In all my years as a mobile DJ and a DJ in general by far the hardest thing I have found is maintaining a good balance between my “work” and my home life! While DJing is a passion and I enjoy it deeply it is easy to forget that a good balance is essential to the success of not only your family and social life but also the success of your career in DJing. Hopefully, I can show you a few ways to make sure you have a good balance between the work you do and home!
Have a set schedule for the day to day tasks for your DJ Business
This is by far the hardest thing to do! While I know in today’s social media culture it is hard not to answer every phone call and email or message immediately upon receipt, it is essential you set up set hours of operation for your “office” to ensure all the backend work gets done. Yes what we do is fun and rewarding it is also a business and we should run it like a business if we want to ensure we not only get what we are worth but also to show a look of being professional to potential clients. Having a set schedule also ensures you do not let your business bleed into your personal life. I recommend setting up away messages on social media and your email explaining the hours of operation and letting the potential client know that they are important to you and you will get back to them during regular business hours. There are companies that handle taking calls for you as well that can take messages and forward them to you during regular hours as well!
Completing tasks started and set deadlines
Another thing I like to do is making sure I complete all the tasks for the business I start. This way I ensure I don’t have to stop during my personal time to handle tasks I should have completed during my set schedule. The best way to ensure this is to set deadlines for yourself to complete the task. This will ensure you focus on the task and not get distracted by other things going on around you. Having deadlines and schedules also makes sure you don’t let the tasks bleed into your personal life!
Unless you are working an event weekends are for relaxing
Whether you have a family or not, You need time to rest and relax. This includes time to socialize with friends and spending time with family. One of the things I like to do is set up dates that are just for family. I get with my wife and ask what weekends or specific dates she wanted for family time and then I would ask her for a specific amount that it would be worth me missing. Once I have this rate if I get an inquiry for that day that is the rate I use even if it is a crazy amount. For Instance, this past year she told me for New Year’s Eve it would be worth me missing for $3500-4000 or more so that is what I told everyone inquiring. If someone books at that rate I usually split it with my wife since she decided to up the rate so much. I also like to set up one weekend a month where I will not be working so I can make sure I spend time with family and friends. This way I don’t lose important time with my kids and get time off to spend to myself.
Conclusion
It is important to ensure you have balance both at work and at home. Without it, you are bound to burn yourself out! As DJs, we like to work hard and play harder but sometimes because what we do is so much fun the lines get blurred and we immerse ourselves in work. I hope I have shown you some ways to balance work and home and to ensure you spend years loving what you do and do not get burnt out before you are ready. As with all my articles don’t take my word for it! Try it for yourself!
