The other day, one of my clients dubbed this month "Maytober." Between the end of school and the first few glorious weeks with great weather (and no bugs), this lovely spring month is always busy for everyone. Similar to our squirrely fall energy gathering walnuts in the fall, in the spring we’re like lean little cottontails eagerly munching on fresh clover after seven grueling months of nothingness.  There’s so much to do, and we need to do it, like, RIGHT NOW.

Like all of you, I am a hungry little bunny this month - happily embarking on house projects, out-of-town gigs, and headshots, headshots, and more headshots. My life at the studio, and at home, has been anything but slow and static.

Quite honestly, I thrive on the hustle and bustle of a busy business and life. It means I'm doing what I love and making things happen. But, over time, I've learned the importance of keeping a balance. If I let my work take over completely, I miss out on the good stuff—family time, hanging with friends, tending to my garden, and teaching my corgi to give high-fives. You know, all the things that make life sweet beyond the paycheck.

So, here are a few of my (not-so-secret) secret tricks for maintaining some semblance of sanity and a bit of balance (even when I feel like a cottontail):

Tuesdays are for Peopling

I've designated Tuesdays as my “busy day”  for client meetings and headshots. It's like my weekly dose of people. Wednesdays and Thursdays are more flexible, letting me handle whatever else comes my way. 

My trusty CRM system, 17 hats, is a lifesaver in this regard. Its scheduling feature syncs up with my Google Calendar seamlessly, making it a breeze to keep track of my availability and appointments. Less time stressing over scheduling means more time for, well, everything else!

Hibernating in the editing den

I've learned that uninterrupted editing time is gold. So, I block off chunks of time just for editing. No distractions, no interruptions—just me, my cold brew, and a whole lot of pixels to play with. It's amazing how much I can get done when I'm in the flow.

Rise and Shine with Emails

Mornings are for coffee and conquering my inbox. I dive into emails before anything else, when my brain is fresh and firing on all cylinders. Once I've tackled that, I'm ready to take on whatever the day throws at me.

Weekends are Sacred

After years of working weekends, I've learned to cherish my downtime. My weekends are strictly off-limits for work—no exceptions. It's my time to recharge, relax, and reconnect with the non-work side of life. Fargo shuts down on Fridays in the summer, so why shouldn’t my business? This year I’m instituting NO WORK Fridays through August. This means no shoots, no editing, no emails. I sign off on Thursday and return Monday morning.

As the business changes, so do my boundaries on my time. As of this season in my biz, I’m finally in a place where I feel really comfortable with how I structure my time. Sure, I’m always going to be willing to be flexible in bending my own rules. But, I feel pretty darn good about how I’m scheduling myself at this point.

The Studio Shindig

Can you believe I’ve been in my new space for nearly a year? July marks my one-year anniversary at Studio Borealis and I’ve decided to have a little celebration! Mark your calendars for June 20th for a party at the studio to celebrate the opening of Studio Borealis and to commemorate my 12th year as Britta the Photographer.

The party starts at 4:30 and goes through the early evening. There will be activities for the young (and you and heart), a chamber ribbon cutting, a photo booth, rad music (my husband is DJing!), and even a couple of giveaways for both Britta the Photographer AND Studio Borealis.

So, whether you are a long-time client, a curious prospective, OR a photographer wanting to check out the new space, you are welcome. More info will drop soon :)

The Shed Deck, Hiking club & Peanut

We’ve had quite a fun month at home this May. A big chunk of our free time has been building a deck around our pub/garden shed. We are one step closer to having the backyard oasis of our dreams and it’s just so exciting!

To embrace the ability to be outside without our face freezing off, my mom, Deb, has decided she is going to start a hiking club. She even got us hats! We went to Buffalo River for our first excursion and hope to hit up a bunch of MN state parks this summer.

And, lastly, our little family grew by one very tiny member. Anton, my 9-year-old, adopted his first pet, a dwarf hamster he has named Peanut. We’ve had the little dude for approximately one week and it’s going super well. He’s the cutest.

Five Fixations

It’s that time in the monthly blog post where I share five random things I can’t stop thinking about.

Barbaras Rhabarberbar

I have not downloaded TikTok for various reasons, but it doesn’t mean that things on TikTok don’t eventually make it to my eyeballs (and ear canals). I’m especially guilty of getting sucked into TikTok trends via YouTube where, this month, the popular TikTok dance to the german song ‘Barbaras Rhabarberbar’ has taken over my feed. Why do I love this song so much?

Timberwolves

I’m not much of a sportsball person, but did play basketball in high school (and by “play” I mean being the #2 cheerleader on the bench) so I know the rules and how the game works. My husband has been getting into Timberwolves basketball for the last couple of years, and it’s been fun to occasionally catch a game with him. Well, you guys, this year was the year to be a Wolves fan as they are currently in the playoffs (as of this post, holding on for dear life… but we have to hope!). It’s fun to have a guy (I’m a Gobert fan - but I do love me some Mike Conely) and to have an excellent team to cheer for. Ahoooooo! NAZ REID.

Linen

This is just a quick little love mention about linen and how it makes the most superior fabric for summer. I’m very pleased it’s everywhere this year.

CampSnap

My pal Morgan of Studio Freshly has been evangelizing about CampSnap this spring and I was suckered into her optimism and bought one for my fam. It’s basically just a little digital camera with the look and feel of classic disposal camera. It’s light weight, fool proof and something anyone can use (even toddlers). We’ve had our CampSnap for about a week and my kids are loving it. The cool thing? It has NO SCREEN on the back - so you really can stay in the moment when using the little guy. Check it out here and make sure to use Morgan’s code FRESHLY to get $5 off if you decide to buy.

White clover

I’m not a lawn person. Our yard is not a golf course. But, I do love plants. This year, we’ve decided to be those people who stop fighting nature and just give into the clover that has slowly taken over our yard. So much so, that I overseeded our entire lawn with a grass/white clover mix. Clover is an approved lawn in the State of Minnesota - and with good reason. It’s nitrogen-rich, stays green during droughts, grows close to the ground (less mowing), and feels heavenly on our toes. PLUS, pollinators love it!

Alrighty! There is she is - the month that was May. Here are 10 images - work or otherwise - I captured this month.

1: The Adorable Steel Fam 2: Robert from Marvin 3: A few Timberland Partners crew livin’ it up at their 2024 Leadership Conference 4: Jon During his Snap Session 5: Three of 118 humans photographed for Border States 6: The lovely Pamela Jo 7: WIldflowers at Orchard Glen 8: Lucas from Tellwell 9: Kelly & pals at the Belle & Blooms event 10: UnStuffy Headshots of amazing Jordyn of Its a part of