If you are anything like me, you are a professional juggler. No, we don’t juggle bowling pins or anything like that (or do you? Hey, that’s pretty rad!). I’m talking about the work that we juggle daily. In my case, I’m a full-time designer, a half-time graduate student, a sometimes author and conference speaker, and an all-the-time social networker. Only two of these “positions” have actually put any money in my pocket (and, well, the second one takes a lot of money out). Still, this is all part of the work that I do. Your work situation is probably similar. We are workaholics.
So if we work so much in our daily lives, shouldn’t we be making out like bandits? Umm, honestly, I’m not hitting on you, silly. I’m talking about our success. We work and work and work. Shouldn’t we be filthy, stinking rich? Well… okay, that’s not quite what I mean either. I’m not necessarily talking about money (though that could potentially be a part of it). I’m talking about success — as in feeling a true sense of accomplishment and feeling happy about what we do and why we do it.
It’s important to feel accomplished and a general happiness in our work. To make out like a bandit (or have an incredible amount of success), you can either get lucky or work hard for it. And if you’re going to work hard for it, you might as well make it all meaningful and worthwhile. This is what I strive for in my own work and my life, and the following points I’m sharing with you are the steps I am taking to work toward this.
I know the price of success: dedication, hard work & an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen. — Frank Lloyd Wright
Learn. Participate. Do.
The best way to get good at something is to keep doing whatever it is you’re doing that you want to be good at. For example, a sushi-enthusiast might take a sushi-making class because she wants to learn to make sushi for herself. It totally makes sense while the teacher demonstrates all the procedures, materials, and methods needed to make good, beautiful sushi. Later, the student goes home and tries to make sushi on her own, she gets totally confused and lost. Okay, I’m not even going to hide it, I’m talking about myself (this happened to me). As much as I love sushi, I couldn’t even begin to make good sushi because I’ve never really practiced.
Take advantage of learning opportunities where possible. Whether you’re learning CSS, Actionscript, or visual design, the best way to grasp how to do things is to participate, practice, do. Apply what you learn in your work. Participation is so vital to your success. If you have problems, let people know, and ask. But definitely practice on your own. And as cliché as it may sound, believe in yourself because if you don’t think you can do it, no one else will think you can either.
Maintain momentum
With whatever it is you’re doing, if you find yourself “on a roll”, you should take advantage of that momentum and keep moving. Sure, you’ll definitely want to take breaks here or there, but remember that momentum can be very difficult to obtain again once you’ve lost it. Get it done!
Deal with people
Whether you love or hate people, the fact is, you gotta deal with them — even the difficult ones. If you’re in a management position, then you know pretty well that most people don’t like being told what to do (even if that’s their job). Find ways to get people excited about what they’re doing. Make people feel that they (and what they do) are needed — people respond better if they’re valued, not commanded. Even if you’re not in a management position, this still applies to the way you work with your coworkers, clients, vendors, etc.
Resolve any conflicts right away. Conflicts will inevitably happen. Move on to how you can improve the situation, and do it as quickly as possible. Don’t spend too much time focusing on whose screw up it is — nobody feels good in this situation. Also, try to keep people informed on whatever it is you need or what it is you’re doing. If you’re waiting on something from someone, and it’s been a while, don’t be afraid to say something (tactfully). Sometimes people are forgetful — or just slacking. Hey, it happens!
Help yourself by helping others
What are some of the small, simple things you can do when you’re working that will help the people you work with (and in most cases, will end up helping yourself)? For example: if you’re a designer, perhaps taking a couple minutes now to organize and name your Photoshop layers will end up saving time later (since it will be easier to find things). This is going to help both you and your team. Or, developers: taking some time to write some documentation (even if it’s as simple as a comment in the code, or a well-written commit message) could potentially save valuable time for both you and your team later. Maybe you have to take a little time to sit down with a coworker and explain why something works the way it does. This helps them out tremendously — and will most likely lead to them respecting you a little more. This is a benefit.
If you make little things like this a habit, people will notice. People will enjoy working with you. People will trust you and rely on you. Sure, it might seem beneficial at any given moment to be “in it for yourself” (and therefore only helping yourself), but that won’t last very long. Helping others (whether it be a small or large feat) will cause a positive impact in the long run — and that is what will be more valuable to you and your career.
Do work that is meaningful
One of the best ways to feel successful about what you do is to feel good and happy about it. And a great way to feel good and happy about what you’re doing is to actually do good. This could be purpose-driven work that focuses on sustainability and environmentalism, or work that helps support causes and charity. Perhaps the work simply inspires people. Or maybe the work is just something you are very passionate about. Whatever the work may be, try working on projects that are meaningful to you. You’ll do well simply by being more motivated and interested. And it’s a double-win if the project is meaningful to others as well.
