“Where did the time go?” If you haven’t asked that question at one time or another, then you probably aren’t human.
I mean, let’s be honest, how many of us say this on a weekly basis? This is especially true for us business owners who are juggling work, families, social lives, sports…I could go on and on.
Sometimes it feels almost impossible to fit everything into a timeframe.
If this hits close to home, I want you to ask yourself this question: “Am I doing too much, or am I just not managing my time well?”
Naturally, our first inclination is to be a bit defensive. Of course we’re managing our time well! But what we often don’t realize is that there are hidden inefficiencies in our work that are taking up far more time than we thought.
You know the saying, “Work smarter, not harder?”
I want to help you figure out how to do just that.
And it starts with a time audit.
What is a Time Audit?
Before we get too deep in the woods, let’s start high level.
What is a time audit? Essentially, it’s the process of tracking your work over a certain period of time. So as an interior designer, this would cover everything from emails to meetings to presentations, etc.
Anything and everything you do during your work day. Track that. Period.
Why is a Time Audit Important for Interior Designers?
At the end of the day, do you ever feel like you put in hours of exhaustive work, but have nothing to show for it? Frustrating, right?
A time audit will show you where you’re spending your time and identify non-productive tasks that may surprise you.
Are you wasting your time checking your social media pages in the middle of a deep-focus project? Do you have daily meetings that keep interrupting your creative process? Are you spending tons of precious hours on tedious admin work?
After auditing your time, you can determine what is working, what is not working, and how you can improve.
How Interior Designers Should Conduct a Time Audit
There are four steps that an interior designer should follow when implementing a time audit.
Let’s jump right in!
Step One: Choose a Time Frame
Before you do anything else, you need to pick a week or two where you’ll be completely dedicated to tracking your time. For obvious reasons, don’t choose a week that will be interrupted by holidays, work trips, etc. Try to find a block of time where you can realistically track the hours you spend working.
Step Two: Categorize Your Daily Activities
Break down each activity into categories, such as client meetings and communications, business admin, styling and staging, creating design concepts, etc. This will help you easily identify where you’re spending most of your time.
Pro tip: I’d also suggest that you categorize your projects by priority or urgency. For example, styling and staging may be a high priority this week because you have a due date coming up. Other items, like social media marketing, are important; however, they may be a lower priority this week so you have the time for more urgent matters.
Don’t fall into the trap of treating everything like it’s urgent and important. That’s just a fast track to burnout.
Step Three: Choose a Place to Document Your Time
If you prefer to write things down, good old-fashioned pen and paper are fine. However, I’d recommend an electronic tool since it’s less likely that you’ll lose it. Two easy (and free) options are Excel spreadsheets or an online time-tracking program like Toggl or Clockify.
Make sure you record every, single, minute you spend during your work day. And don’t forget to start and stop the time when you switch projects or tasks.
Pro tip: If you find yourself getting distracted, record that time. Yes, that includes scrolling through social media or responding to a text while you’re in the middle of a project. Sometimes we’re shocked at the amount of time we spend on non-work related tasks during work hours.
Step Four: Review Your Results
Once you’ve completed your time audit, review your results. Look for patterns, and identify what you’re doing well and how you can improve. What hours are you most productive and what tasks are your biggest time sucks? Are there less valuable projects that are taking away from high-priority tasks?
Your findings could look something like this:
- Only having client meetings on Mondays and Wednesdays gives me time to do deep-focus work on other days.
- I’m spending too much time responding to Slack messages or sporadically checking emails during a project.
- All my back-and-forth emails could be eliminated with a quick, 10-minute meeting.
- I’m spending too much time creating emails for every single client. Instead, I can use email templates or outsource this task.
Changes to Make After Your Time Audit
Now it’s time to take your results and build a schedule that allows you to manage your time and reduce wasted hours during the day.
Start here:
- Time block projects throughout the day, starting with your high-priority tasks. Then, set a timer and focus on that task without allowing interruptions. When you time-block your projects, you can complete them one at a time rather than slowly chipping away at multiple projects throughout the day. Believe it or not, most people struggle to multitask. You will get more done when you can focus on one project at a time.
