26. What Office Hours?
Part of being a business owner is the benefit of a flexible schedule, but the habit of always being available can quickly snowball into overwork, overwhelm, and dysfunction in your business. This is the power of setting office hours, it can help you organize your energy to times you are on and times you are off.
Honoring office hours will allow you to get more done while offering a higher quality of work. A framework of space (office hours) allows time for the brain to rest and attend to other aspects of your life. It’s time to put an end to work overflow.
This week I outline why it is so transformative to set office hours and the impact it has on your business and personal life. When you have a Framework to work within, you will find and feel so much more Freedom, so tune in to learn more.
My brand new workshop, Freedom in the Framework, is taking place on May 9th and 11th 2023 over Zoom. This is a workshop all about time management and simple scheduling routines that will kick off enrollment for Out of Overwhelm, my signature six-month program designed to take you from overwhelmed and stressed to profitable, in control, and fulfilled! Enrollment for our summer round opens May 15th 2023 through to May 25th 2023, and Freedom in the Framework is the event that will get you started. If you want to learn how to manage your time as a creative in a way that feels both supportive and flexible, click here to get more details!
If you loved today’s topic, let’s make sure you never miss an episode. Follow the show now wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you haven’t already, make the time to leave me a rating and review. As a special thank you for taking the time to share your feedback, I’ll send you a little mid-week pick-me-up in the mail, so simply screenshot your review and send me a message on Instagram!
What You’ll Discover from this Episode:
The importance of office hours and how to commit to them.
The downfall of flexibility.
How setting office hours can quickly scaffold all aspects of your business initiatives.
Listen to the Full Episode:
Featured on the Show:
Leave me a rating and your honest feedback wherever you listen to your podcasts! Click here to learn how.
If you love what you’re learning on the show, I’d love for you to check out my signature group coaching program, Out of Overwhelm
Follow me on Instagram!
Sign up to my Monday Mindset email list to get bite-sized insights on topics that you can use to set your week up for success!
Full Episode Transcript:
Hey designer, you’re listening to episode 26. This is the one where I’m sharing the why and the how of setting office hours. And if you’re thinking to yourself “What office hours?” You need to listen.
Welcome to The Interior Design Business CEO, the only show for designers who are ready to confidently run and grow their businesses without the stress and anxiety. If you’re ready to develop a bigger vision for your interior design business, free up your time, and streamline your days for productivity and profit, you’re in the right place. I’m Desi Creswell, an award-winning interior designer and certified life and business coach. I help interior designers just like you stop feeling overwhelmed so they can build profitable businesses they love to run. Are you ready to confidently lead your business, clients, and projects? Let’s go.
Hello designer. Welcome back to the podcast. I hope you all are well. Spring is finally here in Minnesota. It feels like it has been a long time coming. I’m sitting in my office right now, the sun is shining and Olive, my poodle, is patiently waiting for her mid-day walk. We’ll be doing that after I record this episode for you. So I’m just thrilled. I mean, the sun makes such a difference in my mood. I think collectively, all of Minnesota is going to be in a better mood today because of the sun. I know I am.
Today we’re going to talk about the importance of setting your office hours and exactly why this is so important. Now, you might be thinking, “I don’t need a whole episode on this. I just say I’m going to work between these hours.” But what I’m saying goes way beyond saying I’m going to work nine to five, Monday through Friday. I’m talking about seriously committing to office hours. Having office hours and following them are two very different things.
Having office hours really doesn’t matter if you don’t follow through on them. Now, my guess is you wanted flexibility when you started your business, and I know that I consider flexibility a huge part of how I define success. I love that I can take my dog for a mid-day walk. I love that I can pick my kids up from school when they have appointments. I love that I get to decide when and how I see clients. So flexibility is really important to me.
