Running any business can be hard work. And running an interior design firm is no exception. I’m often asked how I manage to accomplish so much in a day and what tricks I use to manage my time.

The answer is simple but layered.

There isn’t one thing you can do to be more productive!!

But there are MANY things you can do to improve efficiencies and the daily tasks waiting on your to-do list that will help make you more productive.

Here are the top 3 areas that I have focused on and seen major results:

Surround yourself with other like-minded entrepreneurs.

This will help you learn what others are doing and hopefully, you can learn from other people’s mistakes! Initially, I joined the Business of Design Community and the designers I met there. As a result, it brought me to create my own design community on Facebook, Designer Meet-ups, which is a free private community where design professionals can safely chat and connect and work out through their struggles together It’s been a real game-changer! Learning how others run their business will save you hours of searching for how to do things on the internet!

Hire to your weaknesses

If you can afford to hire someone to help you – DO IT! It doesn’t have to be a full-time employee – even just a few hours a month if that’s all you can afford – like a bookkeeper – that’s a good start. But whether you’re hiring part-time or a full-time employee, make sure you aren’t just hiring “mini-me”. Find someone who is skilled in the areas where you are weak. This will free you up to do the tasks that you excel at.

Time block your calendar

This is something I wish I had done so many years ago! It has been a total game-changer for me. Set aside chunks of time (minimum 4 hours) to focus on one project or task at a time. NO room for multitasking here! As it turns out – studies have shown that multitasking is actually NOT productive. I set aside Mondays and Fridays for office-only tasks. I don’t meet clients or travel to the site on these days so I can catch up on any tasks I need to do IN the office.

So there you have it. By no means is this an exhaustive list of everything I do but it’s a good bite-sized take-away to get your brain thinking and scheming how to improve your work life to get more done on the daily.

If you like these tips and want to delve a little deeper you can watch this week’s YOUTUBE video. Comment below if you’ve tried any of these things and if they worked… or is there something even better that you’d recommend?