Regain valuable time by creating a Don't Do List. Every day we spend needless time on tasks, routines and distractions just because they've become habits. We also spend valuable time doing things just to please others. Even if it doesn't benefit us at all. If you take back some of that wasted time you'd be amazed at how much more efficient your business can be. That's where a Don't Do list comes in. Let me ask you a question. Imagine this fictional scenario; you are a busy graphic designer with multiple client projects on the go. You win a great proposal and are  awarded a new 40-hour project to complete within a tight deadline. Unfortunately, due to personal issues, you are only able to devote 4 hours per day to your business for the foreseeable future. What would you eliminate from your daily tasks and routines to make your life easier? What would you include on your Don't Do List? Create a Don't Do List By creating a Don't Do List for your graphic design business you are able to hold yourself accountable and take back some of your wasted time and put it to better use. In this episode of the Resourceful Designer podcast, I share 10 items that are on my own Don't Do List. Your list may look different and that's OK. Please share in the comments below what you would include on your Don't Do List. My Don't Do List For more details on each item in my list please listen to the podcast. Don't schedule client meetings in the morning. Don't look at email until I've done at least an hour of work in the morning. Don't treat emails from people I don't know as if they're urgent. Don't answer the phone or reply to text messages in the morning. Don't check my social media in the morning. Don't listen to music with words which could interfere with my creativity. Don't eat a sugary breakfast in the morning. Don't turn on the TV in the morning before work. (I'm bad at this one) Don't start my morning without already knowing what I'll be working on. Don't leave my email or social media programs open all day. Turn off Email and social media notifications. Set my mobile phone's do not disturb to end later in the morning. What's on your Don't Do List? Is there anything you would include on your Don't Do List that I don't have on mine? Let me know by leaving a comment for this episode. Questions of the Week Submit your question to be featured in a future episode of the podcast by visiting the feedback page. This week’s question comes from Norman I have a question about dealing with clients that refuse to pay, or extremely drag there feet. I Recently had a client who asked for a 3 page list of changes to her website, I believed there would be no issues as I had no issues with this client not paying in the past, however this list turned out to be an 11+ hr job which was the biggest bill I ever sent her. She received the invoice and said she mailed my check, So after hearing that, and in good faith based on our relationship thus far, I committed a cardinal web design sin, I uploaded the site changes BEFORE I actually received the check. To make a long story short, the check never arrived, 1 week later, when asked about it she told me to meet her at her studio to pick up a new check and she would cancel the missing one. I showed up but she was nowere to be found, when I finally heard from her she gave me some lame excuse that she was in a meeting running late. So I sent her a digital invoice via PayPal that she could pay. She never replied so I sent her this message: "Considering you told me that you would be able to meet me at 2 I expect the invoice to be paid by 2 or you can meet me somewhere closer in town with a check, either way if payment is not received by 2:30 today I will unfortunately have no choice but to take down the updates made to the site until payment has been received. Thank you for understanding" She immediately wrote back a very long message filled with excuses and finger pointing, also saying that she would pay the invoice with