But if you don’t have limits on the flexibility, what ends up happening is you overwork and end up creating an over full-time job for yourself. And I know this to be true, not just from coaching so many designers, but this was the exact same thing that happened to me. And this is how I solved for it and now teach you through the podcast and my clients how to solve for it yourselves.
I also thought this would be a great time to discuss the topic of setting office hours because Freedom in the Framework, my brand new workshop, is coming up. In Freedom in the Framework you’re going to create a personalized time framework, which of course is going to include your office hours, and learn the mindset to create a schedule where you and time are working together in partnership, not fighting and pushing each other all week long.
The workshop is two parts. It’s happening on May 9th and 11th. And it’s going to be the kickoff for enrollment for the final round of Out Of Overwhelm that’s happening in 2023. Doors will officially open May 15th, and then we kick off July 18th. We’ll coach together and you will be supported by me and a community of peers July through December.
Now really is the perfect time to be planning and creating your summer schedule. My schedule certainly shifts when summer hits and I have summer hours, my kids are off school, we have camps. There’s just a different routine to summer. And so now is the perfect time to plan for what you want your summer to look and feel like. This is going to be an interactive workshop with personalized support from me. You’re going to have lots of opportunities to get coached, to have your questions answered, and it’s only $47.
You can head over to desiid.com/framework or click the link in the show notes to secure your spot. As I mentioned, Freedom in the Framework is going to be the kickoff for enrollment for Out Of Overwhelm. And you might guess that having a program called Out Of Overwhelm I work with a lot of designers who want to work less. They are working more than they want, they’re overwhelmed, they’re stressed, stretched thin, and they just don’t want to do it anymore.
They want to work less. They want to take on fewer, better projects, make more money, better utilize their team and stop feeling like they’re always on. One of the most important pieces of managing your time as a creative business owner is going to be setting your work hours or your office hours. Right off the bat I want to say I know that this can be challenging for a variety of reasons.
One being that work is often always available. It’s on your phone. You might be hauling around all the samples in your car and so you’re seeing this physical representation of work. You maybe even work from home, and so you’re walking past your office that should have hours on a regular basis. The availability to always be on and always be working is a huge reason to set these office hours.
Another reason setting office hours can be challenging is that we are so used to working a lot. When you are in a state of overwhelm, your body has become used to being at that emotionally heightened state. So when you first start to incorporate downtime or rest into your schedule, you can actually feel really restless at being that at ease. And I know that sounds kind of counterintuitive, but oftentimes rest doesn’t feel very good at first.
Without setting parameters around when you’re on and when you’re off, you don’t have the opportunity to work through that space where you’re in that uncomfortable in between. Another reason setting office hours can be challenging is that we love what we do. I love coaching my clients. I love coming up with new tools, strategies. I love to collaborate with others. And my clients love what they do. They love the process of design.
And at the same time, we want to make sure we love our lives just as much. We are in a world right now where there is always more to do than we will ever have time for. There’s always going to be more ideas that we have that we could ever execute on. And often we mistake the presence of the abundance of ideas or things we could possibly be doing with meaning that we should still be trying to make them all happen versus saying, yes, that’s an incredible idea. And not right now, or possibly even ever.
All that is to say, if you’re listening to this you probably don’t have the habit yet of keeping specific hours in your business and that’s okay. But you do need to set these hours, and here’s why. Having boundaries around your time that you uphold is going to help you create time. Having structure is what creates freedom to make decisions about how you spend your time. Having that structure, or framework as I call it, supports these decisions you make on purpose.
This is really where Freedom in the Framework comes from. The framework gives you something to work within. It gives you something to bump up against. Because here’s the thing, if you want to work less, you need to take that from the desire to work less to actually working less. And I can kind of laugh at this now because I remember when this hit me. I was like, oh yeah.
I couldn’t just say I wanted to work less and hope it worked out, you know, keep buying planners or reading time management hacks online. I was actually going to need to give myself a container and take a look at what would actually fit in there. I also had to take a look at what needed to go in that container or what did I want to choose to put in that container to create the business results that I wanted to achieve, both from a financial perspective and from a fulfillment perspective of what do I want to be spending my days doing?
