From some designer to the one designer: Positive Distractions
It’s the second story of “Some Designer” series, my aim is to make this series a practical guide for young designers and help them achieve their goals no matter how amateur they start.
Every article on medium will tell you how to focus on your goals but how to fend off or deal with your distractions are fewer in number, so this is what primarily we are going to take on in this article.
I read a quote “Starve your distractions and feed your goals.” Well, true that but that’s the tough road, I sometime don’t understand why always take the tough road? Because it will lead to success? Maybe yes, but who said there wasn’t an easy one until someone finds it and by god’s grace it’s legal as-well? According to me satisfying little-little portions of your distractions can help you in constantly moving forward and achieving long term goals.
What is distraction?
Distraction can be anything which slows down the process of achieving your primary targets irrespective whether short term or long term. For example, studying for an hour is your primary target, but mobile/laptop on your side is a distraction.
Distractions never go away, they take different forms and come right back to hinder our progress. Then there are quotes like “You live only once”. That makes distractions sound so convincing that suddenly we become the most naive person in the world and voluntarily give up our focus for some moments of satisfaction.
How to use Distraction in uplifting productivity?
By “Controlled Distraction”
I don’t know if there is any term like this but yes, we all need breaks, controlled breaks when it comes to long hours of work. Similarly for long term you will urge for some moments where you can enjoy life and desires while keep hustling for life’s goal. In designing you can’t produce magnificent design in a day, no matter how hard you try.
If you are a designer and you feel that you have done your best and can’t improve a bit about it about your work, try 2 things . 1. Take it to your boss. 2. And less hostile step, take a break for 24 hrs and then revisit your design. I can bet you will find tons of things which you could have done better off or maybe differently.
*For Designers* What has changed in 24 hrs?
While you were away from your work, you might be distracted by playing xbox or partying in clubs but you are getting refreshing thoughts every second for 24hrs, except if you are blacked out at party. Ruling out that case, your mind has seen thousands of new colors, hundreds of new patterns, talked to many people. That might sound useless and waste of time to many, but for a designer, it is necessary that these inputs come in at flooding rate because they need them to progress or get better.
Distractions are demanding, deal with them in a Loan-like process.
Consider your distractions as installment of loans you need to pay to keep yourself going in life’s marathon. You must be asking, why think of this as loan?
Actually, no matter how little you get distracted, you cannot ignore the fact that you are giving up your precious productive time into something completely different just to satisfy your mood or any other situation. Hence, it’s a type of amount you are deducting from your productive hours, hence like a loan from your monthly salary to attain some luxury.
Also you never pay more than your determined installments for the month, so keep the same frame of mind when comes to distractions, never get too much involved, keep solid limits, okay maybe a little flexible but a 90:10 ratio, 90% time work and 10% time whatever should be your starting point. Seems harsh? Let me show you how to maintain this ratio without breaking a drop of sweat.
If you plan to give 12 hrs to work per day then the minimum amount you should at-least work for= 10.8 hrs (acc. to the ratio). That is 10.8 hrs in 24 hours of total.
1.2 hrs you can waste on instagram or whatever way you want to spend it.
Hence in even in 5 days a week schedule
Out of 120 hrs
You have worked just for 54 hrs
And have totally enjoyed for 6 hrs doing simply nothing. The 60 hrs which we have kept out of the working schedule time are a bonus, use them as per your will.
Why this kind of scheduling pattern?
If you are a beginner you will never be able to work for 90% time of the day even for a week by taking 24 hrs as a base, so why not settle for real hours you can work for (like 12hrs or 10 hrs). In that if you need breaks then you should maintain this 90:10 ratio and call it a good day.
Hope my mindset helps the beginners in getting to the speed of high demanding world. I understand deeply that designs or any other art work you do will always require some freedom in form of time or ideas but all you need to do is define that freedom.
This article wasn’t directly related to the designing knowledge but designers are known to get off topics easily, so yeah, let your mind go free, but tie a string to it so that you can get a grip on it when your credit limit exceeds. Cheers thanks for reading. :)
