We all know a few. The lame-o’s. The ones who resolve to change their lives and habits every stinking year, and every year it is completely forgotten about by March. I remember back when I was a gym-rat and used to work out 5 days per week for 2-3 hours at a time, I always HATED January. The New Years Resolutioners would darken the doors of my gym…MY gym…and crowd the classes and take up space on the equipment while not knowing how to properly use it. It made me angry! I know this is incredibly ugly of me, but I remember telling myself over and over again “They’ll be gone by February…they’ll be gone by February…” Awful, right? So while I absolutely believe that New Years Resolutions are just a silly excuse for people to feel better about themselves (and those extra 10 pounds gained over the holidays), I personally would like to resolve to be less of a cynic…and a few other things.
The truth is that my life is a mess right now. I am incredibly blessed and thankful for my awesome family and friends and business successes. But personally, I am a mess. I have pushed myself too hard this past year, taking on more work than I should have, and in pushing myself to perfectionism for my clients and my work, I have nearly killed myself. I don’t sleep. I am CONSTANTLY stressed. I am so far strayed from having a work/life balance that I don’t even know what that would look like. I hear of photographers who stop working at 6pm every night and don’t work again until the next morning, and I think “SERIOUSLY??? How would one even accomplish that?” I haven’t watched a single television show (unless it’s on in the background while I’m working occasionally) or read a single book in months! I am a mess, and something has to give. It’s time for change. And of course because it happens to be January, I may or may not be making a few resolutions of my own this year. And I may or may not hate myself just a little for it. But, in the spirit of growth and metamorphosis and all things renewed by the sparkle of New Years…here are the things that I would like to work on this year. I SUPPOSE you could call them “Resolutions” if you really want. ; )
PERSONAL GOALS
- Join Crossfit, a new gym that will not only provide personal training, but accountability and some good butt-kicking a la Jillian Michaels. (Yikes!)
- Sleeping. A minimum of 7 hours each night. Being both a business owner and a mommy to an active 3 year old means that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day…or night. I have spent the past year getting between 3-5 hours per sleep every night (and about once every two weeks I treat myself to a nice 8 hour night). I realize that this is taking it’s toll on my health and my happiness, and it’s not okay. I have several changes that I will implement in my business this year that will hopefully help me achieve this goal, but more than anything, I just need to make “me” a priority.
- Cherish every minute I spend with my family. I honestly believe that I’m a good mommy. My son is my little best buddy, and I am proud of just about every single aspect of his character. I also happen to think that my dapper hubby is pretty much the greatest human being that I have ever known. The problem is that while I value them, and love them, and even spend plenty of time with them…I am often distracted and stressed about work obligations and therefore unable to truly cherish and enjoy every moment. The sweet moments, like watching my boys try to bake something for me together, and in the process, making my kitchen look like an explosion has taken place. Or the moments where my dog is pestering me by laying her head on my keyboard while I’m trying to type out an email. Those are the precious moments…the sweet ones…the ones that I will remember in my later years. I resolve to soak up every ounce of LIFE that I can, and I honestly believe that this will make me more focused and even better at my work.
- Earth to Table. Chris and I are pretty good about buying healthier foods, and VERY good about feeding the Little Man exceptionally healthy things. However, as with anything else in life, we occasionally slip (moreso on what we eat than what Little Man eats…he pretty much eats better than anyone I know). And when we slip…we REALLY slip. It’s incredibly bipolar to eat organic meats and veggies from our farmer’s market on one day, and the next to order a greasy pizza from Ledo’s. We haven’t been taking care of our bodies, and I honestly believe that even if we didn’t count a single calorie, that if we just stop eating the nasty preservatives and chemicals, we will be much better off. We will make weekly trips to the Farmer’s Market and supplement what we can’t get there with Relay Foods. Relay is a company that works with local farmers and will do weekly pickups from those farms and bring them to my doorstep. So rather than me driving out into the country to the beef guy, then the organic chicken guy, then the tomato and cucumber guy, then the apple and pear guy, then the organic free range egg guy…you get the picture…it will all be picked up and delivered fresh on my doorstep within a couple of days of having been harvested. I LOVE this! Of course we’ll still visit Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s occasionally (I think Little Man would flip if he couldn’t visit his buddies at TJ’s (Trader Joe’s) regularly), but this will help us eat smarter with less effort. WIN!
