Finding Balance: How I Made a Schedule That Works for My Kids, My Business, and Me
There are some weeks where I feel like I’ve cracked the code. When the daycare drop-off is smooth, the light hits just right at golden hour, and I sit down with a drink no one else has taken a sip of and a sliver of time that feels fully mine.
And then there are the other weeks.
The ones where I’m emailing a client from the Discovery Center parking lot while one son claims the other is “breathing wrong,” and the toddler threatens to take off her shoes “forever.”
This post is about both kinds of weeks.
Because the truth is, balance, for me, has never looked like a perfect split. It’s more like a see-saw on a hill: never quite level, always leaning one way or the other, but still going up and down all the same. It rises and falls with the seasons, dips with shifting nap schedules, tips under the weight of a full client load, and sometimes jerks unexpectedly when a daycare bug storms through.
Why I Built a 3-Day Workweek
My schedule used to have the structure of a soggy granola bar. Everything blurred together—work, parenting, home—and I constantly felt like I was showing up halfway everywhere. Half in the editing, half in the bedtime story. Half listening, half answering.
I got tired of feeling like I was stealing time from everything I cared about. So I built a new rhythm: three dedicated workdays, with the rest held back for motherhood, errands, reading the same book six times in a row, and occasionally just... breathing.
There wasn’t a grand revelation, just a quiet decision that I could shape my business to fit the life I want, not the other way around.
Why I Chose Part-Time Daycare (And What That Meant Emotionally)
When my older boys were babies and toddlers, I did part-time daycare so I could work. Now, six-ish years later, I’ve started daycare for my two-year-old daughter. I thought it would be easier this time around. Been there, done that, right? But it’s not. It’s actually harder. Maybe because I saw first-hand how fast they grow, how little time I have left with her this small.
The first time I left her there, I sat in the car and cried. Not in some soft poetic way, but more like a crumpled receipt on the floor, trying to hold on while everything moves on kind of way. It’s hard, but I need this time to work. I just can’t be fully present for both roles at the same time, no matter how much I want to.
I had internalized this idea that needing help was a weakness. That if I couldn’t balance work and parenting entirely on my own, I was failing at both.
But letting go of that idea gave me space. Mentally and literally. Those daycare days are so important for my career. They’re when I meet with clients, edit without interruption, and actually hear myself think.
It’s the time I use to tackle all the invisible parts of my business. The marketing, crafting social media posts that keep my work visible, and the administrative mountain of contracts, invoices, client questionnaires, and scheduling.
I also use those quiet hours for client consultations and planning sessions, scouting locations, maintaining gear, and managing the editing workflow from backups to file organization. Behind the scenes, I’m writing blog posts that tell the stories behind the images, creating educational materials, and handling print orders.
There’s networking, keeping up with industry trends, and continuing education—workshops, webinars, and tutorials—all part of growing my craft and building my unique style.
Those quiet hours are the backbone of what I do, even if they don’t look like much on the surface.
And the best part? When I pick the kids up, I get to come back to them as the version of me that isn’t completely burned out… the version that has a little more to give.
What Our At-Home Days Actually Look Like
Since summer break just kicked off, our schedule is still brand new. Mornings start slow. The kids get to do whatever they want, including screen time until 10 AM, because sometimes you just have to let that happen. I carve out about an hour to catch up on client emails while they’re happily parked in front of screens.
If the weather cooperates, we get outside for fresh air and sunshine. Even a little time in nature works wonders for everyone’s mood. After lunch, my two-year-old Ramona naps while Bennett and Lincoln settle into quiet time. Maybe a movie, reading, or video games as I sneak in some extra work.
Afternoons are another chance to get outside or head somewhere fun, whatever feels right that day. Evenings whirl by with dinner, chores, baseball, dance, pool swims, and hanging out with Dad. The usual beautiful chaos.
Weekends are less structured. Most Saturdays go to photography gigs (hello weddings!) which means Sundays are sacred family time, a pause in the hustle to just be.
What I’m Still Figuring Out
How to turn off my brain and be truly present, even when the list of things I didn’t get to is still running in the background
Keeping up with housework without losing my mind… or pretending it doesn’t exist
Wrestling with mom guilt that shows up uninvited, reminding me I can’t be everything for everyone all the time
Learning that sometimes “good enough” really is enough, even if my perfectionist brain protests
Remembering that showing up, even tired and imperfect, still counts
Some days, the juggle feels like choreography. Other days, it’s me, in yesterday’s leggings, tossing snacks like confetti and hoping for the best. I’ve started to believe that dropping the ball isn’t failure. It’s just proof you were carrying too much.
There are moments I feel deeply connected to my work. Like when I click the shutter and just know: this one will matter to someone. And then I come home to a sticky kitchen floor, a Lego minefield in the living room, and a poodle acting like he hasn’t been fed in a week. And I remember: this is the life I chose. All of it.
What I have is a schedule—fragile but flexible—that holds space for motherhood, business, and creativity. I haven’t figured it all out…but it’s fine, I don’t think I need to.