I feel very fortunate to work at a place like Crush + Lovely, where we have found quite frequently that the projects that inspire people, focus on global and social good, and create some sort of positive impact are the very projects that bring us more paid projects. But more importantly, we are happy and excited to do it. You might not work at a company that takes on those types of projects. But perhaps you have your own personal endeavors that create this excitement for you. Elliot Jay Stocks wrote about having pet projects. Do you take on side projects? What are those projects?
Over the last couple years, I’ve seen some really fantastic side projects come out that are great examples of meaningful work. These projects reflect the passions and goals of the respective designers and developers involved, and therefore become quite successful (because the people involved simply love what they are doing while they’re doing it). Some of these projects include:
- Typedia is a shared encyclopedia of typefaces which serves as a resource to classify, categorize, and connect typefaces. It was founded by Jason Santa Maria, a graphic designer with a love and passion for typography. He created it as a solution to a problem he faced as a designer: finding the right typeface.
- Huffduffer was created by Jeremy Keith, a web developer who wanted to create a podcast of inspirational talks — but after he found that this could be tedious, he decided to create a tool to automate this.
- Level & Tap was created by passionate photographer and web developer, Tom Watson. It began as a photography print store for Tom’s best personal photography. Over time, more photographers were added to the site and the site has grown to become quite a great collection of beautiful photography.
- Heat Eat Review is a review blog created by information architect and user experience designer, Abi Jones. As a foodie, she is able to use this passion for this blog, as it focuses on reviewing TV Dinners, Frozen Meals, and Microwavable Foods.
- Art in My Coffee, a favorite personal project of my own, is a photo blog of coffee art I created, after I found that my friends and I were frequently posting coffee art photos to Flickr, Twitter, and other websites. After the blog became more popular, I teamed up with Meagan Fisher on the project, who has just as much a passion for coffee art, if not more.
So, what’s important to you?
This is the very, very important question here. What really matters to you most? Beyond just working on meaningful projects you are passionate about, is the work you’re doing the right work for you, so that you can live a good lifestyle? Scott Boms wrote an excellent article, Burnout, in which he shares his own experience in battling stress and exhaustion, and what he learned from it. You should definitely read the article in its entirety, but a couple of his points that are particularly excellent are:
- Make time for numero uno, in which you make time for the things in life that make you happy
- Examine your values, goals, and measures of success, in which you work toward the things you are passionate about, your own personal development, and focusing on the things that matter.
A solid work-life balance can be a challenging struggle to obtain. Of course, you can cheat this by finding ways to combine the things you love with the things you do (so then it doesn’t even feel like you’re working — oh, you sneaky little bandit!). However, there are other factors to consider beyond your general love for the work you’re doing. Take proper care of yourself physically, mentally, and socially.
So, are you making out like a bandit?
Do you feel accomplished and generally happy with your work? If not, perhaps that is something to focus on for the next year. Consider your work (both in your job as well as any side projects you may take on) and how it benefits you — present and future. Take any steps necessary to get you to where you need to be. If you are miserable, fix it!
Finally, it’s important to be thankful for the things that matter to you and make you happy. Pass it along everyday. Thank people. It’s a simple thing, really. Saying “thank you” can and will have enormous impact on the people around you. Oh. And, I apologize if the title of this article led you to thinking it would teach you how to be an amazing kisser. That’s a different article entirely for 24 ways to impress your friends!
Comments
Comments are ordered by helpfulness, as indicated by you. Help us pick out the gems and discourage asshattery by voting on notable comments.
Got something to add? You can leave a comment below.
21/12/2009
Thanks, Jina, for a very nice article. I find that when you’re working on a project you love (for example, when I worked with Scott Boms on a recent project), no matter how late it was or how intensely we were working, the time just flew by. Although it was a “side project” it made me feel nourished and more enthused about other “real work.” You covered a lot of points in the article that one would think are common sense but are exactly the things we lose track of during these busy, busy days. I think momentum is one of the most difficult things you mentioned—many demands and requests from many different directions can be interruptions, they keep you out of that state of “Flow” no matter how enjoyable or engaging they may be. There are times I’d like to lock myself up somewhere and Just. Work., yet networking and making some kind of attempt to “keep up” seem to be absolute necessities in the web world—whether you’re a writer/content/ux person (my main thing) or a designer (my secret love) or a developer.
By the way, I was just looking at the Crush + Lovely site the other day and I love it. You’re doing beautiful work.
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
21/12/2009
On your first three paragraphs I had a very interesting conversation with my parents earlier tonight about royalty payment.