Having office hours gives you the math of how many clients you can take on, which then, of course, helps you figure out your fees and how you need to structure your business to bring in the amount of money you want to make. It also gives you the opportunity to look at how you’re using your time when it’s not on client deliverables, such as marketing.
It’s also going to highlight opportunities for delegation and support in your business. And it makes it way easier to make decisions and know when you need to say yes and no to opportunities or requests of your time, energy and attention.
I really want to encourage you to set your office hours. Start thinking about what would be that ideal schedule for you. And I’d love to support you doing this in Freedom in the Framework where I will walk you through the process step by step and help you prioritize your client work and business initiatives, and coach you, of course, on all the mindset drama that’s likely to come up when you’re used to being in a race against time and that is no longer going to be your norm.
This is a key shift in not just setting office hours, but honoring them. A lot of clients worry that if they start to uphold these parameters around their week, that they will get behind. But the opposite is actually true. You are going to get more done. And the quality of your work is going to be so much higher, and you’re going to be able to provide a better experience for your clients when you are refreshed and supported.
When you truly take time off and step away from your business, your refreshed brain is more efficient, it’s more effective. Just having the intention and making the decision of “these are my office hours” gets your brain focused. When you don’t have office hours, often the default thought that’s running in the back of your mind is I’ll just do it tonight, or I’ll catch up this weekend. And that background thought is causing a lot of work spillover that we could contain within office hours.
The other thing that happens is that you just become so crystal clear on what stays and what goes and what your priority is in the moment. This is really how you’re able to create space for those big projects you want, the higher fees, and also putting yourself back on your own calendar. Creating your own framework is about so much more than just setting office hours and I really want you to experience this firsthand.
This is why I created the Freedom in the Framework workshop. Set aside time on your calendar for Freedom in the Framework, it’s May 9th and 11th. Go to desiid.com/framework to sign up, otherwise click the link in the show notes. It’s only $47. And you will leave knowing your office hours and knowing how you’re going to spend those office hours to get the results that you want in your business.
When you join me for Freedom in the Framework you’re also going to get early access to the limited spots and Out Of Overwhelm. This is where we can work together to implement your framework, to navigate the obstacles that will inevitably arise because let’s face it, plans don’t always go according to plan. And you will end the year knowing you are in control of your time, your projects and your profits.
You can find all of the details for Out Of Overwhelm, including a full list of the modules, the resources, and the types of coaching calls that we have. It’s all on my website, I’ll put the link in the show notes. And that’s what I’ve got for you today. And until then I’m wishing you a beautiful week, I’ll talk to you in the next episode.
Thanks for joining me for this week’s episode of The Interior Design Business CEO. If you want more tips, tools and strategies visit www.desicreswell.com. And if you’re ready to take what you’ve learned on the podcast to the next level, I would love for you to check out my signature group coaching program, Out of Overwhelm.
Welcome to The Interior Design Business CEO, the only show for designers who are ready to confidently run and grow their businesses without the stress and anxiety. If you’re ready to develop a bigger vision for your interior design business, free up your time, and streamline your days for productivity and profit, you’re in the right place. I’m Desi Creswell, an award-winning interior designer and certified life and business coach. I help interior designers just like you stop feeling overwhelmed so they can build profitable businesses they love to run. Are you ready to confidently lead your business, clients, and projects? Let’s go.
Hello designer. Welcome back to the podcast. I hope you all are well. Spring is finally here in Minnesota. It feels like it has been a long time coming. I’m sitting in my office right now, the sun is shining and Olive, my poodle, is patiently waiting for her mid-day walk. We’ll be doing that after I record this episode for you. So I’m just thrilled. I mean, the sun makes such a difference in my mood. I think collectively, all of Minnesota is going to be in a better mood today because of the sun. I know I am.
