107. Take Care of Your Mental Health in the Dark Season

[00:00:00] Okay, so I'm doing something that I haven't done before. [00:00:04] I'm at a resort, sitting in bed eating Santa shaped chocolates and recording this through my airpods. So it's not going to be perfect, but it's going to be good enough, I hope. I'm at a conference and my intention was to record the podcast before I left, but then I decided that I needed to sleep instead. [00:00:33] So I hope you can be a little bit inspired by that and post things and do the thing, even though it's not going to be perfect but good enough, instead of either wearing yourself out or just not doing it. But I'm at this conference. I've just been to the spa and hung out with some lovely business ladies and I'm here to learn some new things, get inspired, and just talk with like minded people. I've tried to do my best to create my own community of photographers and I've just ran a five day course and I remember sitting there waiting to let people in from the waiting room and I just felt so humbled seeing people waiting for me to say something and also just getting messages from people wanting to work with me and getting feedback and updates from my students. It's just so nice. And I hope you have that from the people you work with as well, that you feel really appreciated. I also need to mention that right now the sustainable photography program is open for enrollment. We start up in January, and this might be just a thing you need. We have this really kind and welcoming group which will be there to support you without a doubt. But it's more than just a community. [00:02:12] It's more than just the stuff you learn, because everyone sets their individual goals and people who join, they're at different levels. When I created this, I intended it to be for photographers who were not burnt out, but maybe getting there, struggling with maybe a messy workflow and prices that weren't high enough. So it was just always a never ending amount of work. And those people definitely do join. But I'm getting people who are just starting out, people who aren't feeling burnt out but want to work more. So there are people at different levels, and people's goals range from increasing revenue and wanting more clients, to wanting to work less and have less stress and a better workflow, to getting more systems in place and having strategies for growth and the future. And what's unique about the program is that we start out talking about what makes you special and what you want and need, because that way you can make sure that you do the things that are right for you instead of doing what everyone else does. And you can book a call to find out if this is right for you. Just go to Englishcolmas comcall and if you join by December 22, you'll also get the SEO course as a bonus, so you don't want to miss that. Today, though, I want to talk a little bit about mental health. It's something that you have told me through Instagram that you want me to talk about, and it's not one of my expert topics, but I can talk about what I hear from you guys and also a little bit about my own experience with issues. Because right now we're in the dark season. Your energy is probably lower and you need to take care of yourself. It's so common to lose motivation and drive when fewer bookings are coming in, when it's dark outside, when it's cold, and all you want to do is just huddle up and just stay cozy and warm and watch Netflix all day. And I think you should allow yourself to do that sometimes because you need to remember to rest and you also need to do things that cheer you up. So maybe you can find some fun business things to keep you motivated. Maybe you have a business friend that you can do some projects with. Maybe coaching is right for you. And do remember to plan for the future. Because if you know that your energy is always low this time of year, then do less. Make sure that the income you get through the other months will last you. And if it doesn't, the way things are now, change your strategy because you have your business, make it work for you. Don't force yourself to do things that aren't right for you. You have to know yourself and you have to find out what you need to thrive and what you don't want at all and design your business around that as much as you can. I've had a lot of calls lately with students in my five day course, and there are so many different opinions and needs. [00:05:48] So if you need a lot of shoots to feel energized and creative, then make sure that you have a business model that supports that. If you hate editing, outsource it. Just find out what you need and what you want and do that. [00:06:07] I have a lot of anxiety and I get really tired from having too many appointments. I get tired from having people around me all the time. So I make sure that I have days where I don't need to talk with anyone. [00:06:21] I under promise to my mentor students and say that I'm a lot less present than what I actually am, and I don't want to be in an office with other people. I love working from home by myself. [00:06:34] Also, my anxiety kind of keeps me away from a lot of things, and it also makes me exhausted and nervous because I worry about everything all the time. I think that a lot of solopreneurs have some kind of issues that make life in a normal job hard. I actually don't think I've managed a normal full time job, but I can work in my own business almost nonstop. [00:06:59] Not just because I love it, but because I've designed it around the things that I want and need. And that's what I want for you too. [00:07:08] If you do things your way, you'll be happier and there'll be less competition. That's it for today. Please dm me on instagram at ingvild Kolnes if you have any questions or if you're interested in working with me. Oh, and I also want to do A-Q-A episode again, so let me know if you have any questions for that as well. See you next week. [00:07:35] You just listened to an episode of sustainable photography. Please share this episode with a photographer you care about.