More Creative Ways to Keep Your Design Energy High

By Tobi Fairley

Interior Design seems like a glamorous job, but this industry has its fair share of burn-out.  As with most creative industries where people are putting all their energies into their passion, there can be a high level of fatigue and disenchantment, especially after the "new" wears off.  Stress levels can rise even more when your efforts aren’t bringing in the kind of financial rewards or industry accolades you had envisioned.  Here are my tips for avoiding designer burnout:

· No matter how much you want or need to work, avoid working long hours. Designers give so much of themselves mentally and physically and need time to recoup.  It will be there when you get back.  Of course there will be periods and deadlines that require extra hours, but don’t make it a habit.

· Manage your client’s expectations from day 1.  If you help them understand your process and timelines, there won’t be such a sense of urgency that would require you working over-time.  If a client doesn’t understand then they aren’t the client for you. If you set the tone for how you work at your very first meeting, a client who had different ideas just won’t hire you and that is a good thing.

· Surround yourself with good people.  There is no way you can do it all.  A good business manager is the most important piece of the puzzle if you want to avoid burnout. Other key employees can help share the work burden, so you can all have a more balanced life.

· On a similar note, just because you are a good designer, doesn’t mean you are a good manager.  Stick with the parts of your job where you are best and let other people take up the slack. There is no way you can “wear all the hats” for your business, so share the responsibility.

· If you want to stay small, that’s ok too.  That means fewer people to manage which can be a good thing.  Managing instead of designing is one of the biggest causes of burn-out. But you still can’t do everything yourself so you must outsource to other industry partners.

· Treat your design time like “surgery time”.  No interruptions, period.  This is your time to be in the zone and it’s what your clients are paying you for.  Preserve the sanctity of this creative time each week.  There will be plenty of time to return calls and put out fires when you are out of your design room.

· Do something just for you.  I don’t know if that means writing a blog or working with a charity.  But do something as a part of your work that gives you total satisfaction.  Be a bit indulgent, you deserve some perks for taking so much responsibility.

· Beware of energy vampires. Only work for your ideal clients, it’s not worth working for those who won’t respect you, your employees, and your procedures.  They suck the life out of you.

· Diversify your income streams so you can wait for your ideal clients. Sometimes it’s hard to keep the stress down when your cash flow is slow.  Determine some other products or services that you can easily sell that will even out your income streams and lessen your anxiety until your next big client comes along.

· Set some boundaries…Don’t give clients your cell phone number and if you do, at least screen your calls during your personal time.  You are not an ER doctor so being on call is not an option if you want to keep your sanity. Don’t let clients beat you up.  If the relationship is less than mutually respectful, it’s time to walk away.

· Working for less than you are worth is a mistake. At least if you get paid well, you can take more grief from the not perfect client.  If you can’t get what you are worth right now, then limit the amount of service you are willing to give for that smaller price.  Although they may want it, you just can’t give clients a Rolls Royce for the price of a Ford pick-up.

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Tobi Fairley is a nationally-acclaimed interior designer based in Little Rock, Arkansas. Named by Traditional Home Magazine as one of the Top 20 Young designers in America in 2009, Tobi’s work has graced the cover of House Beautiful and been published in Traditional Home, Southern Living, and At Home in Arkansas numerous times. Tobi recently launched her own fabric line and will release several other products lines in 2012. Her DIY design service InBox Interiors and her Design Camps have been wildly successful. Tobi recently launched Tobi Fairley and Associates, a consulting group dedicated to helping firms with the business of design. She also blogs at Tobi's Blog.

Photo credit: © 2011 Tobi Fairley Interior Design