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Don’t you just love being your own boss???

Working on my own schedule is one of my favorite things about owning a photography business. Finally, I can work when it makes sense and take a breather when I need to.

At least, that’s what I thought at first.

It didn’t take long at all for me to realize that, if this food and product photography thing was going to work full time, I was going to need a schedule. Without some kind of structure, my entire week flew by in a blur of last-minute tasks. Maybe you’re familiar with that feeling, and that’s why you’re here today.

If you’re a professional photographer wanting to know how to organize your week, you’re definitely in the right place. I’m going to walk you through the easiest way to find the right schedule for you and give you a sneak peak into my personal schedule that I try to stick to every week!

Why do I need a weekly schedule?

As I said a moment ago, without structure I struggle with time management, stress management, and pretty much every other kind of management out there.

Not everyone operates that way, but I’m willing to bet there’s something everyone can get out of having at least a loose schedule in place. Even if you’re not someone who needs structure the way I do, your clients will appreciate it.

Let’s organize your week!

Ready to organize your week? My whole strategy revolves around batch working—grouping similar tasks together to complete them efficiently, without having to switch gears.

That’s important because every time you have to switch between different types of tasks, it costs you a little bit of time and mental energy. Why switch back and forth several times a day when you can complete an entire category at a time?

This is a big one for me when it comes to content creation. I have a bad habit of forgetting to post on IG if I don’t schedule it ahead, and it’s hard for me to think of something new and authentic every single day. So setting out a specific time to work on those posts a week at a time lets me get into the right headspace and do that work better, without rushing.

Now we’re going to find a batch working strategy for you. Let’s take this in a few steps:

Step 1

Think about your personal mood cycles as you organize your week. Are you more productive in the morning, afternoon, or evening? What part of the week do you hit your stride? {Don’t forget to take natural lighting into account if that’s a factor for you. It definitely is for me!}

Pull out a weekly calendar or make your own and mark down the times that you work best.

Step 2

List all of your non-negotiable tasks. Don’t leave anything out! Meals, family time, personal time…all of that needs to go into this list.

Now write these down on your weekly calendar where they tend to take place. See how your work can fit in around those things or how you can change your tendencies to accommodate work during your productive hours.

Step 3

Brainstorm some different categories {I like to call them buckets} of work that you do. For me, there’s content creation, admin tasks, pre-production, shooting, post-production, and general errands like ingredient and prop shopping.

Look back at your calendar and find days and times you can dedicate to completing each of these tasks.

Here’s what it looks like for me:

• Mondays are my content creation days. I brainstorm, write, add hashtags, and schedule IG posts for a week at a time.
• Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings I try to reserve for shooting. I’m more creative during that time of day and the light is better in my studio.
• Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons, however, I use to plan upcoming shoots and cull, edit, and send out completed shoots.
• Friday is a more laid back, catch-all kind of day. I do any prop shopping needed and catch up on whatever I missed earlier in the week. My admin power hour usually falls on this day. Or, if I’m really on top of things or just feel a bit burned out, I use it as a personal day. Nothing wrong with that.

Regardless of the day of the week, I try to save my emails for the end of the workday. If I start my day off with them, I just never quite seem to take off after that.

I will usually scan my inbox around lunch time just to make sure there’s nothing urgent, but I also find that wrapping up the day with emails is a nice divider between the workday and my family time in the evenings, which helps my brain transition out of work mode a little more easily.

Organize your week and stick to it!!!

The good part of being self-employed? You get to make your own schedule. The bad part? You have to enforce it. Remember to think of yourself as the CEO of your own business, even if you still operate mostly as a freelancer.

In the beginning, it may help you organize your week to add a copy of your schedule to your mobile device or print it out and tape it up somewhere. I also rely on several project management tools to keep me on track.

I also include working hours, etc. in the welcome guide I give my clients. It improves client communication and keeps them from feeling put off if I don’t email them back until the end of the day or get their whole project shot and delivered on Monday!

Want more tips about running a successful food and product photography business? Follow me on Instagram! That’s where you can also be the first to know when a brand new blog post is ready to read. You may also like my email list, where I share VIP content and freebies you won’t get anywhere else.