Procrastination is no evil
Ivan | Tue, 2009-10-13 02:19
Have you noticed that the more pressing the deadline the cleaner your apartment gets? Procrastination is a problem almost every designer struggles with. Group hug guys.
We make excuses like: I work better under the pressure of time, close deadlines make me more creative or I'm not inspired to do work today. It is true that stress caused by an approaching deadline releases adrenaline and other chemicals in your body, which can make you think faster and be more focused. However increased productivity is only a perception. You're doing great considering you only spent 3 hours of the job before the very deadline, but you would've done much better spending those 3 working hours by spreading them out over a week.
There are 3 reason why people procrastinate. If you can recognize why you do it you can make a mental effort to overcome the internal block.
- Get high by deadline pressures
Getting high from anything especially from stress is very unhealthy. It wrecks your immune system and unbalances many processes in your body. Try working in advance on the important parts of the project and leave only less important things for the last minute. This practice will reduce stress, yet still provide with a good dose of hormones. - Fear of failure
If you fear failure, all the more reason to start early, because the only way to overcome fear is by facing it. Even if you feel you have no ideas just start by doing anything related to the project. Do research or talk about it with your friends. Something will give you an idea and the creative process will kick in. Even if you do fail the project, at least you will know you did everything you could, so you won't be able to blame yourself for not even trying. - Lack of decision absolves you from the outcome
Realize that indecision is a decision in itself. It doesn't absolve you from the outcome. Indecision will shift responsibilities to others who will become resentful towards you. If you decide not do the project, which can be a perfectly OK thing to do, you need to inform your colleagues and clients about this decision, so you don't destroy your credibility.
You can't make these changes quickly. Old habits die hard as they are wired into your brain. Don't force yourself to make sudden changes overnight or you will fail and give up. One good way to make a transition from total procrastination to a healthy responsible management of your time and resources is to instate an intermediate stage many call "sleeping on it".
This is what you do: As soon as you get a new project you immediately start working on it. Read the brief, start sketching, talk about it. Don't try to solve the problem, you still have plenty of time. Just learn the particulars of the problem at hand. Then, let yourself procrastinate and take advantage of the problem solving abilities of your subconscious mind by letting the problem linger in your mind without effort. You may even dream about it.
When the time comes to work on the project even if it's at the last hour your brain will have already prepared the ground for serious work and you will be much happier with your work.
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Truly, my biggest foe in the freelance battle is procrastination. Being a gamer sucks when you got work to do.
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Who wrote that? Someone inside or outside the field? Sounds like someone outside.
I wrote it. And, I'm definitely inside. ;) I would be very interested to hear why you think it's an outsider opinion?
Because it sounds like it came from a psychologist - did you minor in psychology in school or something?
Oh, I see. I just read such magazines and books a lot.
Must come from someone outside. I keep thinking about it and when I feel ready I go for the execution. The worse possible advice given here: to ask your friend, cousin, grand-mother and whatever. They didn't get the brief and your own creative process and logic development will be sent off track.
I didn't mean to discuss the brief. But to talk about the subject. For example if you have to work on a women's product, it's a good idea to talk about this subject with your wife or g/f so you get an insight that you would not have otherwise. It could also give you an idea. At this stage you have to keep an open mind.
Big hug back, Ivan.
I'd have to say I'm guilty of #1: Get high by deadline pressures. I'm a tight deadline junkie.
But I'm working on it and at least the place stays relatively clean all the time. ;)
"Art -- the one achievement of Man which has made the long trip up from all fours seem well advised." - James Thurber
heh heh, I need a mess around me and I wait till the last minute. My wife hates me because I do the same in our planning. Plenty time...;-)
Ha ha. I drive my husband up the wall leaving leaving to the very nth second. He likes to get a HUGE running start on departure...I like to arrive in the nick of time.
Regarding messes...mmmm I haven't looked over my shoulder at a pile behind me but I'm pretty sure it just cleared its throat! ;)
"Art -- the one achievement of Man which has made the long trip up from all fours seem well advised." - James Thurber
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I used to have problems with this when I was younger (29 now). Sometimes I will procrastinate on annoying parts of a project, but not everything.
Unfortunately, My name has got around the industry as a fireman, so many times I'm pulled in at the 11th or 25th hour to save a job from failing. It's not strange at all for me to get a call from across the country from a producer saying "we, have 4 days and $5,000 and we need a CG character to have a dynamic cloth sweatshirt."
Jobs like that are all adrenaline, little to no sleep, and pure madness. I do admit that when I'm buried on a project, my work area can get messy. Other things can become secondary when I'm on the zone. I have found though that putting in the proper time for all parts of a production makes things turn out much better, short of the client ruining it :)
I'm sure everyone can agree the many times, even when you are on top of things, the client's indecisiveness can really put a wrench in the works. The current project I'm finishing now, during round one deliveries the client made about 25 changes to approved creative on the day they were supposed to deliver. Or the joy of other clients making you wait 6 months to give you content. Or holding up project delivery by not reviewing a folder of images so they can tell you the final 4 thumbnails they want to have on their site.
One problem I still have is related to my OWN work. I still tend to overanalyze and procrastinate or just hit creative walls when it comes to my own personal projects. It seems to be universal with other people I know in different industries. I think part of it comes from being burnt out from client work, but it just feels like it's 10 times harder to get where you want to on your own work. Oddly enough, when I try to squeeze in some of my own work here and there while working on another job, the adrenaline seems to help me get my own work done faster and better than if I have all the time for myself. Go figure.
I should have mentioned the importance of RESEARCH as you stated. This is critical. I immerse myself in the subject, scour the web, take out books from the library, go and shoot a bunch of digital and film shots, maybe video. You get more ideas that are more accurate based on the project specs than just winging it. Sometimes budgets don't let you get too deep in research or R&D, but even a few minutes could save you a few days in the long run. Besides that, doing research or discussing the subject with others ALWAYS gives me ideas I never would have had otherwise. Even bad ideas (I have found) can sometimes lead you to designing something perfect, but you never would have got their if you skipped the basic steps.