- Starting my day right. I read an incredible book recently called ‘Today We Are Rich’ by Tim Sanders. Oh holy moses, if you haven’t read this book you really should. It is exceptional. In the book, Tim talks about how important it is to start your day properly. Many of us jump out of bed quickly when we hear our alarms, immediately reading our emails and stressing about our day ahead of us. He suggests that if we were to just wake up earlier (wake up with the chickens but work banker’s hours) and spend some time just relaxing in bed with a cool washcloth over our forehead, thinking about those that we are grateful for (it may sound cheesy but it really does make you more grateful throughout your day and improves your overall mood). He also suggests taking 10-15 minutes to just stretch every morning. Wow! That would be incredible! Then to go get a workout or a run, and then perhaps spend some time sitting in a comfy chair with a glass of tea or coffee and reading either a devotional or the bible or something else that inspires you.
- More cuddle time. The computers will go off at 11pm, and there will be an hour of relaxation with the Hubster. We can watch a mindless television show, a movie, or even play a board game together. But NO electronics after 11pm.
- Friendship. I want to be a better friend. This past year, I had so many friends go through struggles and trials. One lost a parent, two lost babies, another had two children within a VERY short time of each other, another dealt with illness…these were all very sad and lonely times. And I wasn’t there. I WANTED to be there and I did make attempts, but they were lousy. I should have been making more meals and dropping by to help and just calling them up more often and offering to be a shoulder to cry on or a prayer partner. But I wasn’t there. In my efforts to be the best Wedding Photographer and friend that I possibly could to each of my clients, I failed miserably to all of those who have loved me and stood by me for years. I am sad even writing this, because while I know that they have all said that they understand and they forgive me, I haven’t yet forgiven myself.
- Shooting for me. I want to PLAY with my camera again. I miss it. I want to work on personal projects with my camera that won’t advance my business in any way, but will make me a happier person and nourish my inner artist.
PROFESSIONAL GOALS
- Faster email responses. My email has been lousy. I’ve had issues with it all year, but we just moved to a different host company and all of our issues seem to be resolved. I will be taking one (and sometimes two) days off per week with my family and the occasional vacation, but on typical work days I will be responding to emails within 24-48 hours.
- Faster turnaround times…but don’t get crazy. ; ) There seems to be a trend in the photography world to outsource, outsource, outsource. Every photography forum I’m on has at least one or two people per week posting about how there aren’t enough hours in the day, and there’s always a nice handfull of responses that say “You need to outsource more.” Well yes…I do agree that as artists, we should stick with what we do best and then outsource others that aren’t as necessary. Bill Gates probably doesn’t scrub the toilets at Microsoft. He is needed for bigger things. So yes, I completely agree with the idea behind it. HOWEVER, I also think there is a very fine line that needs to not be crossed. The line between doing everything yourself and not sleeping <silently raises hand> and on the other side of the spectrum, outsourcing all editing, album design, client communications, etc…and essentially you then just become a professional button pusher on a camera once a week and take all of the artistry and fun out of it! I am all for outsourcing minor color corrections and accounting (yes, please) and remedial jobs that I can give my intern or assistant, but there are just some things I’m not willing to give up. Album design is one of them. I LOVE being a visual storyteller, and with that comes the responsibility of telling the ultimate story of the wedding day in the form of a beautiful fine art wedding album. To take all of my work and piece it together to form the story of the day…there’s no way I’m giving that up! So yes, I will outsource some things (Item #1 on my To Do list for next week is to find a good professional house-cleaning service) but there are others that I’m just not willing to give up. I believe that quality is worth waiting for, so while my clients can expect faster turnaround times this year, I want them to know that I’m not willing to sacrifice quality or artistry in order to do so. When they are looking at their photos on their one year anniversary, or 10 year, or showing their grandkids their album when they are 80…they won’t remember whether it took a week or 4 weeks or 3 months to get their photos back. They will just be thankful that they were each hand-selected and retouched by the artist before being given to them. (hopefully they’ll also remember how lovely and rad their photographer was, because well…I plan to remember each one of them!) ; )
- Blogging. Oy vey…I need to blog regularly. I know that my clients would like to see my more recent work, so you will see more frequent posts. Yay!
