Optimizing Your Time in the Last Weeks of Summer
As the fall season approaches, the design industry is gearing up to return in full effect. As summer winds down, you may be thinking about ways to get back on track. Luckily, there is still enough time to take advantage of the remaining weeks to prepare for the months ahead.
Here are some ways to optimize your time in the next few weeks before the season gets into full swing:
Get Organized
This is the time to get all your documents, scheduling, and timelines organized. It might feel like busywork, but organizing both your physical and digital spaces will certainly help you in the long run. Instead of getting interrupted during the busier months looking for files, confirming deadlines, or locating paperwork, you can focus and work more efficiently on your practice and design process if you organize and label it all now.
Update Social Media and Dering Hall Accounts
Use this downtime to invest in some online engagement. This can be as simple as posting onto your Instagram story or uploading new product or design images onto your Dering Hall account. This will allow you to share the work you have completed most recently, and give you a moment to reflect on the work you have done before jumping into new projects.
Pivot If Needed
If you feel your brand or practice needs to switch gears or try something new, now is the time to prepare for that. Hiring new staff, researching new design and business strategies, and setting new goals for your company are all things you can do to pivot your brand or practice.
You do not have to start all over, you just need to evaluate what is not up to your standards and how it can be approached differently. This time in the season, the weeks before projects and plans get started, is the best time to shift tactics while knowing what lies in the months ahead.
Get Excited
This window also allows for you to remind yourself what makes you passionate about your work. Finding new inspiration, doing research on different styles or processes, anything to get you excited about the work ahead is an important part of gearing up for the year. Whether you view what moves you in person, in books, or online, it is a good thing to note and come back to in the later months.
Take a Break
As much as getting prepared is an important thing to do in this time, so is giving yourself a bit of a break. Taking a couple of days to get some space from your work may clear your head and get you to a point where you feel energized and excited to return to it. Giving yourself some rest before the projects and work of the coming months begin to pile on is a good move for you and your team to begin the year fresh and revitalized.
Final Thoughts
The last few weeks of the summer are always bittersweet. Taking the time to care for yourself, your team, and getting everything to a place where you are comfortable to get back into the grind will make the next few months run smoother. We at Dering Hall hope you had a great summer and we are excited to see what work you will share in the months ahead.