It’s 9 a.m. and you sit down at your desk, editing a dozen or so photos that you took yesterday or the day before. It’s all very familiar: you are feeling good, you are ready to take on the day, and the motivation from your first cup of coffee is pumping through your veins.

You’re in a good flow for about 15 minutes… and then your phone rings.

You get off the call, and see you have a bunch of notifications on Instagram. You scroll through your feed.

After closing out of Instagram, you notice that you have a few new emails. You respond to every single one.

A few hours go by, and you haven’t gotten any editing done. You’re frustrated, the caffeine buzz has worn off and you’re trying to figure out where in the day you will make time for the editing you did not do.

Sound familiar? Read through these 3 tips on how you can increase your productivity while editing.

Make A List

Get yourself a pack of note cards and a good pen. Leave them right on your nightstand. When you wake up in the morning, write down the THREE THINGS that you want to get accomplished on one of the note cards. Fold the note card in half and place it in your pocket next to your phone. Anytime you reach for your phone to answer a text or scroll through social media, your fingers will graze the note card and remind you of the day’s goals.

Find your cadence

We’ve found that the 50/10 rule works really well. Set your phone face down, and close out of email — work for 50 minutes straight. After you have completed your 50 minutes of work, take 10 minutes to catch up on texts and emails. Repeat. It is unrealistic to think anyone can do this for the entire day, especially those who run their own business. With that said, make it a goal to do this routine 2-3 times on a daily basis. You will be shocked with how much you get done.

Don’t spend all day on your apps

Time is money and it is important for you to pinpoint what tasks throughout the day are making you money. As a photographer, you are making money when you are taking pictures and editing the pictures you have taken. It’s easy to get lost in our phones, so we suggest limiting email and social media check-ins to three times throughout the day: mid-morning, early afternoon and in the evening.

What are some tips that help you avoid distractions? We’d love to hear them!

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