How to boost productivity as a knit designer?
You can have lots of ideas but not enough time to execute them.
If you work from home often, you know how hard it can be to peel away from everything happening in the house and dig into your work as a knit designer. Working from home isn’t chilling with your laptop (or your favorite yarn) on the couch in cute sweatpants sets and perfect time management as you streamed Netflix all the while.
So, boost productivity as a knit designer is something weโve had to master, and it seems like a topic thatโs being talked about more than ever.
Hereโs how I boost productivity as a knit designer and make working from home feel like a joyful endeavor!
5 Ways to Boost Productivity as a Knit Designer
1. Create and organize a space
As I said, I work from my couch often because itโs where I feel comfortable and can get into the zone.
But if you can make one space your designated workspace and show up to that one space each day ready to work, your brain will begin associating that spot with productivity.
Whether you can devote a space inside of your home, if you canโt find what you need when youโre designing, it can really slow you down. So bring what you need with you to your workspace to eliminate unnecessary trips to getโฆ everything! The goal is to make sure that you know exactly where everything is and can find it very quickly.
2. Create a routine
I suggest crafting a routine around when you do your best work.
Routine turns into habit and habit is directly linked to what we are actually accomplishing.
As a knit designer, having a robust framework for moving forward with your work will help you to boost your productivity.
Whether you use a planner or digital calendar, literally put all your main tasks into your daily schedule and assign start and end times to keep you on task.
3. Do ONE thing a day to progress
This is my favorite way to prioritize my day as a knit designer and to make sure I get important stuff done.
Daily I focus on doing one thing to move forward. Now, that one thing might mean spending time to sketch, or create a gauge for a new project, or it might mean spending some hours knitting.
It doesnโt have to be grandiose every day, and in fact, it will probably be small, imperfect steps most days. And that is enough.
4. Plan your designs
Planning ahead is an easy way to save time in the long run.
I love to design garments, but they are not always the best choice when it comes to the time spent designing, grading and testing and to the profit margin.
So if you have limited time and want to have a higher output of patterns, focus on smaller accessories (like hats, socks, and shawls).
5. Get moving
Take the time to take care of yourself. Movement and mental breaks are such great ways to get a little boost of energy to your brain without a whole lot of effort.
Itโs important to honor those breaks where you get up and move your body, I have an app called flat tomato for remembering to take a break!
Extra – breathe
Yes. Breathe.
You donโt need to follow specific rules. And there will be times when you mess up. And, thatโs OKAY.
Itโs important to make progress in your work, but things wonโt fall apart if you have a one-off afternoon or a slower week.
Work from home presents a whole new list of challenges that many arenโt prepared for. But I have no doubt youโll nail this whole work from home thing.
With a good system, you can make more time to design as well as manage the other responsibilities in your life.