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Proud pup mom, type A creative, lover of the outdoors, Top Chef fan girl, and wedding and portrait photographer. Welcome to the blog!
HI, I'M RACHEL!
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Let’s keep it real: moving is a nightmare. I’ve moved or helped move many times in my life, but nothing tops my last move two years ago when I was literally breaking out in hives & getting excruciating heartburn from the stress of it all. I was committed to not allowing my most recent move to evoke those types of stress reactions, and with a full time job + what feels like a full time photography business to manage, I knew it could be easy to find myself in that position again. But like I said, I was committed, so I implemented some things to help ease the stress of operating my business while moving, which in turn eased stress in other areas. I’ve narrowed it down & today I’m helping you out with five tips on how to keep working while moving.
I successfully avoided hives & (literal) heartburn during my recent move, but it was still one of the most stressful times I can remember for a variety of reasons. It’s a universal truth that moving sucks, but I feel like our brains protect us from remembering just how painful it can be between moves – kind of like childbirth! Haha Between securing a new place to live that meets your needs & financial situation, packing all your things, scheduling movers, switching your utilities, paying a gagillion dollars, cleaning up your old place, and coordinating with your partner if you have one, it’s enough to make you lose your mind!
I am so thankful I did myself a favor and implemented the tips on how to keep working while moving that I’m sharing with you today so that I didn’t completely burn myself out. I was able to keep my business running successfully and keep my clients happy through the move. I’m infusing the post w/ photos of our new rental home so you can see, not only did I live to tell the tale, we have even unpacked some of our belongings & started enjoying our new home.
1. Know Your Workflow
We all have tasks that we regularly repeat. There is a natural order to things – one thing has to be done or communicated in order to do or communicate another thing. Knowing this routine like the back of your hand is key to taking the stress out of it. The best way to get familiar with your workflow is to write it out so you have it to refer back to if you ever get confused or forgetful when you’re stressed or super busy.
Here is a great place to start: When you get an inquiry from a client, what is the first thing you need to communicate to them (this is different for everyone)? Make a list of all the things with which you regularly respond to that initial email inquiry. What do you do when you hear back from them? Or if you don’t hear back from them? Do you follow up after a number of days? Write all of that into your workflow. Then what do you do when you book them as clients? Do you draw up a contract, have them pay an invoice? Write all that down. You get the idea.
Do this for each task you often repeat. Having your workflow clearly laid out to refer back to will make you a lean, mean task completing machine, whether you have all the time in the world, or you’re in a crunch due to a move.
Establishing your workflow is a time saver in and of itself, but there are additional time savers within your workflow you can identify as well. One of my favorite time saver tips is to create templates. Templates are great because the basic information is there, so the time consuming work is done in advance, and you can still tailor the messages to your particular client and their situation.
Create email templates for responses to regularly asked questions. I use a template for my contracts too. Another time saver I’ve found are my blog posts. When you blog, kill two birds with one stone. Blog about topics that regularly come up with your clients, so instead of individually answering those questions or responding to those concerns in a detailed way for each client, you can just send them a link to a well thought out blog post. Their questions will be answered & you’ve saved yourself some time.
There are time savers in everyone’s individualized workflow, so have some fun going through yours and identifying what will save you some time. Saving time on tasks like emailing is extremely helpful during a move.
I LOVE a to do list! I’m that person who adds something to a list I’ve already done just for the satisfaction of getting to cross it off & experience that feeling of accomplishment. Yep. Now you know.
Clear, detailed, & easily accessible to do lists are an essential part for how to keep working during a move. I keep mine on Google Keep so I have it right on my phone, which I take everywhere with me. It’s the easiest way to keep track of what you need to get done while being able to cross things off in real time and add things as needed. You have your phone with you anyway, so it’s more streamlined than carrying around a piece of paper & pen/pencil.
My biggest suggestion with keeping a to do list during a move is to pare it down to only the essentials for your business. You already have a lot going on with the move, and you want to keep your business running, but only doing the essentials for a couple of weeks will be OK. We all do extra tasks for our business, but during a move our time is so limited & at least for me my goal was to not burn out. Only doing the essentials for my business was a big part of keeping my stress at least somewhat manageable.
4. Schedule Your Time
The overarching theme throughout this list has been time. Time is tight for other things when you’re planning, packing, and doing a move, so I’ve found that laying out a schedule is the best way to not lose track of or waste available time. At the beginning of each day I’ve found it helpful to schedule the entire day, hour by hour. My day planner has a space for this, so I hope yours does as well. First make your to do list for the day and then fill out the hours with those items.
Along with this idea is scheduling things to be done ahead of time to keep your business running. When you see a span of time available, use it to write several blog or social media posts and schedule them to go live at the appropriate time. Compose or respond to emails and use Boomerang to send them at the exact time you want them to go out.
Perhaps the most important of all the tips I’m sharing today on how to keep working while moving is to communicate with your clients. Be honest & let them know what you’re doing. People are more likely to be patient and understanding if they are informed as to what’s going on. If it takes you longer to respond to an email than it normally would, your client will likely not take it personally if they know you’re in the middle of moving. I’m not saying use it as an excuse, but keep your clients apprised so they feel in the loop and important, not forgotten about or brushed aside as they may feel if you don’t tell them you’re moving. Everyone can identify with how time consuming and stressful a move is, so your generous, kind clients will most likely be willing to cut you a little bit of slack, especially when you end up doing a kick ass job for them when all is said and done.
HELLO@RACHELEHPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
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Rachel is a wedding and portrait photographer
Serving brilliant, elegant couples in Washington D.C. + Beyond
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