5 secrets to less work, more life (SFFF54)
5 hard-earned lessons from someone who’s been deep in the weeds—literally.
If you’ve been farming flowers for more than a minute, you probably already know this: there’s always more to do. More weeds to pull, stems to cut, emails to send, buckets to scrub. But here’s the truth nobody told me when I was starting out—your farm will take as much time as you’re willing to give it. And if you’re not careful, it’ll take all of it. That’s why I had to learn how to run my flower farm smarter—not just harder.
After a few years of working sunrise to sundown seven days a week, I realized I wasn’t building a life. I was just building burnout. So I made five critical shifts that changed everything: the way I scheduled my days, managed my team, said yes (and no), set priorities, and protected my non-farm life. And I want to walk you through those today, because if you’re feeling stretched thin, it’s probably not a hustle problem—it’s a systems problem.
Set Work Time Boundaries (and Actually Stick to Them)
Just because you can work every waking hour doesn’t mean you should. One of the biggest mindset shifts I made was treating myself like an employee of my own business. I gave myself set work hours—7:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday—and stopped squeezing work into every spare second. I even created a little shutdown routine at the end of each day. Whether it’s putting tools away or wiping down your desk, a few minutes of intentional closure helps your brain power down so you can actually rest.
I used to tell myself I’d “just answer a few emails” after dinner or “do a quick harvest” early in the morning before my real day began. But the truth is, those little bits of overtime were adding up—and costing me my peace. Setting work hours helped me enjoy evenings again. It made me feel like a real human, not just a farm robot. And honestly, the farm didn’t fall apart. In fact, it started running more smoothly because I was showing up to work rested and clear-headed.
Delegate Like a CEO
You’re not “just” a flower farmer—you’re the CEO of your business. And CEOs don’t do it all. They build teams. Even if your “team” is just a family member, neighbor kid, or part-time helper, learning to delegate changed everything for me. I stopped trying to do tasks “perfectly” and started accepting 80% good as good enough. Write things down once, train someone, and let go of the idea that only you can do it right.
At first, I was convinced nobody could harvest as fast or bunch as neatly or answer emails with the same care as I could. But eventually I realized: perfection is expensive, and delegation is an investment. When I started handing off repeatable tasks—like bouquet assembly or social media scheduling—I got back not just hours in my day, but actual mental space. That clarity gave me room to make better decisions, grow the farm, and even take a real day off.
Learn to Say No Without Guilt
If someone offered me money for flowers, I used to say yes—no matter how complicated the request. Custom bouquet with flowers I didn’t have? Sure. Last-minute delivery an hour away? Why not! But every time I said yes to something outside my normal process, I was also saying no to ease, to consistency, and to time I could’ve spent doing work that actually moved the business forward.
Now I have clearer boundaries. When someone requests something we don’t offer, I point them to our farm stand or our regular markets. And I don’t feel bad about it. Learning to say no—especially to one-off orders, excessive communication, and distractions—has helped me focus on what we do best. Every random project you say yes to is basically starting a mini business from scratch. Saying no gives you back time, clarity, and a whole lot of sanity.
Ruthlessly Prioritize What Moves the Needle
Not every task deserves your energy. If you’ve heard of the 80/20 rule, you know that 80% of your results often come from just 20% of your efforts. For flower farmers, that usually means harvesting, marketing, and selling. The rest—tinkering with new ideas, making labels look perfect, over-customizing everything—can start to feel productive, but often it’s just spinning wheels.
Each week, my team and I choose three top priorities that actually move the business forward. We do this on purpose so we don’t get buried in the to-do list avalanche. Instead of reacting to whatever’s on fire, we stay focused on what will bring in revenue, improve systems, or buy back our time. It’s simple, but it’s powerful. Don’t just do more—do more of what actually matters.
Schedule Time for Non-Farm You
You are not just your business. And the health of your business depends on you remembering that. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned—sometimes the hard way—is that guilt-free rest is a strategy, not a luxury. These days, I schedule time off before I book weddings or events. Whether it’s a family trip, a long weekend, or just a slow morning at home, it all counts.
Even during the day, I carve out little breaks: walks on the property, picking a bouquet just for me, reading with my kid before dinner. These small moments outside the farm refill my cup and remind me why I started this in the first place. If you’re constantly on the edge of burnout, your farm will feel like a burden instead of a blessing. And that’s not why we got into this in the first place, right?
