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by Andrew Lam-Po-Tang
Not The Article (Just A Proposal To You)
Hi all, sorry about the long break between drinks. I've been kinda busy
(haven't we all?). Anyhows, I think I have a solution to my "dry"
problem - but it involves YOU! Here's the deal, if some of you want to
send me your musings/concerns/whatever, I'll write back via this column
how about it?
The Article
Consider this article a bit of a ramble. I was thinking about things
that I think designers need to think about (at some point, but not all
at the same time). This is not unlike saying, "I think you need to
think about life, the universe and everything." [gee, helpful analogy
Andrew!]
But seriously folks, during your life you DO have to think about a LOT
of things. so, do you want think about 'em beforehand, or sometime
shortly after they blindside you? To save some stress, try to be
methodical about it, by grouping the problems by priority...
Designers come in three basic flavours:
- those who don't have to land clients or run a business
- those who have to land clients
- those who not only have to land clients but also have to run a business
Note that I haven't tried to distinguish between employees, freelancers
and principals in the above segmentation. That's because as studios grow
larger and older, those kinds of distinctions aren't as useful (I think)
as the ones I have proposed.
The kinds of things that designers worry about can also be broken up
into three kinds:
- today's/this week's worries
- the next one-three months' worries
- next year's (and beyond) worries
I'd like to explain the implications of the timeframe split. Basically,
you can think of all these worries as "time-management issues," in the
sense that the more you are able to successfully anticipate what will
happen from one time period to the next, the less likely you are to
react in an unplanned (and possibly less than ideal) fashion.
Finally, I think there are some generic worries that apply (to varying
degrees) across all designer types and timeframes:
- Am I going to be paid?
- Am I happy?
- What's going to happen to me next?
The trick to stressing less and being more effective is to work out your
specific worries (will tend to be determined by what type of designer
you are, and what you're specific strengths and weaknesses are) and then
group those worries into the timeframes above, and then use different
tools to manage each type of worry.
To group your worries appropriately, do it backwards. If you do it this
way, you'll find that the longer term worries deserve a higher priority
than maybe you've been giving them...
Next Year's (and beyond) Worries
- Will I have a job/business?
- Will the people I work with still be here (and do I care)?
- Will I still be happy working on the types of projects and clients
I am currently working on?
- What industry changes are going to change the nature of my
job/business, regardless of what I choose to do?
Next One-Three Months' Worries
- Will I be paid?
- Will I progress in the way I hope?
- What's my next assignment/set of projects?
- Will I be working with the right team (that includes clients as
well as colleagues/employees)?
Today's/This Week's Worries
- Will I get everything I planned to do done?
- How do I deal with the things that I didn't plan for?
- When I am going to get to have-a-life/some-sleep?
How often do you think about the Next Month Worries? More importantly,
how often do you think about Next Year's Worries? The reason I ask is
not to harangue you (you can simply buy a book on personal time
management for that), but simply to point out that:
Success is often about seizing opportunities.
Seizing opportunities successfully is often about responding
quickly.
Responding quickly is often about having anticipated the opportunity,
and having thought a bit about your response.
There's no time like now to start.
Cheers!
Return to Observations
AGDA Members: Discuss this article in AGDA's Business Forum.
The views expressed this article are not necessarily those of AGDA. Please note that the information in this article is the opinion of the author only. I can therefore accept no responsibility for actions taken on the basis of this information. Copyright Andrew Lam-Po-Tang (andrew@lam-po-tang com), 1998-2008. Permission is granted to freely copy this document in electronic form, or to print, for personal use. Reprinting for non-personal use will require the express permission of the author (which I will generally be very happy to give).
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