*There are affiliate links present in this blog post. If you purchase something I’ve suggested, I get a percentage or money back from the company, at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting me and my family.*

Most people are on a quest for more. More clients, service offerings, more money, more productivity, more space, more fun and more doing.

While I wouldn’t say no to more of those things (minus the service offerings – I’ve been streamlining those), I believe in less right now.

Less work, less stress, less overwhelm, less hustle. Less time wandering aimlessly.

While I’m in this space of heading back to school, taking 12 college credits (aka a large time commitment), I’m streamlining and prioritizing, systematizing and optimizing.

I may be a minority in the wanting less. Maybe you’re here too. Wanting less “stuff” so you can have more of what really counts and matters most.

I believe we as women can do a lot.

I believe we can serve our family and clients well, as we fulfill the many roles in our lives.

Here are a few ways I’m systematizing my business before I head back to school.

• Dubsado – Automating client leads, contracts, and questionnaires. A few of my friends actually help with the set up of this great tool. Check them out if you’d like to get started.
  • Jamie Russell – Jamie’s on the education side of Dubsado and will help you get yourself set up and ready to rock the tool.
  • Krystal Clark – Krystal will get Dubsado set up for you. Her creations are beautiful!
  • Jenn Bays – Jenn works specifically on Dubsado for photographers. She offers set up and other VA services.

• Acuity Scheduling – I use this scheduler for podcasting, clients, discovery calls or coffee chats.
• Planoly – I’m using this to plan my Instagram posts. It allows me to streamline, continue showing up and delivering content.
• Active Campaign – I love communicating with you, my dear friends! I’ve been using Active Campaign for the last few years and it’s been great. Plus, it’s not as expensive as the other options for emailing that are currently available on the market.

Bottom line – people and relationships matter to me, they always have. I want to use my time wisely to cultivate relationships, serve my clients and fans well, and still honor myself, and my family.

P.S. How do they grow up so fast! Amos is heading into 1st grade.

Because my family matters to me, here are some things I’m doing to optimize my home.

• Cutting out unnecessary activities/commitments. We don’t have a lot of extra stuff we do, but with the kids starting at the Catholic school, I don’t know how much homework they will have and what other things we’ll have to do at night. We’ve limited our commitments to a class at our church on Thursday nights, date night, and then church on Sunday. Once we see what else is happening, we can add in activities.
• Organizing my home. Yes, it’s work first, but I organized our food closet last week. Now I know how much I have of what and I can use that first, before going shopping which saves time and money. I found 7 bottles of ketchup. SEVEN. Who does that?!
• Checking my planner. This is an everyday activity. This also means that I need to write things down so I know what’s going on in our family and my business. I love my Faith and Focus Planner for this purpose.
  • I LOVE and use my time blocking pages every month and if you’d like to use them, you can download them for free! I teach you how to time block and give you some ideas of what you can time block to simplify your home and business.

This is what they look like and they’re so effective in helping you streamline your time. Click here to download.

• Sticking to a routine. When daily occurrences are routine, you don’t have to think as hard and it simplifies the day so much. An example of our routines are after dinner, the kids clear the table, clear the chairs and sweep. Then an activity or shopping. The bedtime routine of teeth brushed, pj’s on, stories read, pray and sing and bedtime. These don’t have to be complicated. Once they’re memorized, they make life so much simpler.

What is something you can start doing or improve/optimize today?

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