Is It Worth It, Let Me Work It

May 9, ’12 10:14 AM

There are some days working INhouse where you might be left questioning yourself. It seems natural enough. It’s tough to think ahead and see the big picture without questioning your abilities, your career path or where you are in your life from time to time. It’s a day like this that, while scanning magazines at Barnes & Noble instead of heading home from work, the magazine “Worth” stands out among the rest on the rack.

In this instance, it’s not the delightfully gridded, finely designed aspect of the magazine that draws my attention, but rather the title. The question looms in the forefront of the mind … Worth. It’s a financial magazine (not my typical editorial choice) but the design gives reason enough to thumb through.

“Make, grow, live.” Reading the cover article call-outs I realize that my focus is off. My vision is fine, but my goals have somehow been compromised.

Make: Take a clear assessment of where you’re finding yourself, where you thought you would be right about now, where you would like to be in the near future and the needs to be considered to meet your evaluated self-expectations. Set goals and make them a series of goals over the course of a self-determined timeline.

Grow: When assessing everything you’re putting your energy toward personally and professionally, you should be asking, “Does this help me grow?” to which you should without a doubt answer, “Yes.” Part of this process is to better document. Take everything you work on into consideration. Don’t forget to shoot your projects on a regular basis. It’s easy to fall out of this habit working INhouse. From documentation comes a reference to observe growth.

Live: If you find yourself in a rut professionally, don’t let that carry over into your personal life. Sign up for a design conference, take a vacation (even if it’s just a two-hour road trip to a nearby city like Savannah for an overnight stay), make plans weekly with close friends (even if it’s just dinner). Something like seeing a movie by yourself after work or reading a book can be just enough to distract from frustration so you can go back to work with a fresh outlook.

If you are still finding yourself frustrated with the occasional repetition of INhouse work, take on occasional freelance projects (make sure they are the type of work you like and a divergence from what you would typically work on at your day job). Take up a some sort of physical activity. I’ve always enjoyed Brazilian jujitsu, but I have plenty of friends who play kickball, train for 5ks and triathlons, and make weekly trips to the rock climbing wall at the gym. Try something like racquetball or tennis—there are so many options. There are also an abundance of organizations and nonprofits you could channel your energy into.

All of these offer an outlet to rejuvenate your focus and energy that can be transferred back into your work and contribute to having better days all around. It just takes a step back sometimes to move forward from ruts.

~ Jim, AIGA Jacksonville Programming Director (INhouse designer)

(Originally published on the AIGA Jacksonville Blog)

About INitiative
INitiative is a joint partnership between AIGA and The Creative Group. This national program provides knowledge and tools to help in-house designers make a greater impact at their companies, evolve professionally and connect with a broader network of peers. INitiative delivers inspiration, advice and insights from leaders of the in-house sector via online channels and in-person events.

If you haven’t heard about INitiative, read up here.

Comments (0)

“Let’s Be Morning People.”

Nov 21, ’11 3:05 PM

Over the weekend I read a NYT article, “So You Think You Can Be a Morning Person?” which had an interesting take on process to adjusting one’s body clock. My sleep schedule, in relation to my lifestyle, has been on my mind lately, and this article served as a catalyst to finally just change it. So, I turned to my Girlfriend and said, “let’s be morning people.” With a slight reluctance, knowing this wasn’t just a casual statement, she said, “sure, let’s do it.”

Status: Shifting Sleep Schedule

Current                      Projected
Wake:  8:00 am         Wake:  6:00 am
Sleep: 12:00 am        Sleep: 10:00 pm

Mon:    7:40 am  /  11:20 pm
Tue:    7:20 am  /  11:00 pm
Wed:    7:00 am  /  10:40 pm
Thr:    6:40 am  /  10:20 pm
Fri:    6:20 am  /  10:00 pm
Sat:    6:00 am  /  10:00 pm

*9:30 pm – 10:00 pm (shut down media i.e. phone / iPad / television / computer)

Revised: Routine Availability

6:00 am – 8:00 am [ flex time ]
7:00 am – 8:00 am [ proposed workout time ]
8:00 am – 8:30 am [ grooming / breakfast ]
—
9:30 pm – 10:00 pm [ iron / stage clothes & reading ]

Background:

One thing I find myself constantly doing over time is conducting self-experiments. These typically start with a feeling that the routine I’ve fallen into isn’t one constructed toward growth and productivity, but simply out of external factors such as environmental or ones out of convenience. What some might consider a “comfort zone” I find great discomfort in. For me, it’s when days feel more like I’m going through the motions of what a day should be, rather than living each day individually.

