Raleigh

RECAP | Homegrown | 25 Hours in a Day with Karl Sakas

At our June Homegrown, Agency Firebox founder, Karl Sakas, shared his tips on how to get it all done when you work in design.
Wherever you work, you have time management issues, be it Freelance, In-house, or working at an agency, we all have this problem. Karl challenges us all to look at our calendar and identify what you can trim, move around, or delegate. Freeing up or rearranging your time can help you get more done.
How do you get it all done?

Focus on your top priorities. Realistically you can probably only get through your top three items on your to do list. So set SMART goals. Break things into chunks that are:

 

Example of a smart goals

If the goal is to bring in larger projects, going from from $10k to $100k
It’s not realistic to think you’ll do it right away. The logistics of a bigger project will change operations, so you will need to plan for that and get systems in place to handle the changes. A SMART goal would be to sell a $20k project within a realistic timeline. Gradually grow and work up to brining in $100k projects.

Calendar review

To find more free time, do a calendar review. Determine what items you can drop, delegate, or defer. Because it’s easier to do on someone else’s calendar, Karl had us work in groups to review the mock calendar of a super busy, micromanaging person. We all found where things could be dropped, delegated, or deferred. Our busy manager, now has more down time to enjoy life!

Make more free time

 

How to delegate

You can’t do it all, so identify where you can delegate. It will help you grow, and give others the opportunity to grow as well. Look at delegating as giving the gift of opportunity to someone else.

Know when to delegate. If something has to happen but you don’t have to do it, that’s a prime opportunity to delegate.
Don’t micromanage the delegation. Focus on the results rather than the how. Tell the why and the when. Discuss the importance of the task and when it needs to be done.

Share relevant information, like guidelines, budget, any restraints, etc. so they have all the details they need to complete the task.

Set in check in times prior to final project deadline. Stick to them, so they know when to have progress to share with you. This will keep them on track and give you assurance that they are making progress, as allow you to redirect if needed.
The first time you delegate a task, it will take more of your time, if you need  to train. But it is worth taking the time investment because it will save time the next time you delegate the task.

 

What if they do it slower?

Does it really matter? It only matters if they get it done on time.
Think of what can you do with the time you time you gained back that has more value to you.

 

What if they screw up?

Did you focus on why, when, and share the guidelines?
Use the check in times to answer questions during the process. Help them know what the don’t know they don’t know.

 

How to say no without burning bridges.

If you say yes to everything you’ll burn out.
When you need to say no to a client, make it feel like they have a choice in the decision, using Karl’s ROC method.

 

Reason

 

Options

 

Choose

 

Q&A

When you are put on the spot, how do use the ROC method.

What are some good productivity tools?

How to get people to adapt to and adopt new things?

 

Exit mobile version