Running your own studio can at times be an overwhelming affair. It’s always busy, and there’s no such thing as regular working hours, meaning life is squeezed around the ever-increasing list of to-dos. Have you ever wondered if it’s just you? Dianne reveals what happens in her typical day of running the studio, her household and being a mum.

“At 5:45am I wake up and I’m bleary eyed… I was up umpteen times through the night to calm our gorgeous dog, Spud, through his “thunder terror”. 

I feel sorry for him, but also for my husband who had the same disrupted sleep but had to be up at 4am to catch a flight. Not the easiest start to the day, or week!

A shower helps me to feel alive, as does a coffee, then a hug from my son, Fraser, gets the day off to a good start, or so I thought.  I’m making his school lunch then…disaster! He completed a math assignment on the weekend but realized this morning he’d not read the criteria – at all – and it has to be completely reproduced from scratch.  A discussion about the importance of reading the criteria ensues…

The round trip to Fraser’s school is an hour and ten minutes, during which Kate, my amazing student administrator for Elancé, texts to say her email isn’t working – oh no!  Not in the last week of term!  

I make a brief stop on my return at the local kindergarten to donate beautiful picture books we’d cleaned out from my son’s room on Sunday. They were gratefully received.

I love supporting my local community, even in the smallest of ways.

Before hitting the office, I gobble a late breakfast – a zucchini and sweet potato muffin.  Thank goodness I’d had the foresight to freeze a batch of these for mornings when I run out of time to prepare breakfast, let alone sit down to eat it.

A quick email check; no messages that impact the daytime classes, but lots of new enquiries for Term 4…excellent! 

I LOVE welcoming new students to Elancé.  

At 9:30 I jump onto the weekly Zoom meeting with Belle, Elancé’s wonderful teacher trainer, to progress our teaching-team support strategies.  

I’m then on the phone with students and soon-to-be students. 

It’s so satisfying to book new students into classes and to help excited beginners prepare for the journey ahead. 

I am deeply grateful for the understanding of current students who learn that their scheduled class is changing in Term 4 to allow for timetable expansion – those are never easy calls to make.  

A meeting with Elance’s bookkeeper, Nicole, keeps our accounting projections on track and the business running smoothly.  

A message from Kate; her email problem is worse than we thought and she’s called in the cavalry, a.k.a. Mark the computer genius.  Thank heavens for Team Viewer technology and Mark’s brilliance, an hour or so later – fixed!

A Kate with operational email is a very happy Kate!

Time for a quick lunch – poached chicken with red cabbage and apple sauerkraut (yum!), then I’m jumping onto the Elancé teaching team’s Zoom meeting.  It’s always a pleasure to connect with these wonderful women.  Today we’re having too much fun finalizing the studio surprises coming our students’ way in Term 4.  Reviewing the student entries for the “Strike a Pose” photo competition from the last issue of our newsletter ‘Elancé Expressions’ sparks plenty of joy! And makes for some tricky decisions about who might be the winner…

After the team meeting, I am briefly distracted by a taste.com.au email that enticed me away from my Elancé duties (yes, we all get distracted at times!) with “30 days of incredible salads”.  Darn you and your delicious food suggestions taste.com.au!

Oh, it can’t seriously be 2:15 pm!  If I don’t get a load of laundry on now, it won’t be done before I leave for school pick-up and I have a late night ahead.  Honestly, how can a family of three produce so much laundry in two days??

Back to the emails, which on Mondays, are aptly nicknamed, “everyone else’s to-do list for Dianne”. 

May I mention that I find legalese exasperating?  As much as legal support and guidance is needed in every business, can’t they speak in simpler terms? Please?!

Running late now to pick up Fraser from school. My 35-minute driving time is super-useful for speaking with Kate, answering her administrative and student-related queries as we prepare to close out Term 3 and ‘grand jeté’ into Term 4.

I collect my darling son and we sit together in the car as he shares the challenges of his day.  It seems that 13-year-old boys can be just as difficult as 13-year-old girls.  Sigh.  Fortunately, Monday night is his league bowling night.  He’s more than happy to blow off the day’s trials by smashing over some pins.  League competition is followed by 45 minutes of coaching.  I must say that I don’t love the coaches addressing me as “mum”.  “How’s mum doing?”  It makes me want to heave a 12-pound bowling ball in their direction….  I never imagined that I’d be spending part of each week at league bowling…  It’s SO not ballet!

Although I frequently check my laptop and cell phone for last minute messages, I am grateful for my talented teachers running the evening classes at both studios, allowing me to spend this time with my son.

Home just before 7pm to cook and serve dinner, clean the kitchen (blah), and assist with homework (eek!).  Sometimes I feel like I’ve gone back to school myself with all the assignments, tests and exams I support and assist.  Tonight, it’s math and oh I wish my husband (and his math brain) wasn’t on the other side of the country.  If you ever want a laugh, ask me to do math.

At 9:30 pm I have time to catch up on some industry videos that I’ve had on hold.  With a glass of wine in hand, I enjoy being inspired by others in my field.

It’s 11pm.  My son is in bed, little Spud is tucked in and I’m praying for a storm-free, uninterrupted night’s sleep.”