How I get so much done (My anti-TV rant)
What if I told you I have a secret that adds 28 hours to my week; would you be interested in how I do it?
Productivity
Driven Design
Why can’t people excel? Why do some designers stagnate and keep churning out the same design drivel? Why do some web administrators continue to let their websites decay into irrelevance?
Some little life lessons
“Only a fool learns from his mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” – Otto von Bismarck
Aim to misbehave
It’s like this: you can spend your career doing only as you’re told, or you can do what you really think is right and what works
Why I freelance
A client recently asked “Why are you doing this?”
The lies we tell ourselves
We talk about freedom, but are we really free?
Years of Experience vs Experiencing Years
“Do you have 25 years of experience, or have you experienced the same year 25 times?”
How to order t-shirts in Columbia, MO
So, how do you order shirts and get a good price?
Instead of “No” say…
I tend to use “no by default” reasoning because of this basic truth: Saying “yes” to one thing means saying “no” to another.
But, according to hostage negotiators, you don’t tell the captor “no”; you should find a way to explain what you can do.
Instead of “No” say,“I think we agree that our goal is x [...]
No, I can’t use the logo from the website
This is a request that almost every designer has to address at some point, almost weekly, when you work directly with the public.
Working with groups
So much about doing business has to do with setting expectations up front so that assumptions don’t get in the way.
Multi-Tasking is not effective
In an interview, I was once asked if I multi-task well.
More about assumptions
When I look back on all the business lessons I’ve learned in design, the biggest one comes back to assumptions.
Years ago the company I worked for took on a project for a high profile marketing agency that I respected and admired (and at that point, hoped to work for some day). I really wanted us [...]
Avoid the Hazard of Assumptions
I’ve been part of solar race car teams. It’s an experimental process with each car’s construction and testing.
One of the things that happens with any race team is that things go wrong; AND when they go wrong, someone always says “Aggh, I knew that was going to happen.”
Why is that? What is the hint that [...]
How to motivate a designer: Be a great boss
Everybody knows that the client is the boss. In that sense, I’ve had clients that were a great motivational boss.
Wanna know the secret to motivating a designer (besides stating your budget up front)? I can tell you how NOT to do it.
Call and ask how it’s going the day after a contract is signed.
Go MIA [...]
The Time Debt Trap
Any time you decide to sort something out later, you’ve incurred what I call time debt.
For example, a project is begun for a client but there are some unanswered questions about printing budget. “We can sort those out later. Let’s get started on the design.” Guess what… You’ve just incurred debt by rushing ahead. You’re [...]
Lessons Learned: Don’t become informal with the client
It’s easy to become informal and make assumptions you shouldn’t make as you get to know people.
Finances for the freelancer
Freelancing is great, but you have to plan your finances ahead of time. Doing so will make your work better and you’ll take better care of your clients.
Keeping your balance with unbalanced clients
The expectations you set for clients up front will have lasting effects on your success later.
Work when you are at work
You should work when you are at work, and not work when you are at home. This is a secret to happiness and productivity.
