As we learned in the previous parts, Part 1 and Part 2, there’s a discipline in sports. With the discipline comes a ritual, or daily activity set around deep focus and high performance. Every morning I take Van swimming. Every evening he goes to swimming practice.
To get better at waterpolo🤽🏼♂️, I spent 5 days a week in the pool. I was driven to be the best and I was — all because I kept a set of rules that removed any possibility of failure.
So, now we get to the part the makes the connection between you as a designer and the power of rituals. Maybe it’s not swimming for you, but you can’t deny that there’s something, some ritual, you dedicate deep thinking time to. This is super healthy to have and now, we need to apply the same methods and principles to your design practice. Come along — and let’s learn how you can be a better Designer, in 5 easy steps.
1. Leave no other option but success
When you start a project, identify what defines success, not only for the project, but for you as a designer and your career. As a designer you have an audience that will judge you on your performance and an audience that defines success by different metrics. They vary from year-to-year, but this is your story to tell so make sure you are including touch points in your project that speak to successes that round out your designer credit score.
When it comes to your career make sure you look at factors such as promotions, ranking up, and diversity in your project types.
Once you’re clear on what success is—go for it—go for it, but arrange your circumstances such that success is the only option. Remove all doubt, remove all fear, and keep your eye on the prize. This requires deep work. Read Cal Newport’s book on Deep Work, to learn more.
2. Create a ritual
Make sure you have a ritual with your work. This means, making coffee, or matcha🍵, meditating, and going for a walk. Maybe you clean your desk and your monitors or use canned air before you start typing away. It doesn’t matter what the rituals are, just add them into your daily workflow. Make sure these are pattern based, repetitive and you have a repercussion if you don’t do it. For example, if Van skipped his morning swim, I wouldn’t take him to a swim meet or water polo in the evening. I wasn’t being mean, if anything, missing this would hurt him, but he valued being present with his team so much, he wasn’t willing to give into laziness, skip his morning practice, all to risk not strengthening his bond with his teammates — so it worked!
3. Have a measurement for success
Have a clear definition that shows you if you’re winning or losing.
4. Build a process
Have a process, have rules, stick to the rules, never deviate, and write it down.
5. Create a network of support
And finally, have frequent checkins with your peers, tell them about your progress, if needed, ask them to help guide you and keep you accountable. Make sure these are real friends who show you tough love. You want a support group that has no problem explaining where you need to focus and where you need to back off.
Conclusion
Yes, this is a hardcore endeavor. It may also seem like this strict adherence leaves no room for error or fun, but that’s not true. You will indeed make mistakes, that’s okay, keep a log, write down where you went wrong and adjust. The having fun part is easy. Let loose when you’ve reached a mile stone, let’s say you wanted to master typography, okay, have a goal set and a reward. After learning python, I celebrated by going out to a Ry X, concert.
You’re essentially gamifying excellence. You’ve got this! And if you ever reach a point where you think you need help, you can hit me up, or phone a friend. What ever you do, remember, it’s a process and it requires your full attention. The end result, however, is you become excellent at everything you do!
If you’re ever feeling overwhelmed, just think of Mr. Snow, with his flowered swim cap on, and hear his voice saying, “It’s not the mistake that matters, it’s what you do to correct it that defines your value.”