You’re probably a natural multi-tasker if you work in interior design. After all, you need to manage employees, submit ordersand complete accounting chores, and more within tight deadlines. These duties can distract you from the job you were born to do: creating vibrant, appealing spaces. So how do you prioritize the tasks you want to do and spend less time on the ones that you don’t enjoy?
You need to up your organization game, of course. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. It takes time and energy to identify your least productive practices and root them out. Fortunately, these five easy tips will give interior designers a bit more breathing room. You can easily fit them into your daily routine, and with a little practice, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without them.
1. Set a Deadline for Every Task
It’s easy to associate deadlines with stress. After all, who wants to feel a due date creeping up on them? But time limits only become a problem when you plan poorly or mismanage your time. With practice, you can compensate for these flaws and help relieve deadline related stress.
So how do you train yourself to handle targets more efficiently? You must stay mindful of your time. Think about how many hours you waste each week on unproductive tasks. If you set reasonable deadlines for even the smallest duties, you’ll cut back on this idle time and do more with your working hours.
2. Delegation Is a Skill You Need to Master
Delegation is more of an art than a science for interior designers. If you own a small firm, your staff is probably as limited as your time, so you need to make the most of both. Assigning a task to an unqualified (or overqualified) employee will only waste valuable resources.
Find a staff list and note each employee’s unique strengths. This will help you understand how you should delegate specific jobs. Maybe one of your team members is great with clients but can’t handle procurement or supply chain responsibilities. In that case, you’ll be able to assign them to the right duties with a little bit of consideration.
3. Communication Can Make All the Difference
You don’t have to be a people person to work in design, but it helps. Interior designers have to maintain positive relationships with clients, convey tasks to employees, and interact with suppliers on a regular basis. As a result, communication skills are key to continued success.
Remember that communication doesn’t just mean that you have to be convivial in person or over the telephone. When your world revolves around email, your writing needs to be prompt and friendly as well. Create folders for each of your clients and sort your emails accordingly. This will help you prioritize important clients so you can respond quickly.
4. Don’t Put off Your Accounting Tasks
Interior designers can take so much time actually doing their job that they forget to complete the financial chores that come with it. Avoid this mistake at all costs. Poor accounting practices can result in late payments or unclear records at best and audits at worst. Set aside a little bit of time each day to focus on your financial responsibilities.
5. Use the Right Software
The tips listed here may seem disparate, but there’s a way to connect them all. The right business management software can help you achieve their full potential. These programs incorporate most aspects of an interior designer’s routine into one interface, allowing you to do more with one program.
