Learn the Importance of Time Management for Creative Agencies

What is the importance of time management, especially for small creative agencies? In short: it’s immeasurable. But to help you better understand the importance of time management, we’ll give you an overview of how it impacts your work and some tips and tricks to work more efficiently.

If you’ve ever found yourself racing against a looming deadline, you’ve felt the importance of time management on your own skin.

Devising a stellar marketing campaign involves many different people and types of skills. That’s why it can be challenging to manage time and ensure everyone gives their 100%.

We’ll first discuss the importance of time in project management. Later, we’ll also share some tips on improving your time management skills and building a more efficient team.

What is the importance of time management?

It’s a major concern for any business, but what is the importance of time management in the workplace such as a creative agency? Here are a few critical reasons.

Solid time management helps you keep deadlines.

The most apparent reason for the importance of time management in the workplace is delivering work on time. Of course, the degree of this importance depends on the industry: a librarian probably won’t be working with the same stressful deadlines as a CEO of a marketing agency.

Creative agencies work on a per-project basis. So, unlike other businesses, you don’t have a sense of “ongoing work” that can be extended indefinitely. So sticking to deadlines is essential to doing business.

If you get a reputation that you don’t deliver work on time, nobody will want to work with you. And without clients, your creative agency is as good as nonexistent.

It allows you to expand your client list.

Speaking of clients, another major reason for the importance of time in project management is the ability to scale.

Poor time management leads to the loss of clients. By extension, effective time management allows you to take on more work.

If you can stay on top of your deadlines and produce high-quality work, go ahead and run an ad campaign to help you get more clients. It’s always a good idea to use customer testimonials to help you build a sense of trustworthiness.

It improves your work.

What is the importance of time in project management? You need not look further than the project itself.

The better you allocate your time, the higher the quality of your work will be. More time doesn’t necessarily mean better results. However, the importance of time management is evident in the following:

• Happy employees mean increased productivity.
• More time for research, preparation, and testing.
• More time for possible revisions and improvements.
• An ability to look at the “big picture” and make sure the work fulfills its intended purpose.

Put all of these together and you can see how managing time effectively leads to better quality work.

You can’t measure results without time management.

If you know anything about it, you’ll be aware that the importance of time in project management is closely connected to measuring success.

No creative project is complete with the delivery of work. Once implemented, creative projects often need to be tested and then reviewed and revised in accordance with the performance metrics.

Let’s say you created some ad campaign assets last minute because you ran out of time, and your client had a strict deadline. And then, instead of turning to a professional designer, you’ve resorted to a quick online template or a DIY software like Canva.

After a while, the client notices the campaign isn’t performing well. Do you tweak the whole idea of the campaign? The copy? Or go back to your timesheets and realize that you simply haven’t spent enough time developing the graphics?

Sure, sometimes last-minute solutions can work (spoiler alert: it’s extremely rare). But you won’t be able to know that if the amount of time you spend on a project is constantly varying.

Time management tips for small creative agencies

Now that you know the importance of time management in the workplace let’s go over some actionable tips for managing your team’s time more effectively.

1. Set everyday goals.

With projects spanning over days and months, the importance of time in project management is even more evident on a daily level.

It’s vital to always hold the “big picture” in your mind. Still, this can often mean procrastination and wasting time on a daily basis.

An excellent solution for this is starting the day with a list of daily goals. Write up all the tasks you want to accomplish that day, including the simple ones such as replying to emails. Make sure you tick off everything that has been done at the end of the day. If there are some leftover tasks, move them over for tomorrow and get to them first.

2. Try the 1-3-5 rule.

Speaking of the importance of time management in the workplace, this is a concept we absolutely need to talk about.

The 1-3-5 rule means that every day you tackle one big task, three medium ones, and five small. The exact number of tasks can vary (it’s also sometimes called the 1-2-3 rule), but the gist of it is the same. Divide your to-do list into tasks of different complexity so that you can properly allocate the time you need to get them done.

3. Take breaks.

Agencies can become incredibly stressful workplaces with a looming deadline in sight. It’s very common for teams to become frustrated and overworked right before a major deadline.

Make sure that regular breaks are a part of your daily routine. Don’t take breaks on a whim: plan them out and make specific slots in your schedule for them.

Also, don’t wait to have something finished to rest. This leads to a situation where you never rest and simply burn out. Or, you end up throwing your schedule out of the window and turn to procrastination.

4. Listen to less music.

Coming from a background in creative writing, this is one of the most useful aspects of time management that I’ve come to learn.

Especially in creative professions, there’s a common misconception that music makes us more inspired and, therefore, more productive.

In reality, our brains can only process so much information simultaneously. And if we’re constantly overloading them with added input (music, lyrics, contextualizing the song), our work will suffer. A recent study conducted at Lancaster University showed that impaired productivity (even if, in some cases, it improves our mood).

So, leave the music for end-of-the-day administrative tasks. Switch to a silent environment and keep focused when you want to get something done.

5. Check in with your team.

“This could have been an email.”

Yes, we’ve all been to some pointless meetings that seemed like a total waste of time. However, remember that one big reason for the importance of time management is keeping the entire team in the loop.

Regular updates help everyone become more time-efficient and stay on top of their tasks. You can opt to do quick daily standup meetings if that makes sense, weekly or biweekly meetings to catch up with everyone’s progress.

6. Don’t try to do everything.

What is the importance of time management in the workplace? In a nutshell, it’s helping you work to the maximum of your capabilities.

Good time management does not mean you suddenly become proficient at everything.

Being organized doesn’t mean the day suddenly has more than 24 hours and you’ve miraculously acquired skills you hadn’t had.

Suppose you’ve been doing terrific work and now have some new clients. That means you’ll have to produce much more work than before. Does that mean you need to hire more people?

Not necessarily. According to the latest Cella report, 76% of agencies use outsourcing to get additional resources. While you may want to keep the creative direction in-house, outsourcing content writing or graphic design can immensely boost your team’s capabilities.

There are several outstanding freelance platforms, such as Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, and Toptal, where you can find a skilled professional for any task.

But, when it comes to graphic design, there’s an even better solution at your fingertips. With ManyPixels’ on-demand graphic design service, you can get unlimited graphic design at a flat monthly rate. It also includes unlimited revisions, so you can rest assured that you’ll be able to deliver on your clients’ wishes.

Want to know how it works? Book a 1:1 demo session with one of our reps, and let them guide you through all the benefits that a ManyPixels design subscription brings!

Closing remarks: time is more than money.

Now you know the many answers to the question “what is the importance of time management in the workplace” and have all the tips to make your team as productive as ever!

While there are many steps to ensure productivity, don’t forget that a little help can go a long way, especially in a small creative agency.

Discover the many ways to outsource your design and how it can help you in managing time and helping your team work better.

Or simply go ahead and sign up for ManyPixels with our 14-day money-back guarantee. There’s nothing to lose!