Today we’re going to talk about the importance of setting your office hours and exactly why this is so important. Now, you might be thinking, “I don’t need a whole episode on this. I just say I’m going to work between these hours.” But what I’m saying goes way beyond saying I’m going to work nine to five, Monday through Friday. I’m talking about seriously committing to office hours. Having office hours and following them are two very different things.
Having office hours really doesn’t matter if you don’t follow through on them. Now, my guess is you wanted flexibility when you started your business, and I know that I consider flexibility a huge part of how I define success. I love that I can take my dog for a mid-day walk. I love that I can pick my kids up from school when they have appointments. I love that I get to decide when and how I see clients. So flexibility is really important to me.
But if you don’t have limits on the flexibility, what ends up happening is you overwork and end up creating an over full-time job for yourself. And I know this to be true, not just from coaching so many designers, but this was the exact same thing that happened to me. And this is how I solved for it and now teach you through the podcast and my clients how to solve for it yourselves.
I also thought this would be a great time to discuss the topic of setting office hours because Freedom in the Framework, my brand new workshop, is coming up. In Freedom in the Framework you’re going to create a personalized time framework, which of course is going to include your office hours, and learn the mindset to create a schedule where you and time are working together in partnership, not fighting and pushing each other all week long.
The workshop is two parts. It’s happening on May 9th and 11th. And it’s going to be the kickoff for enrollment for the final round of Out Of Overwhelm that’s happening in 2023. Doors will officially open May 15th, and then we kick off July 18th. We’ll coach together and you will be supported by me and a community of peers July through December.
Now really is the perfect time to be planning and creating your summer schedule. My schedule certainly shifts when summer hits and I have summer hours, my kids are off school, we have camps. There’s just a different routine to summer. And so now is the perfect time to plan for what you want your summer to look and feel like. This is going to be an interactive workshop with personalized support from me. You’re going to have lots of opportunities to get coached, to have your questions answered, and it’s only $47.
You can head over to desiid.com/framework or click the link in the show notes to secure your spot. As I mentioned, Freedom in the Framework is going to be the kickoff for enrollment for Out Of Overwhelm. And you might guess that having a program called Out Of Overwhelm I work with a lot of designers who want to work less. They are working more than they want, they’re overwhelmed, they’re stressed, stretched thin, and they just don’t want to do it anymore.
They want to work less. They want to take on fewer, better projects, make more money, better utilize their team and stop feeling like they’re always on. One of the most important pieces of managing your time as a creative business owner is going to be setting your work hours or your office hours. Right off the bat I want to say I know that this can be challenging for a variety of reasons.
One being that work is often always available. It’s on your phone. You might be hauling around all the samples in your car and so you’re seeing this physical representation of work. You maybe even work from home, and so you’re walking past your office that should have hours on a regular basis. The availability to always be on and always be working is a huge reason to set these office hours.
Another reason setting office hours can be challenging is that we are so used to working a lot. When you are in a state of overwhelm, your body has become used to being at that emotionally heightened state. So when you first start to incorporate downtime or rest into your schedule, you can actually feel really restless at being that at ease. And I know that sounds kind of counterintuitive, but oftentimes rest doesn’t feel very good at first.
Without setting parameters around when you’re on and when you’re off, you don’t have the opportunity to work through that space where you’re in that uncomfortable in between. Another reason setting office hours can be challenging is that we love what we do. I love coaching my clients. I love coming up with new tools, strategies. I love to collaborate with others. And my clients love what they do. They love the process of design.
And at the same time, we want to make sure we love our lives just as much. We are in a world right now where there is always more to do than we will ever have time for. There’s always going to be more ideas that we have that we could ever execute on. And often we mistake the presence of the abundance of ideas or things we could possibly be doing with meaning that we should still be trying to make them all happen versus saying, yes, that’s an incredible idea. And not right now, or possibly even ever.
