Setting Goals for Better Work-Life Balance

Share:000

It’s the time of year for goal-setting and today we want to talk about one aspect for setting goals related to work-life balance.  Doesn’t it seem like sometimes you go to your computer just to check on one little email but then suddenly you realize you’ve been sitting there for 3 hours?  Parikha Mehta is blogging today about how to find a bit more balance when it comes to our time on the computer.

Finding Balance in Social Media
by Parikha Mehta

Time is basically a form of currency. We all have a finite amount of it, and it’s never enough to buy all the things we want.  So, like your money, you have to be wise about where you spend it.  The internet is one place where it’s all too easy to blow your budget without even realizing it.  It solves a lot of our problems, yes, but also creates many new ones and often fools us into believing various distorted truths that hold us back.  All those studies reporting that personal happiness and productivity are inversely correlated to time spent online aren’t lying.  How do you use social media to your advantage while avoiding its many pitfalls?

Here are a few things I try to practice in order to keep things in check for myself:

1. Focus – Why exactly did you sit down at the computer in the first place? Are you trying to learn about post-processing and new shooting techniques? Stay out of threads involving cheating spouses or weird food allergies. Maybe you need to air out your insecurities about being in a rut. Then don’t go in those threads showcasing impeccable, amazing work that will only leave you feeling more dejected.  And so on. Remember what you came there for, and stick to it. Similarly, if you’re using Facebook and Twitter to reach out to potential clients, only share things they will actually care about and connect to – everything else is just noise to them, and wasted effort for you.
   
2. Give what you take – On the flip side, if you post a thread looking for quality critique on one of your images, it’s only fair that you return the favor by doing the same for someone else.  Be respectful of other people’s time and efforts, too.  Investing is not the same as simply being handed a bag full of cash: you must put some money down in order to get anything back.
3. Be realistic – There is no such thing as one-stop shopping when it comes to education and networking. Please don’t ever be lured into thinking any one group, program or website will fulfill all your needs. It will never be that easy.  There’s value in making more of your own way by drawing from a wide variety of sources, rather than seeking a magic bullet to completely pave the path for you.
   
4. Don’t insert yourself into (or willingly bear witness to) other people’s drama – I mean, really.
5. Get over your FOMO – If you find that you’re spending a lot of time in a group, website or forum and really not becoming a better photographer or meeting the people you’re looking for there, but you still stay because you’re afraid you will fall out of the loop after you disconnect, just leave already. There is no loop to fall out of.  They’re not all going to unearth some sparkly, magical unicorn of a secret to success the minute you leave. You have 100% of the power to walk away from whatever’s needlessly bleeding out your time budget, and it’s up to you to exercise it.  You can then spend that time chipping away at your editing backlog, making friends with some of those members in real life, or (gasp!) actually shooting, all things that would actually pay you back in spades. If participating isn’t making you better in some way, there’s nothing to miss out on by leaving.
6. Utilize post-scheduling – there are naturally parts of your day which are more convenient to you to tackle tasks like blogging or sneak-peeking. They may not always coincide with the times your target audience is plugged into those outlets.  Even if you’re not in business, there’s nothing wrong with scheduling the publication of these things, to allow you to work when you’re most efficient yet still share at a time when the content will be most effective.
   
7. Take it all with a grain of salt – you’ve heard the phrase “don’t compare your everyday to someone else’s highlight reel”, right? Someone’s IG feed may be full of coffee dates with super-BFFs, perfectly styled children frolicking in golden-hour fields, and amazing back-to-back client sessions, but you have to remember there’s a bunch of stuff about them you’re NOT seeing because they choose not to show it.  Allow yourself to be inspired by what they do share, but don’t let it bring you down. Or, remove it from your feed altogether.

In a nutshell: you can’t do everything all the time, so prioritize your needs, don’t squander time on things that hold you back or make you feel bad about yourself, and do your best not to get distracted. Think about the wildly successful photographers you really admire: they probably have no singular affiliation to any one group, forum or school. They don’t post to their Facebook five times a day.  They blog once a week, at best. That’s because they’re likely wasting less time talking about  photography, and more time actually doing it.

Parikha Mehta:
Parikha Mehta Photography

Parikha Mehta is a natural-light, lifestyle & storytelling photographer based in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She loves spicy food, cheesy jokes and plain honesty.

Find Parikha on: Facebook and Instagram

Share:000

Categorized in: Guest Bloggers