually doing the work to meet my goals and use the education I’m getting has been fresh in my mind.

I also realize that I’m a big game nerd. I can spend hours a day playing Farmville (oh baby, my farm is awesome) or a Lego game (100%er right here!) I found myself thinking a few years back – “why am I so jazzed about Farmville?” (Yes, I’ve been playing for YEARS). So I read a book Zynga: From Outcast to $9 Billion Social-Game Powerhouse, hoping I would find an answer to my question. I wanted to harness this urge to craft things and get experience and level up in my life and maybe into a business.

I found a book at the library, Gamify. While on my first read/skim, I thought, well, duh, of course this is a good thing! How can I apply it? I didn’t finish the book because of that. lol, I’m very harsh on my current readings. If I’m not feeling a book, it’s gone. Which is why my Goodreads “read” shelf is filled with 4 and 5 star books. I won’t waste my time on anything less.

Yesterday, I got Gamify out of the library again. I spent time reading and thought, ok, I need to make this an actionable thing. I need a game.

A while back, my sister told me about a to do list/gamified app. I downloaded it and barely looked at it. I deleted it a few days later. I thought, I’m too busy to have ANOTHER place to track things and annoy me with the “hey Jen, here’s the million things you’re NOT doing.” But after the perfect storm above, I downloaded it again.

Friends, I am floored at how well it’s worked in the last 16 hours or so. I’ve added in habits to make (drink more water, brush my teeth before nine – if you work from home, I’m sure you can feel me on this one) and to break (I won’t play video games before 3…this is a new bad habit…I won’t pick my nails…etc). After hitting the negative sign almost 3 times in a row…within 15 minutes…and taking so much life away from my little avatar…I felt a new resolve. When I went to pick, I thought, no, don’t take the health away! It has made doing my to-dos fun. I have already done more this morning than I have in weeks…nay….months. I am excited to tackle my work day because I know I will gain points. I even wrote a chapter in my book.

Who knows how long this will keep me motivated, but I have a suspicion it might be a while. 🙂

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Day 2425 – “I Have The Worst Job Ever” – or – Perspective

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While driving today, I passed a road crew picking up trash and noticed the porta potty on a truck following them. My first thought was “man, it must stink (no pun intended) having a job like that.” But almost as quickly, I started thinking how it might be an answer to prayer for those on the crew. Typically, I think of road crews like that as those who are on work release or it’s part of their prison sentence to do this type of work. If that’s the case, then working outside is an AMAZING opportunity!

It seems to be an easy thing for people to complain about their job.
If you work in production, you wish you worked in the office.
If you work in the office, you wish you could get up and move around from your desk.
If you work as the secretary, you wish you were the boss.
If you work in an office, you wish you worked from home.

But I think we forget that there are two sides to every story….and every job.

So I give a plea – enjoy where you are in your job. Don’t complain. Understand that there are those who would be so grateful for what you have.

But if you do desire more, take action. I’ll leave you with a quote from one of my current reads:

“Mediocrity comes from the Latin words medius, meaning middle, and ocris, meaning rugged mountain. Literally translated, it means to settle halfway to the summit of a difficult mountain. It’s a compromise of abilities and potential; a negotiation between the drive to excel and the biological urge to settle for the most comfortable option.”
– Die Empty – Todd Henry

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Day 2420 – How To Actually Get Everything Done – or – To Do List Systems – or – My 2016 Goals And How I Will Meet Them

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One of the things I love to learn about is organizing systems and how to actually get your work done. I’m not big on “New Year’s Resolutions” but I did take some time to create goals for myself for the coming year…even though that didn’t happen until mid-January….and I haven’t really started actively implementing them until the last few weeks.

I approached creating my goals with my bible. I had a few ideas in mind for what I wanted out of the year but God gave me better ones.

Here are my personal 2016 goals:
Get “away” with God more often (Luke 22:39)
Declare how much God has done (Luke 8:39)
Don’t mentally plan out conversations (Luke 21:12-19)
Love others more deeply (John 13:34-35)
Fill my heart with more of God’s word (Matthew 12:34b)
Be more childlike in faith and life (Matthew 18:4)
Be more giving (Matthew 5:42)

These were things God spoke to my heart to grow in this year. Some are easy to track and see progress. I can look at my checkbook and see if I’m being more giving. I can have Bret quiz me and see if I remember more verses than before. Others are harder to track. But they are my goals.

I have some business and personal goals ranging from learning more systems and streamlining more things to going away with Bret and reading 20 fiction books.

Let me give you the biggest mindset shift and biggest secret I’ve recently learned about managing my life and to do’s.

There is no set system and it will constantly change.

This idea seriously changed my life. It’s easy for me to try a new system (like a big board and using post it notes under headers or a sticker check off or a rewards system) but then fall short after using it for a month…or a week…or a few days. There’s a perfectionist/completionist side of me that wants something set up and not have to worry about it. So, again, this idea was music to my ears and really rather freeing.

Another big change for me was realizing I could create a hodge podge system that worked for ME. It has allowed me to pick and choose what works for me and toss what isn’t at any given time.

Here’s what does my current hodge podge looks like.

I printed out my goals and put them in prominent places

I read about the importance of putting your goals out front and center in Mind Hacking by Sir John Hargrave. Specifically, he mentioned putting your goals in the bathroom. So, I have my goals hanging up so I can see them when I’m sitting on my throne. If I’m working from home, I’m seeing my goals a lot. I also have a print out on my to do list clipboard.

Master to do list

For years now, I’ve had a master to do list on a clipboard. It used to be about 10 pages long…but that’s not really practical. I reformatted it down to one page, a layout of the current week, and various more pressing, but not super time sensitive to do’s at the bottom. This is where I list out what day of marriage it is. It’s also in a landscape format because a week fits better that way.

Work and personal to do’s

I use Google calendar for organizing my to do’s for one client, Asana for the other client and Outlook/iCal for my personal to do’s and events. On Outlook I have recurring reminders to pay certain bills, renew my library books, check availability of books, etc. Weekly, I’ll check my Outlook/iCal and redo my to do list.

reminders

I’ve been using an iPhone for several years now, but only JUST started using reminders. What I love about reminders is that they will stay on my lock screen until I’ve taken care of them. I used to use tasks/reminders with iCal, but if I didn’t take care of it, it was gone. I love that I can tell Siri to remind me to do something on such and such day. It’s also great using the location reminders so I don’t forget things like feeding the meter or taking something with me when I leave.

Goal check offs/tracker sheets

This is new for me. I created checklists for my goals. So once a week, when I’m redoing the master to do list, I’m filling in each week/month on the checklists. I’m noting how many books I read that week, how many times I worked out, etc.

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Daily to do list

This is brand spankin’ new to my system, meaning TODAY new! Last night while falling asleep, I had the idea of re-framing my to do list. Instead of saying something like – post on Facebook, do devotions, follow up with this friend or that, I list the task under my goal. So my to do list today is on a white note pad. I write: fill my heart w/God’s word/read whole bible and underline it. Then I add the tasks – journal – read a few chapters. Under the goal “create more systems/streamline processes” I have – sign up for trial for CRM – go through iPhone. (lol, I’ve become OCD about having all of my apps on one screen! I’m also trying to be good about backing up my photos to my photo proofing site.

So there you have it! I realize my system might be crazy overwhelming and seemingly discombobulated, but it makes sense to me, I get things done and I adapt/change/delete as necessary. 🙂

What system or systems work for you to keep track of everything?

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