Despite technology becoming increasingly sophisticated, it seems that we’re never quite content with the extent of our own productivity. We’re always on the lookout for a way to simplify our procedures or realise efficiencies that boost our productivity. When it comes to photography, things are no different – with a few measures that photographers can adopt, one can transform their output to have a more profound impact on their business.

Never underestimate the importance of planning

Create a series of schedules that cater for the short-term ‘here and now’, as well as longer term plans. For instance, have a checklist that covers the daily tasks that you need to complete, while also setting about weekly or monthly goals (perhaps such things as the number of new leads, or an increased engagement in social media). For many, visual checklists or lists are easier to manage.

Short term planning should allocate a reasonable amount of time towards activity sets that will benefit your business. It’s important to review these as you go along to ensure that you’re able to adjust the parameters necessary to improve your operational output. To focus on other areas of your business, you might want to consider certain blocks of time that are set aside from engaging with clients – in this case, leave an appropriate voice message to provide surety to your clients.

You should also set longer goals for the performance of your business – whether it be six-monthly, or annually. As well as this, it’s necessary to create a robust business model. You need to have the flexibility to adapt to changing business situations, so it’s important you have alternative plans mapped out for key milestone points within your business. This will save you considerable time if you need to adjust the course of your business, while also reducing the burden on one to think creatively when they are likely to be in a stressful position.

Avoid Distractions

While a small period of down time is beneficial in alleviating stress and taking your mind off things, it’s important to focus on the things that matter to your business. Distractions such as Facebook or mobile phones can be tempting when they are also used in the process of conducting your work. However, it’s necessary to shut these out or you’ll find yourself in a position where you’re unable to get through your daily or weekly schedules – and the more you fall behind your schedule, the more pressure you’ll put on yourself to catch up. As difficult as it may be, it’s also important to separate any personal events in your life from acting as a distraction for your business – no one tells you this, but when you’re a business owner, this requires even more diligence to achieve.

Don’t Try to Cater for Everyone

You might want to take on as many clients as you can, however, a photographer should be realistic in the volume of customers it engages with. After all, the more customers you seek to take on, the more time you will need to dedicate to administrative tasks. Furthermore, you’ll also need to spend significantly more time dealing with each client to understand their particular needs, rather than working with familiar clients time and time again where you already have a sense of understanding.

Use Your Most Valuable Resources

We often take for granted some of the most important resources we have around us – people. If you have staff working for you, ensure that they’re also spending their time efficiently. Leverage them by assigning them work that will lighten your own workload. Task them with administrative or marketing tasks, so that you can focus on the operational and client components of your work. If you only need help with specific tasks, engage trusted freelancers who can often deliver excellent value for budget-savvy business owners.

If you don’t have staff, as most professional photographers don’t, you can still ask friends, family, colleagues and clients to help you out via word-of-mouth communication and/or reviews. Free publicity should never be treated as being any less valuable than paid advertising, so don’t be afraid to ask!