Let’s start with your quote:
Then think (I know we’re not in the music biz but) think, what are we doing every day? We are creative, designing and creating exceptional work. Some people (quite a few on this site) are leading in the area of web DESIGN.
While a lot of DESIGNers or artists get payed for a painting or a piece of art, why aren’t web designers payed in the same way?
Why don’t we get royalty for our designwork? It’s displayed and republished millions of times (more than music is) in some cases.
How about paying web designers a royalty fee? ;)
Or.. If we should bring the music biz down from their pedestals, what gives them the right to be do 3days of work and get payed for it the rest of their lives (+70years)? Aren’t they just like us, creating something for others to enjoy.
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
21/12/2009
I thought about your article a little bit and found it really positive. The idea of looking for a perfect projects that could provide you with filling happiness is the real way to live.
Moreover, I’d like to add, that a lot of people in nowadays doesn’t understand exactly what they honestly want from everyday’s job, and that is why they are unhappy. Many understands job as a habit, which everyone do day by day. For others job is just connected with money making. But where are a real goals, which could warm up the soul?!
As an example, I’d like to bring yourself, Jina. You’re very focused person, as I see so far. And you’ve got a strong goals – to get happiness from your everyday’s work flow, if I’m not mistaken. I think, such an ambitious goals is a very important thing to understand (it concerns everybody), because when you’ve goals, you know where to go to archive this goals someday.
So, to my mind, your article is very good for people who know what really they needs, but if they don’t I just suggest to think about goals they would like to archive from usual work? Just to imagine a happy future and jump into building it by doing stuff you write in this article!
Thanks again.
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
21/12/2009
What a wonderfull article! Thank you very much for sharing this great knowledge of yours. That was worth reading.
So, if I fully understand your article :
- You want to be “stinking rich” as much as if you were a gangster.
- So you ended up as a “workaholic”, some sort of slave to work sitting on a chair addicted to sushis.
- But you want more money to be more “happy”.
- So you’re giving other nice little tricks : “sharing” your time and knowledge with other peaople, working for “environmentalism” or “charity”.
And by writing this article, you’re precisely sharing you’re great knowledge. So cute…
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
21/12/2009
Do you accept only comments that say how wonderful and useful is this article or can we post some critics too?
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
21/12/2009
@alessandro – we publish any comment that is well considered, polite and adds something to the conversation.
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
21/12/2009
Thank you for the answer Drew.
I think that this article is not so useful, because it is too focused on personal and emotional aspects of our work and our life, in a superficial way
Now that I read it, I know that if I find the perfect job for me, do work that is meaningful and take proper care of me physically, mentally, and socially I will be a successful man.
I’m sure that are very good advices, but you can’t say things like these in a small web page and pretend that are useful to someone.
What does it means, exactly, “take care of yourself mentally?”. Maybe that I have to stop with drugs? No, this is the physical part, i suppose, so what does it means “mentally”? And “socially”? To read more and attend more parties, maybe?
I think everything is too superficial here, and when you are too superficial you say nothing.
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
22/12/2009
Good article. Hey you’re pretty smart, you know. But then the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, I guess.
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
22/12/2009
Thank u so much, Very Helpful and inspiring for the newbees like me, This types of articles really help people like me who are struggling to taste the success.
:) Thanks once again.
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
23/12/2009
Lars, I don’t know what it was that I said that gave you the impression that I wanted lots of money. That was actually quite the opposite of what I was saying. Success is not about that — it’s about feeling accomplished and pleased with the work you are doing.
Allessandro, by taking care of yourself mentally, I was referring to your stress levels and a work-life balance. Socially, I just meant taking time out to spend time with friends and family — which is something people can struggle with, if they work too much.
The point of the article was about balance. I know I used some personal examples, but it wasn’t meant to be a superficial article. I was just trying to share examples that would tell the story of why I feel the way I do about work life balance and success in the work we do — which again, does not necessarily have to do with money.
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
23/12/2009
Hey Jina, nice article. I like the whole ‘Do Stuff That Matters [to you]’ attitude. I try and live by that. Keeps me sane. :)
The emotional state of us folk who build websites is just as important to talk about as the business, tech, creative, and strategy topics are.
Thanks for sharing.
I think above all the technical talks, creative talks, theory talks (which are all topics that anyone can learn, even our sometimes unlearned clients), there should be more discussion about why we love designing. And how to keep that love for design at it’s peak. Without burning out, or forgetting that we have friends while we sit in a dark room photoshopping for 24 hours straight. Hopefully we’ll learn on the way.
Feel good about doing what you do.
@alessandro ~ I disagree. We don’t always need a tech demo or tutorial or top 10 list to enhance our skill set. Sometimes we need life lessons so that we can continue doing what we do, and enjoy it. Something about having the cake and eating it too.
