fenikkusu

Productivity and organization. Two things I have been struggled with in the past. In the design world (and any other career), these are two well-needed attributes of anyone successful (and, of course, talent and ability). 

So, how does someone become better at the two? It’s easy to say “I need to be more productive” but when it comes to applying it to your life, it can a challenge. It all starts, I believe, with organization. Using the best tools for the job at hand. I’ve tried app after app to the point where I’ve started using one app, moved to another, and then another similar app, until I get to where there can be information regarding one project across multiple apps. Not good, and definitely not organized.

I’ve decided to pare things down. Find the perfect apps (for me) and stick with them. I have Evernote for, well, notes, Trello for project management, Omnigraffle for mind-mapping and UX work, and TeuxDeux for to-do lists and day-to-day work management. That’s it. No more.

Now that I’ve pared down the apps I use, I’ve come to the productivity part. Since dwindling my apps down to the necessities my productivity has increased tenfold. I can go into TeuxDeux and see what I need to do for that day, pick a project to work on, go into Evernote to find out where I left off, or other specific information, open up whatever tool I need (Coda, Illustrator, etc.), and get to work. All FTP information and logins are located in Evernote and saved in Coda for quick reference. When designing, inspiring images and notes from meetings are in Evernote (and even Pinterest, which is another story all-together). 

Aside from the screen I’ve adopted other rituals that have helped tremendously with my productivity (and overall well-being). In the morning I run and meditate. I take a 15-minute power nap after lunch. Late afternoon I have tea and type in my journal. These short rituals (minus my run) help keep me grounded and my mind clear and refreshed. 

Festival season is coming up which is my busiest time of the year and I can already feel the pressure. Luckily, with this new workflow, I’ll be able to handle anything that comes my way, including late nights and early mornings.

Sigh. I love my job.

Snow fell yesterday and it was gorgeous. It was the kind of snow that reminds you of your childhood. Light, big flakes, but just right for packing in your hands for snowballs or snowmen. Though I am one for warm weather, it was nice. 

The snow made me reminisce. In my early years after high school I was really into literature. I still am but at that time I was devouring classic literature, especially from the late 1800s from authors like Emerson, Thoreau, and Bronte to poets like Whitman and Poe. As strange as it sounds, I actually developed a crush on Louisa May Alcott (this is probably due to the fact I was head-over-heels in love with Winona Ryder at the time and she was in Little Women). 

I’m reminded of one evening when I was staying with a neighbor in his new home. I was reading Dicken’s Dombey and Sons. Snow had fallen in the mountains. It was dark outside but the full moon radiated the white of the snow just enough to where it seemed to glow outside. Entranced by the moment I put on my coat, grabbed my copy of Dickens, and just walked outside. The cold air feeling pure in my lungs made me feel refreshed. There were no homes around which meant no sounds, just the sound of stillness. We were in the country so no city lights. Just the moon. I could see the bare trees silhouetted against the gray, illuminated night sky. It was one of those rare perfect moments that you never forget. 

I have very few regrets in my life. I believe when you regret you miss out on the life you have now. But if I regret anything it would be two things: that I didn’t pay attention to my health earlier in life and that I didn’t make the jump and become a professor in literature. The former I learned just a little later in life but at least it wasn’t too late. The former, well, maybe I could still do it? It’s never too late, right? 

Who knows…