Creative projects are delightful to dream about but can take up hours to execute without coming close to its realization. This is the product leak stage – where hours are spent on a project without tangible results. Eventually the execution phase become a torturous one as we can’t account for what we have done with our time.
We will be dividing productivity into two phases :
- Ideation phase. Were the thinking occurs
- Execution stage. The process of making an idea a tangible product
Below are tips on how make your design work a breeze.
1 Let your ideas simmer for a long time
The reason many creatives spend a lot of time on design work is that they try to execute premature ideas.
A premature idea is one that hasn’t matured fully in the mind but is forced out into reality. Ideas have to be nurtured and nourished by our own energy through concentration upon them. How long this takes depends on the nature of what you want to do and its novelty but when its mature enough it would by itself beg for release into the physical world.
If you skip the necessary gestation period, you are bound to waste hours during the execution stage as you try to make up for what is missing.
2 Inspire yourself but do so wisely
A great way to nourish your idea is to see how the end product of that idea looks like which can be done through inspirational platforms like Behance, Dribble, Pinterest etc. No idea is new. There is always a reflection of it on some design site, so get on with looking at what other people have made with the same idea.
This will motivate you to bring your own idea to life and even provide guidelines.
It’s important to not spend too much time on the inspiration phase because truth be told you still have to execute and the earlier you get on with it the better!
3 There are always multiple choices, do stick with one
In the design world there are hundreds of choices available to take when a projects has to be executed and many designers fall into the deadly loop of exploring the plethora of options available to them.
There’s nothing wrong in exploring several fonts to see what works best but we all agree that the final font we use for our project was always amongst the first five fonts we examined but the urge to explore further sends us on a time wasting exercise.
When searching for a design choice go with the first thing you like, don’t check out the next thing, learn to streamline your choices, and have the confidence to stick with it.
4 Be prepared to abandon ship at all times
Well sometimes our choices don’t end up becoming suitable for a project and its best to have the courage to abandon them rather than spend more time trying to make it work. This sounds a little bit contradictory to what was said earlier but it’s the other side of the ideation coin where sometimes our solutions will never fit the problem at hand and its best to go in search of another one early on.
With the ideation phase well taken care of its time to look at the next step of production i.e. the production itself. When it comes to producing design work these are rules to observe.
5 Work during the day/sleep at Night
“Make hay while the sun shines”
During the day the abundant light from the sun inhibits the production of a sleep hormone called melatonin which is produced under dark conditions and is responsible for slowing down the brain processes to induce sleep.
In place of melatonin what you get is serotonin a hormone produced in bright conditions available throughout the day thanks to the sun, which stimulates the brain and the body to productivity.
Many creatives prefer to work at night time for the sake of the peace and quiet which they believe increases their productivity but working at night is by nature first of all counter-productive as night time only supports rest not to mention that pushing sleep to the day creates hormonal imbalances as the body is programed to be active only during day time.
6 Avoid distractions at all cost
There’s first of all the mental distractions which take up their own time and physical distractions from cell phones and people. All these take factors compete for attention which should be devoted to executing your projects. To combat them ensure you find an environment with minimal human traffic or one where despite human traffic there is no room for chit-chat e,g an office, personal/shared, or a digital library. During these periods ensure notifications not directly related to your work are muted.
7 Start small, grow Big
It’s all up to you to decide how you want to begin your project and what should be done at each stage but when deciding always go with the minimal and the simplest as it saves you time! In design the simpler a thing is the better in regards to execution. Simply start out simple and work your way towards a grand finale.
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8 Take Breaks as part of the creative process
If you put in 3 hours to work at your design project let a break be within the three hours also. Leaving work for a bit allows you view your work upon return from a different perspective. Take a brief walk, look at something far away, drink water etc.
9 Gauge your work
There are two ways to gauge work. The first is by time. Here you set yourself to accomplish all that you can within a time limit and the other method where you set yourself to achieve specific tasks regardless of how much time you spend on it. Gauging productivity might seem like putting yourself under pressure but it’s a great way to help you measure your productivity and identify areas that slow you down.
Think better Design Better
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Productivity is the crowning of creativity as we feel fulfilled when we transform our ideas into living realities. In this regard efficiency is key. It’s not like all design projects should be finished within an hour! In fact, some projects by their nature require weeks to get the ground running but regardless of its duration efficiency must be included from the onset or else they easily take up more time than is necessary.