- Schedule high-priority, deep-focus tasks during your most productive hours. For many, this is early morning hours. This is when we’re most energized, alert, and focused.
Pro tip: How do you know what your most productive hours are? Go back to your time audit. When were you in the zone and when did projects seem to lag the most? When was it easiest to accomplish deep-focus tasks? You’ll be able to quickly identify when you are the most productive. - Save easy, mindless tasks for the time of day when your focus begins to drain. If you’re sporadically checking emails, responding to social media comments, or returning Slack messages, allot a specific time to do these tasks all at once.
- Pinpoint where you get distracted or interrupted. When are you most likely to check email or scroll through social media? Then, eliminate those distractions. Put your phone in a different room or turn off all notifications during a certain time period.
- Set intentional breaks. I get it, powering through projects can feel good. But in reality, it’s not good for you. Your body and mind need regular breaks to feel refreshed and have the energy to keep going.
- Block out “you time.” This is similar to taking regular breaks, but we’re taking it up a notch. Self-care is critical if you want to thrive at work. This means scheduling regular coffee dates, massages, or gym time. Find the things you love and then prioritize them every single week.
- Automate repetitive tasks. Technology and AI have exploded over the past few years, greatly benefiting business productivity. Find programs that allow you to automate your most repetitive tasks.
Fill Your Plate with Projects That You Love
This step will be monumental for your business—which is why I’m dedicating an entire section to it.
Fill your plate with projects and tasks you excel at, enjoy, and are high value—outsource or delegate the rest. Why spend most of your day on the backend of your business when it just depletes your energy for the things you love—like designing?
Here’s how it works:
Identify your low-value tasks. These tasks are often repetitive, administrative, or operational. These are the tasks that you don’t love to do but are necessary to keep the business running.
Delegate those tasks to someone who excels in that area. Why waste hours of your day doing tasks that completely deplete your energy and aren’t moving your business forward?
Invest in your time. When you delegate those tasks, you gain so many more hours to put towards the projects that you love (and that will grow your business). Where can you create massive value and momentum in your business? Likely, it’s doing what you love.
So, Interior Designers, here’s what I would recommend. Determine the tasks that are sucking your time and energy. This will probably be administrative, drawings and renderings, or business marketing projects.
Begin by outsourcing those projects to experts. Then, fill all your time and energy with high-value tasks like meeting clients, selecting design materials, ensuring contractors are on schedule, etc.
Benefits of a Time Audit for Interior Designers
By now, it should be pretty clear that a time audit will give your life so much more clarity. Here are some other benefits you’ll find after you’ve successfully completed a time audit.
#1. You’ll be a better project manager. Now that you’ve blocked out time for your daily tasks, you have a clear picture of your project timeline. You can see what’s achievable without burning yourself out. Plus, you’ll be able to efficiently manage time expectations for current and future projects.
#2. You’ll be more productive. When you focus your time and energy on high-value tasks, you’ll be able to create momentum and see more productivity.
#3. You’ll have happy clients. When you consistently meet deadlines, you’ll find a smoother client experience—which results in referrals and more clients!
#4. You’ll have more clarity. When you know exactly how you need to spend your time, you’ll be able to walk into every week with clear goals and more confidence.
#5. You’ll eliminate stress. When you identify and eliminate time-wasting habits, you’ll have more hours back in your day.
Take Control of Your Workweek
I know a time audit may feel like another task on your never-ending to-do list, but it’s worth it. Do the audit! Once you’re done, you’ll find clarity and feel 1000x lighter.
If you’re ready to outsource some of your more time-consuming, less enjoyable projects, I’d love for you to consider our services at Hannah Bowyer and Co.
Here’s a quick rundown of projects we can take off your hands:
Dubsado Support: We can create and streamline your client experience in Dubsado, keeping the backend of your business automated and running smoothly.
Virtual Design Assistance: Need to hand off extra projects? We can help with 3D renders, presentation creation, order and product tracking, and more!
Marketing Assistance: Marketing your business can take so much time away from your design clients. But you know it’s important and can’t be skipped. We’ll curate and manage your social media and write your business blogs and newsletters—helping increase your brand awareness.
Ready to hand off some of your projects so you have more time in the day? Give us a call.
