A Limberer Mind

Take a break from doing what everyone else is telling you to do and do something for yourself.

Everyday, I wake up and go to work, open my email and my task management software and begin whittling away at the projects in the que. I love my work and am constantly striving to improve the quality of my work and my own capacity to create. One technique that helps me keep my creative mind limber is to turn off the que and do something for myself.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the challenge that comes with doing any freelance project. The process defining and solving the problem in a creative and effective way is what keeps me going. But I feel that it is very important to break away from the needs of clients and work on my own problems, in a sense.

Recently, I took it upon myself to create a valentines gift for my wife. Knowing that she has been wanting me to get a little more exercise—for my own good, and for hers, I suppose—I set out to create a set of workout coupons. The concept was simple: about four books of coupons for running, pushups, sit-ups, etc., now to solving the problem. It was relaxing to skip the formal ‘client review’ stages, seeing that I was the client this time. Work moved quickly and I truly enjoyed crafting the coupons, the book covers and the box that they all sat in, striving to make this the kind of project I would be proud to show.

These types of projects really can be a sort of “designer’s therapy.” While it may be hard to find opportunities to do some self-made projects, some easy excuses include gifts for others, self branding and promotion (websites, business cards, thank you cards and so on), or some kind of propaganda.

Unfortunately, these types of projects don’t usually pay the bills (self promotion obviously can turn into profits), but keeping the quiver sharp really does have it’s paybacks. And hey, it feels pretty good to make something cool and keep it for yourself.