Streamline Your Messy Creative Projects: No More Timeline & Scope Creep

7 Mar

Are you drowning in a sea of endless revisions and looming project deadlines?

Have your projects become plagued with scope creep so the launches seem so far in the future that you have sleepless nights and stress-filled days?

I want you to break up with messy projects and disorganised processes so you can add more joy, organisation and simplicity to your work!

The overwhelm and stress of this cycle is unsustainable and I’d love for you to know that it is so possible for you to have seamless processes, the happiest dreamy clients and to be in complete control at all times. Let’s shake off the stress and build a much dreamier work week in your creative business by saying “see ya!” to scope creep and deadline drama.

Messy Projects = Burnout

We’ve all felt this way at some point running our creative business - the chaos and overwhelm of keeping your projects on track.

You want to be able to balance all of your clients, keep your projects on time, and have the happiest clients but you can’t remember all of the emails you have to send and when, there is so much admin to manage, you’re sick of scouring your emails for the latest feedback and it’s so hard to stick to boundaries that are constantly being pushed or broken by your clients who are equally as overwhelmed as you are.

Having mess-free, stress-free, hassle-free projects is a true reality!

Let me tell you about the experience I’ve had…

In the first few years of running my design business, I was in a constant state of burnout. Even when I didn’t have enough work booked in I found balancing my projects a huge struggle and was always chasing my tail.

Not only did I feel out of control, stressed and overwhelmed, I wasn’t even enjoying the work I was doing because I was so impacted by my messy projects. The reason I started my business was because I loved designing and I couldn’t enjoy even the best projects because they were so messy….

I had a million tasks to work on at the same time and zero headspace to give them. I had chunky parts of different projects working alongside each other at the same time with only a limited amount of creative juice. I had periods of balancing way too many projects vs periods of zero projects to work on. Most of my projects ran over their dates or my clients would keep asking for more and I had no idea what to do…

Things absolutely needed to change!

But I couldn’t find any set steps on how to do it! There were courses about project management, blogs about speedy design processes, Instagram posts about how to de-stress after a day inside your business balancing a million things at once (very helpful, thank you 🙄)

So instead of trying to find the solution from someone else, I decided to create the solution myself! I know me best - I know my services, I know how I work, I know how I do my best work and all I needed was to pull all of this together to make some sense!

What followed was so much better than I could have expected!

My projects became organised, clear and structured
My work got even better because I gave myself more space to be creative
My clients were so much happier because I was desiging amazing work for them
My mental health improved with a much better work life balance
My business was so much more enjoyable and I could give more space to scaling and reaching my goals

A few years on, not only do I have the same processes, systems, and plans for my projects, as they all served me so well! I am also working with bigger clients on huge projects without any stress or burnout (psst…I only work three days a week too 👀)

The main steps I followed are outlined in this post so you can make all of this a reality for you and your design business so you can take control of your projects and stop the scope creep and messy schedule!

Streamlined Projects = More Joy

Soo this is what worked for me, but how do I know it can work for you too?

Working with creatives on this exact process has created so many transformations and I know that it’s not just me! Picture this very realistic look at how things can look when you add more organisation and streamlining into your projects…

Your work week feels open and easy and you can save your time and energy to focus on what really matters - your amazing creative projects!

You don’t have to play detective looking for your latest messages or picking at projects timelines making sure they’re still realistic - everything is planned and in one place

The communication with your clients is on point so pre-work is on time, feedback is swift and helpful and you never feel out of sync with your client so everything runs smoothly

Your project scope and timelines stick to what was always agreed between you and your client (!) so you never feel blind-sided by extra requests or clashing projects

And it's not just about you; it's about your clients too! Happy clients vibing with your streamlined, organised processes - sticking to your agreed signature service deliverables, realistic and spacious timelines, and check-ins that make them feel looked after and informed.

You'll be the collaborator of their dreams, and they'll be singing your praises - turning your clients into your biggest cheerleaders!

Before we jump into my tips, I’d love to tell you about my client Rachael.

Rachael is a fab branding and website designer who works with female-led businesses and Rachael joined my group program, The Clubhouse, with out of control projects making her lose her motivation and love for her business.

Despite having some amazing clients, timeline and scope creep meant Rachael was always chasing her tail with deliverables and deadlines and constantly broke her own boundaries to keep clients happy, even though this made her even more burnt out and struggling with the creative work.

Using the process tips from this post and working through them together in The Clubhouse, Rachael was able to build clear, streamlined step-by-step processes that made her projects stick to timelines, remove any scope creep and build solid, respected boundaries. All of this helped her book clients in advance so much easier, knowing her processes could support her booking schedule.

Now, she is enjoying her projects more than ever and can really feel inspired and motivated by client work! She is so much happier and so are her clients.

Start With Solid Foundations

Let’s jump into our first point and think about how laying solid foundations in your creative business can have the first, most crucial impact on how organised and streamlined your projects are.

Now I’m no builder, but I like to think of our business like a house (I even created a course around it!) and like any lovely, long-lasting, steady house, even I know that we need solid, unmovable foundations that support every area of your business. Even your process!

Now, there are definitely a few areas we can focus on here. But for this post…

…let’s focus on what has the biggest impact on cutting out messy creative projects.

Planning an Intentional Workweek

It’s going to be hard to know what you want your timelines to look like, how many projects you can balance and what boundaries you need to set around your working hours without knowing what you want your working week to look like. We start a business because we want control and so often revert back to working a traditional 9-5 work week - you don’t have to!

Think about what days and hours you’d like to work, how your projects fit into that time, how many clients you could balance, how you can fit in your work on the business. Be aware of how you want to be working and your processes can follow.

Building a Signature Service

One of the reasons you may be experiencing scope creep and tricky timelines is that your services aren’t clear enough. On one hand, your service deliverables may be unclear to your client - leading to them asking for more or feeling like they need extras throughout the project. On the other hand, your timelines may just be based on a guess plucked out of the thin air and thinking “errmmm it’d probably take about six weeks”.

From both of these things comes confusion and annoyance that can be solved with a clearly planned, structured and intentional signature service. With clear deliverables, timelines, deadlines, expectations and outcomes.

Attracting DREAM clients

I will say this until the cows come home - dream clients are easy to work with. They don’t push your boundaries when you say you don’t answer emails on a weekend or ask them to email instead of call. They send over whatever you need in a timely manner to help you stick to timelines and give feedback on time. They don’t ask for extras unless they’re offering to foot the extra investment and they completely respect your opinion on whether the extra is actually something they need.

Finding that your “dream” client undervalues your time and expertise? Maybe that’s just not a dream client?

Already feel like you have your foundations in place? Ok let’s start thinking about your process!

Plan Your Step by Step Process

It’s going to be near impossible to get clients (and yourself!) to stick to a process without actually having that process in the first place. So to get to the place of those projects feeling super streamlined, sticking to your timelines and staying away from creeping into messy territory.

You might have a rough idea in your head of how you’d like your projects to go, you may even have set steps that you’d like to follow, but the issue here is that your projects don’t go that way. We want to plan steps that you can stick to, that support you to do your best work and keep your projects on track.

I like to split my project processes into three steps; Onboarding; Projects and Offboarding. Building carefully considered steps for each of these elements of your project gives you focus for each phase. I’d like for you to answer the questions below for each phase to figure out what steps you need in your process!

your onboarding process

Our onboarding process takes us from the second a potential client sends an enquiry form, all the way up to starting a project. We want to make sure potential clients feel well guided once they get in touch, informed and organised whilst they are booking the project and supported with what you need and their expectations before the project start date.

Here are the questions to consider:

What information would be helpful for you to decide whether a client would be a good fit? Use this to write intentional, aligned enquiry form questions
What steps do you need your potential client to take to confirm a project booking? Use this to plan emails and documents you need for your booking process
What information, assets and documents do you need from your client before your project starts? Use this to send strategic homework, files and guides to collect this information once your project has been confirmed
How could you help your client feel informed about your process and ready to start the project before you start? Use this to create guides, pages or emails to send before your project
How could you set expectations around your project, communication and deadlines? Use this to set boundaries ahead of your project

Your onboarding process stops scope creep by setting the expectations and gathering everything you need before you start.

your project process

As soon as you get to your project date, we move into the project process! We’re switching gears away from admin, gathering information and getting things prepped into being creative and the expert in your project.

This is where you really want to take control and put on your “boss” hat! It’s not about casual deadlines, designing when you feel like it or letting little boundary pushes slip, this is where we really put our feet down to get the best results from our projects.

Here are the questions to consider:

Could you plan your project timelines to send certain deliverables at certain stages? Use this to plan a week by week schedule for sending concepts
What process for gathering feedback would work best for you within your project? Use this to set ‘rules’ for feedback from clients
What questions could you ask and guidelines could you set to get valuable, productive feedback from your clients? Use this to write templated messages for sending your concepts
What are the current issues within your projects that cause scope creep? Use this to add clauses to your contract and set processes just in case this happens

Your project process stops scope creep by having organised, intentional timelines, task deadlines and boundaries (more on that later).

your offboarding process

Our aim is for our projects to be wrapping up on the date we set as the end date for our project so to keep this in place, make sure our clients get everything they need to launch their project and feel supported beyond their project, we have our offboarding process.

We’re sending our clients away after a successful, organised project feeling empowered and confident with their final transformation whether that’s their photos, copy, brand, website or whatever incredible thing you create.

Here are the questions to consider:

What stops you from wrapping projects up on time right now? Use this to add clauses to your contract and set process to stop this in the future
What information, assets and guidance do your clients need once your projects end? Use this to create steps, guides and folders to send everything you need
How could you support your clients beyond your projects without offering extras? Use this to create extra elements in your process that prevent future unnecessary questions
How could you offer support with additional assets and deliverables if and when required? Use this to create retainer information to make sure you get paid for future work
What questions could you ask to get a great testimonial after your project has ended? Use this to create a testimonial and/or feedback form

Your offboarding process stops scope creep by wrapping up your projects on time and giving information that prevents additional questions and requests beyond the project.

Make Friends With Systems

Streamlining your projects is not just about making things more organised; it's also about making your business life easier and in turn, more joyful. As well as having your step by step processes, you can also add in elements that just make your life easier!

With your process planned and steps in place, we want to start thinking about how we can keep all of this in place. Yes, it’s great to have those steps but maybe you’ve planned steps similar to these before but still found yourself reminding clients what you needed from them, chasing up feedback and balancing tasks from multiple projects.

Here’s where we add in your new best friend - systems!

Utilising systems, automations and project management tools is a fool-proof approach to saving time and energy in your projects. And not only that! They make setting boundaries easier, sticking to timelines easier, and even getting paid easier (who’s going to say no to that?)

Here are a few tips to get you started:

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Automate Repetitive Tasks

If I find myself working on a certain task more than once, I like to immediately think about how that task can be automated. Especially once we have steps that we are going to repeat with every single client, using some automation means you don’t have to do the same things over and over again, using up your valuable time and energy!

Automation tools make this an absolute breeze and are so worth the investment when you realise you can save hours for every project you work on.

Recommended Systems: Zapier, Dubsado, Airtable

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Use a Project Management Tool

Platforms that allow you to manage your projects all in one place can be a game changer as a creative service provider! If you find yourself spending chunks of your day scrolling through emails to find the files you need, getting confused by strangely formatted feedback or getting distracted by any new email that comes in, a project management tool gives you a hub for your clients to use for communication, file sharing and task management.

Recommended Systems: Asana, Notion, Trello, Dubsado

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Have Creative Process Systems

Sometimes we lose the most time working on the project designs themselves! Depending on whether you get wrapped up in perfectionism, spend hours pulling together presentations or just find your creative process holding you back from working quickly, creating process systems in your projects can absolutely save time.

Creating concept presentations, strategy and guidelines templates and draft templates creates the perfect system to save you time and focus on what your client needs!

Recommended Systems: Presentation templates, Program Shortcuts, Task timers, AI Prompts

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Build a Bank of Emails

The most under-utilised system you can use and the easiest to implement is a bank of canned emails. Even better, you can do this even if you are starting your business completely from scratch! If at any point you realise you are sending the same email over and over again, create a canned email in your email bank. You could add these to your automation systems or, on a budget, just copy & paste!

Recommended Systems: Dubsado, Gmail, Notion

Back Yourself With Boundaries

🚨READ ME FIRST - The rest of this post is absolutely pointless without this final piece of the puzzle!! 🚨

Ok, ok I’m being a little bit dramatic but although I want you to feel supported and guided by the first three steps and they are all incredibly valuable… I’m going to make a little guess that the main root of your problem with timeline and scope creep is that you don’t set boundaries.

Sticking to your boundaries is absolutely essential for streamlining your messy projects and building the stress-free, overwhelm-free, dreamy workweek you have at the top of your goals for this year.

Luckily, the rest of this post has already helped you decide the boundaries you need to set within your projects (yes, without you even realising!). You’ve already figured out:

The hours you want to work
The deliverables and timelines for your signature service
Who your dream clients truly are
The onboarding process and expectations of clients
The creative project process and expectations of clients
The offboarding process and expectations of clients
How you will use systems to support you
How your clients will use systems to support you

All of these boundaries have their own value and all of these boundaries must be backed up by you. Because if you can’t stick to your own boundaries - how are you going to expect your clients, who have different expectations for their own work and no knowledge of how you work, to stick to them too.

Setting boundaries in your projects doesn’t make you difficult. It doesn’t make you stubborn or hard to work with. It’s actually the exact opposite. Your boundaries allow you and your clients to have structure and feel supported inside your projects. You are both able to collaborate in the best way and get the results you both want at the end!

😳 Is It Me, Am I the Drama?

I know there are some of you who still feel stuck. And I know there is one question that hasn’t been answered here. I know because I’ve worked with so many clients who’ve had this exact same question…

“What if it's me that doesn’t stick to the timelines?” 😬

Don’t worry, we’ve all been there! Well-meaning processes and guessing at how long things take pushes your limits a little more than you were expecting, you get wrapped up in your projects and those carefully planned timelines end up out of the window. Your client is happy for you to take a bit longer but then they decide to take a bit longer with their feedback and all of a sudden everything feels out of control.

This is where we want to talk about the main rule - don’t overbook yourself! The main reason we struggle to stick to our own well-planned schedules and best intentions is that we just don’t have the capacity to do the things we’ve agreed to. Overcommitting drains your energy, takes away your creativity and just isn’t good for you.

My main strategy to stop overbooking is to build a booking schedule that support you to book dream clients in advance. No more overworking, no more balancing more projects than you can handle, no more slipping on your own set deadlines.

Let’s Wrap This Up

I really want you to know that yes, stress-free, streamlined projects are a dream - but not just the ones that exist in your brain when you’re asleep! They really are an achievable reality in your creative business.

Following these steps is going to set you up to move away from the days of chasing up clients, launch dates being pushed back by months, constantly getting new requests and tiny tweaks when your revisions are already used up and feeling generally overwhelmed and out of control.

Here come the days of being the in control, creative expert in your own projects and carving out so much more time and energy for yourself inside your amazing, dreamy business.