Running a graphic design agency is a lot of work, especially if you have several designers working under you. Finding ways to boost productivity can be a challenge when you have a mile-long to-do list.

There are several things you can do, whether you’re a small or large graphic design agency, to encourage your designers to maximize their time.

1. Make the Most of High-Energy Time

Creativity peaks at certain times of the day, and that time varies from one person to the next. Some people are more creative in the early morning, while others are much more creative later in the afternoon.

Encourage your designers to get the bulk of their creative work done at the time that works best for them (within business hours, of course). The remainder of the time can be spent on menial tasks, organizing and planning.

Forcing your designers to work inside a box or a certain window of time may kill productivity and their creativity.

2. Make a Master To-Do List for Each Project

Organization is the key to maximum productivity. Creating a master to-do list for each project can help keep your designers focused while giving them direction.

Project management solutions, like Trello, Asana or Basecamp, allow you to create new projects, break those projects down into smaller tasks, and even assign team members to each task.

The great thing about these collaborative solutions is that multiple team members can access the project at one time, and updates are all in real-time.

When projects involve multiple designers, things can quickly get chaotic. Project management and task assignment can help ensure that everyone is moving at the same pace, projects are completed on time, and everyone knows exactly what they have to accomplish each day.

3. Avoid Unnecessary Meetings

Meetings are sometimes necessary, especially when working on a big, complex project. But they can also be time-wasters and killers of productivity.

Avoid holding unnecessary meetings, and be sure to hold important ones outside of high-energy time.

When you do hold meetings, ensure that each member of your team has a task that needs to be handled immediately after the meeting.

Having a task to complete provides direction and ensures that team members aren’t wasting valuable time.

4. Outsource Some Tasks

Take advantage of creative service providers to fill in any holes in your design team. Maybe you don’t specialize in video services. You can outsource this task to an expert service provider, rather than wasting more time and resources staffing in-house.

Outsourcing non-core tasks frees up your time and also helps ensure that your project is completed on time.

5. Email Can Wait

A 2015 survey from Adobe found that workers spend an average of six hours a day on email. It’s easy to adopt the theory that email is important.

What if a client sends an urgent message?

Truthfully, email is a distraction that keeps most workers from tackling the more difficult tasks at hand.

Discouraging employees from checking email during high-energy times can help boost productivity.

6. Use Cloud Services to Share Files

Sending and sharing files the old-fashioned way (through email) wastes time and can often be difficult with large file sizes.

Cloud services, like Google Drive and Dropbox, allow your design team to share files quickly and easily. There are also cloud-based services that can streamline the process of sending large files to your clients.

Use these six tips to help boost the productivity of your design team. Allowing for some flexibility will help ensure that your team members focus on creative work when their energy levels are at their peak.