One of the best lessons I’ve learned from being a camgirl is to start by starting. Don’t let distractions and excuses keep you from getting to work. Being self-employed in any industry means that you are responsible for your own schedule. Be your own boss and own your time!
Set a Dollar Amount on Your Time
What is your time worth? If you don’t know the answer to this question, figuring it out should be your priority. Use last month’s earnings to calculate your hourly income. The moment I figured out that I was averaging $227 per hour, I began to limit dealing with flaky clients and time wasters.
Schedule Time To Schedule Time
This can be a quick five-minute schedule check before you start your day. Or you might need to take thirty minutes to arrange your schedule. It depends on how busy you are on a daily basis.
To create a schedule, start by designating time for the things you do every single day. Next, schedule your most important tasks. Then fill in those rollover items from your previous to-do list.
TIP: Never forget to schedule time for yourself so that you don’t burn out.
Make a To-Do List in Whichever Form Works For You
Are you the type to write things on sticky notes? Do you prefer bulleted lists? Do you keep notes electronically? Whichever style you prefer is the correct one. But if you end up easily ignoring your to-do list, it’s time to try a new style.
Don’t let your list get too long and unmanageable. This will make you feel overwhelmed. Instead, start your list with the simple task of creating your to-do list. As soon as you add a second bullet point, you can cross that first one off the list. Crossed off items will help you feel accomplished. This might seem silly, but it helps get the ball rolling.
Give your list a time limit. A daily list should be redone every day. Weekly lists can include multi-day tasks or short-term goals. Don’t feel discouraged when you need to roll tasks over to the next list.
TIP: If you find yourself rolling the same items over to new lists, formally schedule those.
Break Up Big Goals Into Smaller Parts
Long-term or complicated goals should have several steps. Use these as stepping-stones to the next task. This is a great way to track your progress towards big goals. If your goal is to record and upload ten pre-recorded fetish clips, you can break it down as follows:
- Plan each clip
- Gather all necessary materials
- Record
- Edit
- Upload each clip
Each small step will go quickly, and before you know it you’ve made a bunch of progress. Assigning numbers to your progress is also encouraging. You’ll know that you are 50 percent done when five clips are finished.
Social Media Is A Crucial Part of Camming
Track Your Time
Unlike most other jobs, social media is not a distraction for camgirls. It’s actually a crucial part of the business. But unstructured Twitter time can be damaging to your productivity. Start managing your social media by tracking the time you spend on it. You can time yourself and take notes if you want, or use an app. The RescueTime app automatically tracks time spent on websites and apps. The Toggl app is another great tool for tracking time spent on projects.
Schedule time every day to spend on your various social media platforms based on your reports. Knowing exactly where your time is going is important. After a week of monitoring, you should be able to see a pattern.
Automate Your Social Media
You don’t have to be at the computer during peak internet hours. Most blogging platforms allow you to schedule posts. Buffer allows you to schedule some of your social media posts. Use your designated social media time to line up Tumblr posts or Tweets for different times of day.
Work Smart By Multitasking
Toss your laundry in the washer or turn on the dryer before starting your show. Start a large video upload before hopping in the shower. Tweet, blog, or answer emails while you’re on the treadmill. Just don’t choose two tasks that need full attention.
Set Office Hours…Sort Of
Make time outside of your active camming shows to answer DMs, PMs, IMs, and whatever other Ms you’re getting. This time should be separate from promotional social media time since you’re responding to your fans directly.
Don’t Be Afraid To Say No
Obviously you don’t want to double-book clients for Skype shows. But saying “no” just because you already feel overworked that day is perfectly fine, too. Don’t let client requests interfere with your personal life.
Perfectionism Isn’t Perfect
Aching over tiny details will kill your productivity. Perfectionists often wait for “perfect” moments to start a project or finish one. There’s no such moment, so start now. Your camming career will always be in a state of improvement, so don’t sweat the small stuff.
Get Plenty of Sleep
Everyone’s sleep habits differ so you should set aside the amount of time you need for rest each night. A well-placed power nap can do wonders for your afternoon productivity. Being sleep deprived is as bad for your schedule as it is for your body.
What do you do when camming and your room in empty for a while. Do you just sit and wait?
Empty room syndrome is the worst. Great question MsBetty. There’s one look we want to avoid as models and that is bored. If someone comes into your empty room to find you twiddling your thumbs it’s not going to be very inspiring. I would recommend listening to music, even sometimes talking to yourself or pretending you’re talking to someone else. Look like you’re enjoying your time. Of course here we’re talking about time management -if traffic really is that slow, sometimes it’s best to log off and try another time later (especially if periods of inactivity are hurting your cam score, for example, on a site like MFC). Hope this helps!
Hi cat, I recently started camming, and I’ve been following your site for a while.. you’ve always been helpful to all of us. thanks… what’s exactly slow traffic? I’ve been on for 3 days… my viewers are on avarage 25 -45 .. on my second day I had 100… I seem to have to spend long hours 4 to 5 hours to get tips or so… I get more tokens when I go on private or the longer I stay online. I’ve been making like 20- 30 dollars per day spending that much time online . I’m on CB… I’ve read all your articles and tips here and just don’t know what else to do to get more traffic or tips… what am I doing wrong? thanks for you response 🙂
Hey Lacey,
You’re doing great! Stop thinking about the money and worrying that you’re doing something wrong. Just be yourself, and have fun getting to know your guests. The goal right now is to build rapport with clients who will keep coming back for you. You are just building a foundation at this stage. Dress the part, keep a positive attitude, and never give anything away for free. Keep at it!
PS Don’t forget to experiment with different times, as you may find you have more or less traffic at certain times of day.
thanks so much for your response! I realized after I sent the first message that I’m giving things for free… when the guests go quiet and do or say nothing I get desperate hahaa… how can I go back to not giving away things for free without loosing the followers I already have?
I couldn’t log on for my 4th day yesterday beause I was feeling very sick and I was worried this would affect… I’ve tried different times. but still all of them at night… the later I log in the most viewers I get… the thing is I need to wake up at 5 am every morning for my regular job (going to bed at 1am is killing me) and get home around 9pm so by then I’m already exhausted … Since i’m wearing make up, a lace mask and a wig.. it takes me 1 hour to get ready for camming xD. I know it’s just while I get used to it and I’ll do it faster… I’m trying to cam eveyday for the first week,( except yesterday )to take advantage of the “new” tag on CB and gain more followers .
Do you think it would affect me if after the first week, I just cam 3 o 4 days a week. I can’t do it everyday… I’m just too tired from my other job… once I start seeing profit from camming I’ll try to change my other job… would that be a good idea?
I’m so sorry this text was so long and full of questions… but thanks so much to all your answers. 🙂
Hey Lacey,
I understand feeling desperate when people are there just not talking. However, the worst thing you can do is starting catering to freeloaders – that’s what they are. They’re not worth worrying about AT ALL. You don’t need to worry about losing followers. Go for quality over quantity right now. Quantity will come with time and experience to boost your stats, but right now you just need a few good customers to keep coming back. Again, stop thinking about the money and the stats. Just enjoy yourself! If you’re relaxed and having a good time, your guests will be too.
As for your schedule, consistency is more important than logging on every day. If you want to work 3-4 days a week, just make sure to post your schedule so your fans know when to come find you. Working when you’re tired isn’t going to benefit anyone.
Good luck!