"Never enough hours in the day," it's a phrase we all repeat over and over. For those of us working in the creative industry it's something we face daily, with huge projects, large teams to manage and tight deadlines. So for all the studio managers out there, we’ve put this list together to help you squeeze more out of the 24-hours.
4. Automation
If you are constantly repeating tasks that are eating your time, finding a way to automate the process will cumulatively save your hours over the course of a few weeks.
This is something you could talk to other departments about. Anything involving repetitive computing tasks has the most scope for automation. From saving a commonly used format as a template, to creating a range of shortcuts or hotkeys, automating your mundane jobs could save you a lot of time.
3. Buffer
In a creative studio, human error, unforeseeable events and justifiable distractions happen. This comes with the territory, so be sure to factor this in when managing time.
But here’s the sneaky part: be sure not to tell anyone! If people know they have two hours to produce something, they will usually take two hours, even if you could do it in 90 minutes. So factor in a buffer, but keep it dark.
2. Delegate
Delegating time-planning for your team is a great idea because the leaders of smaller sub-teams are likely to have a much better idea of how long a task can and should be spent on a task. It’s good for your time management too: you only have to look at the bigger delivery picture, without worrying about micromanaging specific stages of the process.
1. Face time
A part of the team – though not necessarily the studio – your freelancers are ‘out there’, somewhere, in the cafes and bedrooms of London, Manchester and Paris, contributing to your studio’s output. They can help you add capacity during busy times and provide expert knowledge for unique projects. But, poorly managed, they can eat up way too much of your time.
The best way to minimise the amount of ‘extra’ time you spend on freelancers is to choose those you know are reliable in the first place or who have come from trusted recruitment consultancies. On top of this, try and have regular face-to-face contact if possible: moods and attitudes are easy to misread via email, so meeting regularly is essential to a healthy working relationship.
If you’re looking to find freelance or permanent staff, or are searching for a creative studio job in London yourself, contact us today.
