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Working From Home | Calgary Family Photographer {Personal}

So weird thing.  After being on CreativeLIVE with Tamara Lackey almost two years ago now I still get asked hoards and hoards of questions.  Of course I get the typical questions, like “What lens do you use?” or the always popular “What’s Tamara REALLY like?” but more often than not with the CreativeLIVE groupies and anyone else for that matter the question I get the most is how do you get anything done at home without a baby sitter and a 2 and 3 year old running around?

The answer is really two pieces.  The first part is that my kids really are best friends. They love each other, a lot.  They snuggle on the couch together, drink chocolate milk together and even sword fight together!

 

 

The other most important secret to my mad success at rocking a small business at home is my Bonus Room (called different things to different people my buddy Alison in Vegas calls it my loft which is weird to me as it’s totally not a loft, but whatever. In Calgary it’s called a Bonus Room).

There are many things I don’t love about my house but my bonus room is definitely not one of them! Okay, okay that’s a lie.  When we first moved in here and I had no kids and no business it didn’t really make much sense.  There were these two big spaces that fit essentially nothing and a crazy stub wall that stuck out just enough to make sure we couldn’t fit an arm chair along with our couch.  LAME! That’s what I thought.

Then slowly as my business and our family grew it all made sense.  Those two empty spaces transformed into a behind the couch play area for the kids and a built in desk with two work stations and lots of storage where that horrible armchair stealing stub wall is.  This room which I once saw no value in is now where the kids and I spend most of our time.

Take a little look see! But don’t mind that crappy instagram photos!

Another important thing to note is that the beautiful 30×40 canvas image hanging there was taken by Leah of ThisLife and although we think of a 30×40 canvas being huge in a space like this it’s still not enough to hold it’s own.  So go big people! You will regret it later! We are pumped to be having images taken by Rob Lauren this summer to add to the awesomeness we have going on over there!  I’m thinking I might move this canvas all together and fill this wall with black and white 18×18 inch canvas in a square grid! I figure I can fit at least 18 canvases there. So this way we can start with like 9 of them and then add to them over time:) The decisions, the decisions!! I digress! Moving On!

Now, I can almost hear the next question coming out of your mouth.  But how can you work there once the kids toys are EVERYWHERE! The answer is I can’t.  I mean I have! Lord knows I have but we have recently (this week) added a rule that the play area is behind the couch.  That’s where the toys stay.  If they want to bring a toy out from behind the couch they can bring ONE out, if they want a different one then they have to put the other toy away or play behind the couch.  It works for me because if I can’t see the crazy mess I don’t have to have the anxiety attack that comes along with the crazy mess. When it’s time to clean up everything goes in the red bins behind the couch:)Easy Peasy!

Could I be more productive at an office? Of course.  Are there days when I spend less time playing with the kids than I should? You bet!  But in the end it’s all about balance, or at least the attempt at it and we usually have a pretty good thing going on here!

So if you have a hard time working from home just get yourself a bonus room already, it’s the key to my success:)

Nikki

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1 comment

Lydia WoosleyApril 5, 2021 - 3:43 pm

I seriously need a bonus room!

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