- The end of watermarks. Here’s the deal, people: Watermarks are annoying to clients, but they really do keep everyone safe. No photographer wants some faker to steal their photos and put it on their website as their own work. Likewise, no bride wants a photo of her in her wedding dress to end up in some creepy mail-order-bride catalogue. So watermarking keeps everyone safe. HOWEVER, nowadays with all of the professional blogs and with my work being published and with Facebook being so vast and huge, there is just no way around it. If somebody wants to steal my work, they are going to do it, and I just need to shrug my shoulders and let it go. And I’m not going to watermark the images on my blog if they are just going to be published in a magazine or blog the next month without a watermark. It just doesn’t makes sense. So the watermarks are going away. Yay! Fun anecdote: I had someone recently tell me that my name came up in conversation with a popular wedding vendor in the area. They said “Oh yeah, Julie…she’s the one exception to my rule.” She asked, “What’s the rule?” The woman responded “That no good photographers watermark their images anymore.” I almost DIED! Hahahaha So yes, I’m sure a few of my professional friends will be happy that I made the leap. ; )
- Exclusivity. I am already fairly selective about who I choose to work with. I’m certainly not a snob about it, but I have been known to turn down clients that wanted to book me, but I just KNEW that we wouldn’t mesh well. I have far too many photographer friends who complain about their “Bridezillas” and they just don’t seem to LOVE their jobs! I work hard. HARD. And I feel like this job is not worth working THIS hard on if I don’t absolutely love every minute of it. So I want to LOVE each one of my clients as though they were my best friends. I really have been incredibly blessed that I have never once worked with a client that I didn’t love and appreciate, but I want to take more measures this year to ensure that I’m a good fit with everyone who walks through my door. I have an enhanced “About Me” section on my website now because I want to attract those who say “Hey, I love that too!” And for others that may say “Oh, she likes eating organic and listening to Indie Music and she’s a Christian…I HATE that!” For those people, I want them to move on and find another photographer that they will LOVE and TRUST and if that’s not me, then I’d rather them find that out now rather than a month before their wedding day. It’s a two way street. I just want to have a big fat love fest with each and every one of my clients. Is that so much to ask?
- I want to find an amazingsauce Intern this year. I am going to start interviewing soon, and I already have a few interested parties, so I’m pumped! If you happen to know of someone who is looking for an Internship/Mentorship that will possibly lead to a part-time Office Assistant Position, please tell them to shoot me an email. They must be a self-starter. I am a very fun boss (just ask Hubs!) but I do ask that my employees are capable of working at their own pace and not expecting me to hold their hand through projects. I obviously will provide ample training time, but once training is over, I want us to hit the ground running! And oh…it should be mentioned that while I’m open to a male Intern/Assistant, this is a girly environment where we play fun music, have random dance parties in the middle of the day, talk about fashion and new fun nail polish shades, and spend many hours pouring over bridal magazines and blogs. So if you’re a dude and you want to apply, feel free, but you have been warned. ; )
So there you have it. My personal and professional goals for 2012. I start training at Crossfit tomorrow so we have decided that that will be Day 1. Ground Zero, if you will. Say a prayer for me that Crossfit doesn’t send me home in a body bag. <scaredformylife>
Hugs,
Jewels
It’s going to be a great year!!! Xoxo
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