I think taking care of yourself mentally would be making sure you don’t overwork yourself, or burnout. I’ve done that exactly 1 3/4 times this year already. Nothing to do with drugs. Well, maybe a bit. Physically, make sure your work environment is comfortable. You don’t want to go under the knife and have your tendon pullies snipped to relieve RSI stress.
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
26/12/2009
Inspiring, yet calming.
Lately, I’ve been finding it difficult to get in the zone and when I know I have a little piece of it, I quickly find some way to escape. The momentum eludes me every single time. Don’t get me wrong, I get the work done on time. I just want to get the product shipped and the client happy.
What happened to the enjoyment and fulfillment of creating? I’ve lost some of that enthusiasm and I want it back. I don’t think it’s burnout – I know when burnout is creeping. It’s repetition maybe. Whatever it is it has muffled my appreciation for the work I do.
Often times a great article appears and it brings you back to that place where the enthusiasm started. It becomes meaningful again. This is one of those articles. I’d love to see more.
Thank you Jina.
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
30/12/2009
Jina! I like your point of view. In terms of “maintaining momentum” I think this is your strongest point.
I think this is in some ways like “Flow” which is the sweet spot in which you are challenged “just enough” with something but not enough so that you give up. like for some people learning say CSS, they encounter roadblocks or situations that challenge them, but they find solutions in short enough intervals that they are totally emerged in building their site. Much like a little kid with legos.
Thanks for your insight Jina!
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
01/01/2010
@Jina: Thanks for the reminder that work isn’t simply about putting food on the table and a roof over the head.
@Andrew Crookston: It’s apparent you don’t understand the music industry at all. You think it takes “3 days” to write, learn, record, and market a song? You think that musicians are “filthy stinking rich”??? You think that the record companies are honest about sales figures and pay the proper amount of royalties? You think that recording contracts are to the advantage of musicians and not the record companies? There are a HANDFUL of musicians who are “filthy stinking rich”, just like there are a HANDFUL of stinking rich fiction writers (Stephen King and JK Rowling, for example. The rest need “day jobs”).
Do layout artists get royalties on brochures, newsletters, and publications? Do logo designers get royalties on each time their logo shows up? Do programmers get royalties? (they don’t – they are under a “work for hire” clause, just like engineers – who don’t see a penny from any patents developed while working for a company, either)
Fine artists and illustrators can get royalties, or repeatedly sell the same image multiple times, depending on the rights they allow to go with a sale. But, again, how many fine artists are stinking rich in their lifetimes?
You, if you are a freelancer, are perfectly within your rights to keep ownership of your intellectual property, but just like music nowadays, someone clever can read your code and “download it” and use it themselves, without paying you one cent. Just like people are doing with music these days. You have to trust that there are enough people out there who like what you do and are honest enough to pay you for your work. Just like musicians.
And, might the developers of the web standards not turn around and claim you are creating “derivative works” from their material and demand royalties from you and everyone who views web pages created with HTML or CSS or JavaScript or Java or whatever?
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
01/01/2010
You display a mark of maturity that belies your age. It’s a mark of success that one enjoys ones work and gains satisfaction and happiness from his efforts.
I often say that this is a tough business: when your making money, you’re not trolling for new clients; when you’re out getting clients, your not getting paid. And in between those pincers, you still have to keep up with a technology that is moving every day, and requiring new skills and sophistication.
Yet, it is the best gig I have ever had. I get enormous satisfaction of seeing and designing processes in their abstract elegance, and transforming that insight into something of value. I also enjoy meeting new people and helping them to figure out how to address their business needs. And, I agree, it helps to put into perspective that you are making a contribution and doing something that you love.
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
12/01/2010
Thanks for writing this. Reading your post reminds me of what is most valuable to me.
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
26/01/2010
Great article, Jina. I love your writing style.
i try to balance the work with things I enjoy, but sometimes I forget and that is when I struggle. It also doesn’t help that I have to frequently stave off depression, so the battle is even more important.
I’m glad to see this article and the “Burnout” article at A List Apart. Everyone expects us to be happy robots producing beautiful thing after beautiful thing, but it truly can be a draining industry. Make no mistake — I love being a web designer and developer. I just think that the dangers of burning out often go ignored and most of us suffer in silence.
We definitely need to remember how to make ourselves happy when we work such demanding jobs. I’m probably rambling because I’m tired, but I truly did appreciate this article.
If anyone needs someone to talk to, to talk shop, complain, or whatever, shoot an email to ebarone(@ekbdesigns.com). I’m here and willing to listen. (:
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
28/04/2010
What a fantastic article.
Well written and some good things to think about.
Vote Helpful or Unhelpful
Impress us