Keeping things organized in any business is no mean feat; and with a multitude of tasks to be kept track of across simultaneous projects, the potential for things to fall through the cracks in an interior design firm can be easy.
As an interior design admin professional, you're often the glue that keeps the firm together. While administration tasks are crucial to a successful business, they're unfortunately often non-billable, meaning the costs are just something that your interior design firm needs to wear. However, the good news is that you can minimize the amount of time you spend on all those administrative tasks with some skillful organization. As a result, you'll free up your time so you can spend it on other tasks that help make your firm run more effectively and thus more profitable.
Read on to uncover our 5 organizational tips for interior design admin professionals.
1. ORGANIZE YOUR EMAIL INBOX
Starting the day with a flood of emails is overwhelming, no matter how strong your cup of coffee is. It can be challenging to know where to start when you're greeted with countless unread emails that all seem urgent. One helpful tip is to create folders to organize your messages by project, client, or action needed. You can even create folders for deliverables you need to accomplish that day or week. This is a great way to stay on schedule and ensure everything is progressing in the direction that it should be.
2. SET CALENDAR REMINDERS
As an admin professional working in an interior design firm, there are many things you need to keep track of. Site visits here, showroom tours there, install days inching closer on the horizon. Forgetting any of these important dates for either you or your staff can hinder a project's timeline and throw a definite spanner in the works.
If you have a track record of forgetting meetings and events, make calendar reminders your new best friend. Calendar reminders are a simple trick that will help you avoid overlooking essential appointments or planned meetings. In addition, you can specify how long in advance you want to receive the reminder, allowing you to take into account what you might have to prepare for a meeting or how long it will take you to travel to a location. The end result is happy clients, vendors and tradespeople, and project timelines that keep moving along.
3. INVEST IN THE RIGHT TOOLS
At the end of the day, we're all only human, and there's only so much you can achieve in a day. You need help with running an interior design firm - be it with skilled staff or intelligent software.
Investing in a project management software that streamlines your workflow will also streamline your administrative processes – the two go hand in hand. While there are many software options available, choosing industry-specific software always pays off.
DesignDocs helps you stay organized by keeping all components of your back office in one place. This means you don't need to switch from this program to that when it comes to tracking staff's time, creating purchase orders, client proposals, or invoicing.
Plus, with the features of DesignDocs you can:
- Reinforce your current calendar system by preventing scheduling delays with increased visibility of timelines. This allows your project managers to see any scheduling issues early so they can adjust their project planning with confidence.
- Easily see where your projects stand financially – and in real-time. No waiting around for systems to update or catch up. With the click of a button, you can generate accurate project summaries and reports which you can send to your clients or use internally to ensure everything is on track and on budget.
- Say goodbye to duplication errors. During the course of any design project, updates can fly through thick and fast. Changes to client information, project requests, or an array of other details can arise repeatedly. DesignDocs automated system allows you to handle those updates with ease – simply make the change one time, in one location, and all other areas where the information is also used will automatically be updated too. With DesignDocs as your project management software, you're able to work more efficiently and accurately.
4. SET GOALS
It's well-known how important setting goals are for any business that has its sights set on growth. But it can often be taken for granted how important setting goals are for keeping organized too. No matter how big or small, having tangible goals is a great way to ensure you and your firm are all moving together in the same direction. It helps to align focus and keep things on track. This way, you're able to organize the priorities of staff or projects in the most orderly way possible.
Set daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly goals that have clear objectives and are measurable. Remember, adding to or adjusting these goals throughout the process is okay, but make sure everyone stays updated and on the same page.
5. MAKE A TO-DO LIST
How satisfying does it feel when you're able to tick something off a to-do list? Pretty good, right! Never underestimate the power of a to-do list. Not only does it help keep you organized but it also increases productivity. It also helps keep you motivated and reduces any concerns that you're going to forget to do that crucial task that popped into your head at an inconvenient time.
A rolling to-do list is a great organizational tool. Any tasks that don't get completed that day can simply roll over to the next as a top priority. Just make sure that you keep things realistic – putting too many tasks on your to-do list can lead you to burnout. Used correctly, though, a to-do list is a highly effective way to stay organized and give structure to your day while keeping your priorities straight.