I’ve learned that there must be an element of routine in life, but it’s a matter of how a routine is established and to what purpose does it’s elements serve.

There is one undeniable routine that takes shape in all of our lives, no matter the personal philosophy, and that is sleep. There are constantly studies and surveys, charts, or numbers and graphs from this data or that experiment on the subject of sleep. This bed for that, or this many hours needed over this many hours… It’s undeniably something everyone must deal with.

Related History:

In the military, I underwent a number of sleeping shifts as my work schedule dictated. There were early morning schedules, where I was up by 6:00 am or as early as 4:00 am for a time. There was a stint where I worked night shift, from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am and slept only during the day. Then, there were more odd schedules where I would work two night shifts, have a day off, then work two day shifts, and repeat for a period of months. Also, when crossing the Atlantic Ocean, en route to the Persian Gulf we crossed several time zones resulting in moving the clocks forward or backwards (heading there and on the trip back) an hour each night for roughly a week strait.

Motivation:

Having been put in a position to cope with a number of experiments involving sleep, I gained a respect for what it can add to (or take away from) one’s day. Lately I’ve been sleeping until having just enough time to hurry through the minimum morning routine an racing off to work. My morning energy is high, but not quite ready to be harnessed toward work activities. By evening, I feel exhausted and spend little of that time with exercise of personal projects, and relationship time is typically spent during the time of day that our alertness is at its lowest. With sleep on the horizon, we’re often left wishing we had more time to spend together, feeling as though are days (or weeks as it feels) are overly busy.

Potential:

This personal experiment allots for time before and after work for personal life, while maintaining a consistent 8 hrs. of sleep time. This opens up room for personal projects, establishing an appropriate eating schedule, time for reading more, flexibility to incorporate an exercise routine, and most importantly, time before and after work for quality relationship time. Work no longer consumes our focus and energy, or the bulk of our day’s attention. Ultimately, I’m hoping to improve personal health, lower stress, and increase general happiness.

Comments Off

Sketch

Sep 24, ’11 8:26 PM

It used to be, back in the stages of early development, that a teacher telling me to stop drawing and pay attention would become a regular occurrence. They weren’t interested in what I was drawing, well maybe in the beginning, but rather they were just used to seeing it happen (typically while they were lecturing). Ironically, many years later I would learn of studies showing that Doodling Helps You Pay Attention contrary to the disrespect my teachers were undoubtedly considering it to be.

In parent / teacher conferences, the drawing would always come up… occasionally because it would be in desks, or corner flip-book animations in the text books, but rather than the discouragement continuing, it would take a nice turn. My parents (particularly my mother) would throw the teacher’s criticisms out the window and encourage me to keep it up!… but try not to get caught. If there is any truth to the studies, it probably made me a better student and thinker. I did manage to get and maintain exceptional grades — with some exceptions in Math and Science naturally (enter the right brain, left brain discussion).

All grown up now, and working with a computer ever present, it is nice to think back on the childhood instincts of a classroom doodler. As a result, I now make a conscious choice to carry a small notebook when traveling, in meetings, and yes in lectures still to this day which I now know is quite common, as documented via Sketchnote Army.

Sketching can be considered or used as a form of therapy for any field, not just the creative ones. If it is not regularly integrated into your life, or it used to be and you’ve found it showing up less and less, buy a fresh set of Field Notes and go back to the basics — regain, rejuvenate, or start that creative foundation. Can’t draw? Lists, quotes, thoughts, and ideas can be just as good simply written on the go collected in one place. Personal development challenges can be hit or miss, but incorporating sketching into your daily life might just hit with anyone as it has for me and so many others.

Comments Off