Time Management for design professionals

Do you spend your day churning away on busy tasks, answering email, fighting fires, taking call after call with contractors and clients answering their every “urgent” request? Do you end your day having checked off the items on everyone else’s to-do list and none of yours?

I used to do this too.

Until…a friend’s recommendation led me to Paul Graham’s essay, ‘Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule.’ Realizing my current approach wasn’t working, I gave it a try.

I’m glad I did.

It was a small shift with massive results.

Making one - very important - schedule shift changed everything.

Watch the video below to see what it was.

I’ve been relying on this schedule for six years now and have “trained” my clients and collaborators to adapt to it. It didn’t take long for them to realize they would never reach me in the mornings by phone because I was in ‘making mode.’ I saw changes right away. When I front-loaded all the important work I used to push to the end of the day, it left me feeling energized and able to do even more. I was shocked at how efficient my calls and meetings were when I scheduled them later in the day. Everyone was anxious to finish out their day and less ‘chatty’ than my previous early morning meetings.

I can hear you saying, “That may work for him, but he’s a sole practitioner, it would never work for me.” Here are a few of the most common objections I’ve heard from skeptical colleagues:

Objection 01: "My job requires constant communication and collaboration. I can't have long periods of uninterrupted time."

Solution: While collaboration is essential, try scheduling 'maker time' in advance and communicate your availability to team members. This way, they know when you're focused and when you're free for discussions.

Objection 02: "I can't control my manager's schedule, and they often call impromptu meetings."

Solution: Politely discuss the importance of focused work and ask if there's a way to schedule regular catch-ups instead of ad-hoc meetings to minimize disruptions.

Objection 03: "My workplace culture encourages immediate responses to emails and messages."

Solution: Educate colleagues about the benefits of batching communication to maintain productivity, and set clear expectations for response times during designated 'maker time.’

Objection 04: "I have too many urgent tasks; I can't afford to dedicate long periods to deep work."

Solution: Prioritize tasks, delegate when possible, and allocate even short bursts of 'maker time' to tackle essential projects one step at a time.

Objection 05: "It's challenging to transition between the two schedules every day."

Solution: Experiment with designated days for focused work and days for meetings to minimize context switching and establish a routine that suits your workflow best. Try a variation like Design Your Week. Instead of siloing each day into Making and Managing segments, try allocating specific tasks or objectives to specific days. Tuesdays are design days, Wednesdays for meetings and site visits, and Fridays are reserved to work on the business, and so on.

If you’re ready to give this a try, you’ll want to reach out to your clients and collaborators and let them know your availability will be changing so you can prioritize your creative work. When you do, you might be surprised at the responses. “I love this, what a great idea!” and, “I wish I could do this too!” were the most common ones I received.

Be prepared to enforce the boundaries you’ve set and roll with it for a few weeks (it’s defintely an adjustment). I promise you'll see a difference. This way of working intentionally prioritizes YOUR goals ahead of the goals of others, saving you time and massively increasing your productivity.

Next Steps:

I discuss this and other time management techniques in my Time Management Guide (download it free) below.