My Top Time Management Tips for Cake Designers
4 Time Management Tips to Save more Time
Top Time Management Tips for Cake Designers: How to Reclaim Your Time While Growing Your Business
I want to talk about something that's absolutely crucial for every cake designer who wants to build a sustainable business without burning out: effective time management.
Before I dive into these game-changing tips, make sure you subscribe so you don't miss any of my videos designed to help you charge premium prices for your cakes, build a booked-solid cake business, and actually grow a cake business that you love.
The Reality of Poor Time Management in Cake your Cake Business
Inside Facebook Groups and all around the internet, I constantly hear from cake designers who are:
Staying up until 4 AM to finish orders
Pulling all-nighters regularly
Waiting until the last minute to start cakes due the next day
Operating in a constant state of frantic energy
Always feeling stressed and overwhelmed
This has become their normal way of operating, but I'm here to tell you it doesn't have to be this way. Your cake business should not consume your entire life or rob you of sleep and peace of mind.
Think about it: if you're planning to grow your cake business over the next 10 years, is this frantic, exhausted lifestyle really sustainable? Can you honestly continue staying up late, skipping meals, and living in constant stress?
It's time for a paradigm shift. It's time to ask yourself: How can I save more time? How can I have a life outside my cake business? Because trust me, your cake business does not need to be your entire existence.
My Top Time Management Strategies for Cake Designers
1. Work on Cake Orders Weeks in Advance
Stop the habit of completing entire cake orders in the week they're due. This single change will dramatically reduce your stress levels and give you back precious time.
What you can do ahead of time:
Bake and freeze cakes weeks before the order is due
Prepare buttercreams and fillings in advance
Create sugar flowers and decorative elements at least a month ahead
Make figurines and toppers when you have dedicated creative time
I've created a Cake Timeline Form (available in my Cake Success Business Library—click here) to help you map out each order immediately after booking. This form allows you to realistically schedule when to:
Work on sugar flowers or figurines (4 weeks out)
Bake cakes and prepare fillings (3 weeks out)
Focus on assembly, stacking, filling, and final decorating (week of delivery)
By planning your cake orders at least a month in advance, you'll eliminate the chaos of trying to complete everything in a single week. This approach saves you time, reduces stress, and improves the quality of your work because you're not rushing.
2. Use a Calendar and Block Your Time
Getting a dedicated calendar for your business was a game-changer for me. It forced me to be honest about how much time I actually had available for cake work.
Your calendar should include:
Specific times blocked for cake business activities
Personal commitments and family obligations
Self-care time (yes, this is non-negotiable!)
Work hours if you have another job
When I started using a calendar, I realized I didn't have as much time as I thought for my cake business. Seeing those limited blocks of time (sometimes just 2 hours a day) helped me become incredibly focused and efficient.
Remember: when you can see your time visually mapped out, you become more serious about protecting it and using it wisely.
If you'd like more resources to help you on this journey, make sure to check out my Cake Success Library. It's filled with ebooks, templates, checklists, guides, and so much valuable information designed to help you transform your cake business and achieve the results you're truly looking for. Click here to access.
3. Work Faster by Eliminating Multi-Tasking
Your time is literally money in your cake business. You should be paying yourself an hourly wage, which means the faster you work (without sacrificing quality), the more you earn per hour.
Many cake designers don't realize how much time they waste by:
Checking social media while working
Watching TV shows during cake production
Taking phone calls while decorating
Getting constantly distracted in the kitchen
Each of these distractions is actual money you're throwing away. When you eliminate multi-tasking and focus solely on the cake work in front of you, you'll be amazed at how much faster you can complete tasks.
I personally like to work fast because I have multiple aspects of my business to manage. When I cut out all distractions, I get significantly more done in less time.
4. Batch Similar Tasks Together
One of the most effective time-saving strategies I've implemented in my cake business is batching similar tasks together. This means dedicating specific time blocks to complete the same type of work across multiple cake orders.
For example:
Bake all your cakes for the week in one session
Mix all your buttercream colors in a single batch
Create all your sugar flowers during one dedicated creative session
Handle all administrative tasks (emails, invoicing, ordering supplies) in one sitting
When you batch similar tasks, you eliminate the setup and cleanup time that happens when you constantly switch between different activities. Your brain also works more efficiently when it stays focused on one type of task rather than jumping between different types of work.
I've found that batching my tasks can easily save me 3-5 hours per week because I'm not constantly switching gears, cleaning up, and setting up again. Try it for yourself and see how much time you recover!
Need a Goal Setting Guide to help you reach your cake business goals this year? I got you! Click here to download my Free Cake Business Goal Setting Workbook Guide for you to smash and accomplish your goals this year. It’s free and it’s located inside my Cake Business Library.
5. Ruthlessly Eliminate Distractions
This tip piggybacks on the previous ones but deserves its own spotlight because it's that important.
Your cake business and producing amazing work should be more important than:
What's happening on Tiktok, Instagram, or Facebook
The Netflix show you're trying to catch up on (that you've probably already seen)
Constantly checking emails or messages
I've noticed that whenever I try to work on a cake while watching TV, I work much slower. I remember watching the TV show Once Upon a Time while working on cake orders. While I really enjoyed watching the show, I know I was working slower. Even small distractions like picking up your phone to check notifications can easily waste 10 minutes over the course of a few hours — time you could have spent being productive. Additionally, it takes yourself some time to get back in the flow of your cake orders to mentally be locked into completing your order.
Are the distractions really worth it? And are you really missing out on something that could have waited?
Distractions are keeping you from:
Producing your best work
Completing orders efficiently
Getting enough sleep
Spending quality time with your family
Having a life outside your cake business
By eliminating distractions alone, you'll likely find that you work faster and get more done in less time. This does require discipline and practice, but the benefits far outweigh the temporary discomfort of changing your habits.
Why you MUST Incorporate Better Time Management Skills in your Cake Business
For me, the motivation to improve my time management came from wanting a different lifestyle than the one I had fallen into. I hated:
Staying up late and feeling tired the next day
Feeling frantic about completing orders in a timely manner
Waiting until the last minute to complete orders which increased my stress levels
Constantly feeling behind on all orders
I wanted to feel more in control and peaceful in my cake business. I wanted to enjoy my work again instead of dreading the next order.
With better time management, you can:
Get enough sleep to feel restful to fully complete your orders the next day
Spend time with your family without anxiety about your cake business
Plan accordingly to take days off without feeling guilty
Produce higher quality work consistently
Feel confident and calm about your business
Actually enjoy cake decorating again
I hope this has been helpful!
Time management might not be the most exciting topic, but mastering it will transform both your business and your life. Remember, your cake business should enhance your life, not consume it.
Now is the perfect time to start. You can’t afford to put this off another moment.
Commend Down Below - what do you do in your cake business to save time?