All that is to say, if you’re listening to this you probably don’t have the habit yet of keeping specific hours in your business and that’s okay. But you do need to set these hours, and here’s why. Having boundaries around your time that you uphold is going to help you create time. Having structure is what creates freedom to make decisions about how you spend your time. Having that structure, or framework as I call it, supports these decisions you make on purpose.
This is really where Freedom in the Framework comes from. The framework gives you something to work within. It gives you something to bump up against. Because here’s the thing, if you want to work less, you need to take that from the desire to work less to actually working less. And I can kind of laugh at this now because I remember when this hit me. I was like, oh yeah.
I couldn’t just say I wanted to work less and hope it worked out, you know, keep buying planners or reading time management hacks online. I was actually going to need to give myself a container and take a look at what would actually fit in there. I also had to take a look at what needed to go in that container or what did I want to choose to put in that container to create the business results that I wanted to achieve, both from a financial perspective and from a fulfillment perspective of what do I want to be spending my days doing?
Having office hours gives you the math of how many clients you can take on, which then, of course, helps you figure out your fees and how you need to structure your business to bring in the amount of money you want to make. It also gives you the opportunity to look at how you’re using your time when it’s not on client deliverables, such as marketing.
It’s also going to highlight opportunities for delegation and support in your business. And it makes it way easier to make decisions and know when you need to say yes and no to opportunities or requests of your time, energy and attention.
I really want to encourage you to set your office hours. Start thinking about what would be that ideal schedule for you. And I’d love to support you doing this in Freedom in the Framework where I will walk you through the process step by step and help you prioritize your client work and business initiatives, and coach you, of course, on all the mindset drama that’s likely to come up when you’re used to being in a race against time and that is no longer going to be your norm.
This is a key shift in not just setting office hours, but honoring them. A lot of clients worry that if they start to uphold these parameters around their week, that they will get behind. But the opposite is actually true. You are going to get more done. And the quality of your work is going to be so much higher, and you’re going to be able to provide a better experience for your clients when you are refreshed and supported.
When you truly take time off and step away from your business, your refreshed brain is more efficient, it’s more effective. Just having the intention and making the decision of “these are my office hours” gets your brain focused. When you don’t have office hours, often the default thought that’s running in the back of your mind is I’ll just do it tonight, or I’ll catch up this weekend. And that background thought is causing a lot of work spillover that we could contain within office hours.
The other thing that happens is that you just become so crystal clear on what stays and what goes and what your priority is in the moment. This is really how you’re able to create space for those big projects you want, the higher fees, and also putting yourself back on your own calendar. Creating your own framework is about so much more than just setting office hours and I really want you to experience this firsthand.
This is why I created the Freedom in the Framework workshop. Set aside time on your calendar for Freedom in the Framework, it’s May 9th and 11th. Go to desiid.com/framework to sign up, otherwise click the link in the show notes. It’s only $47. And you will leave knowing your office hours and knowing how you’re going to spend those office hours to get the results that you want in your business.
When you join me for Freedom in the Framework you’re also going to get early access to the limited spots and Out Of Overwhelm. This is where we can work together to implement your framework, to navigate the obstacles that will inevitably arise because let’s face it, plans don’t always go according to plan. And you will end the year knowing you are in control of your time, your projects and your profits.
You can find all of the details for Out Of Overwhelm, including a full list of the modules, the resources, and the types of coaching calls that we have. It’s all on my website, I’ll put the link in the show notes. And that’s what I’ve got for you today. And until then I’m wishing you a beautiful week, I’ll talk to you in the next episode.
Thanks for joining me for this week’s episode of The Interior Design Business CEO. If you want more tips, tools and strategies visit www.desicreswell.com. And if you’re ready to take what you’ve learned on the podcast to the next level, I would love for you to check out my signature group coaching program, Out of Overwhelm.
Enjoy the Show?
Don’t miss an episode, follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts.