Once in a while, us creatives need a kick in the pants to stop dreaming and start working. But we need to work smarter, not harder. Here are 5 ways I’ve found to do just that:

1. Charge more and do less

Would you rather make 20k doing 4 corporate videos at $5k each or one for $20k? Charge more and do less jobs with a higher concentration of production value. You’ll have more energy and time to offer to your clients which will result in better value and customer attention. Which will, in turn, result in more business.

2. Schedule your work hours.

If you have just 2 hours to work in the office a day, make a list of the tasks you need to complete. Log out of Facebook, close the door and get down to business. How much time do you fluff around online? Is it directly contributing to making your business flourish? If not, turn it off and do real honest to goodness business for the time you’ve set aside.

3. If there’s something you’re not good at, pay someone who is.

Kill two birds with one stone. Better yet, shoot two kids in one day. Have a photography session booked in a fab location? Do a casting call for an add-on session in the same day. You’re already there, you might as well! Some people are prone to procrastinating and will jump at the opportunity to get a session at the last minute. Don’t offer it at a discounted price, though, because your current client will feel cheated.

4. Batch-order your supplies

Photographers: Do just one print order per week or month. I don’t order a session’s prints one by one. I wait until I have a few orders compiled. When taking orders, clients know they may be waiting a couple of weeks for their order to be fulfilled. This allows for correcting of printing errors and for me to arrange delivery. This means that my account will only be charged once and I won’t have to sit at home waiting for the post every day. Or running to the post office when I missed the delivery.

So now get to work!