Not Up To Your Standard? Work Harder!

July 27th, 2008

People who produce work of a creative variety have a shared experience. Writers, designers, musicians, moviemakers, chefs, painters, et al. typically get into the game of creating for a living because they love to make things. They know what they like. They create because they love the process, the results, and want to make more of it.

Typically in the process of getting started in a creative career, and even in mid-career, you may find what you are creating doesn’t live up to your standards. It may seem like every piece of work you create doesn’t measure up. It looks, feels, sounds, or tastes terrible—at least by your standards. After a while frustration and depression can set in. Many people at this point quit. In the face of adversity they decide they cannot do it—they cannot persevere. They pack up their tent and give up on creating. The frustration of not producing work up to your taste and standards may seem too hard to get through—so you quit and stop working as a creative professional. It is easier to stop than to continue inflicting more pain. The road ahead looks too long to stay on.

Know You Are Not Alone.

This happens to more people than you can imagine.

• Why do they quit?
• Why do they give up?
• Do they not see the light at the end of the tunnel?

They feel they are going in circles and not creating anything of significance. The whole exercise feels like a fruitless effort, and nothing worse than feeling like you are wasting your time.

How to Transcend

So how does someone get beyond this and break through?

How do you break the cycle? It’s rather simple really.

You must do more work.

You must continue to create. Even when you feel what you are creating isn’t up to par. It’s the process that will eventually produce the results you are after. I have had this happen to me more than once during my career. I persevered and continue to work in my creative field today.

I recently came across a video on YouTube featuring Ira Glass from This American Life. He is talking about storytelling, but what he talks about applies to everyone in a creative profession and their career.

I found it inspiring and it’s definitely worth watching.

Rushing To Deadlines

May 21st, 2008

We all feel it at one point or another. The large deadline looming over our back. Whether for a project at work or an errand at home the race is on to get something done before a deadline. The word deadline sounds ominous and can certainly produce feelings of stress and pressure.

Is there really a reason to rush to a deadline? I would say from experience, no. If there is enough lead-time, preparation, and room for negotiation there should be no sense of deadline. However, sometimes we are not so fortunate—something comes up unexpectedly that needs to be handled quickly, or a new project or task that comes up takes priority over what you are currently working on. No matter what the scenario it may create a sense of ‘stress‘ or ‘pressure.’

Feeling a ‘sense‘ of deadline and the ‘stress‘ that it may produce can cloud your judgment. If you are working on a project and the deadline is 8 a.m. Friday morning you may work late on Thursday to finalize everything. But people that need to sign off on the final version of that project may not be in until after 8 a.m. the next day—after the deadline. You may decide that the deadline is the most important thing—everything ‘looks’ correct and you have to hit the deadline. However, it would be best to renegotiate the 8 a.m. deadline with everyone on Thursday once it becomes apparent that meeting the deadline cannot happen without the proper approvals.

You should negotiate the deadline because the quality of the final work may be in question. The combination of pressure, stress, and time constraints may cause an oversight and something that is not correct could get published.
No matter the deadline situation you may find yourself in remember that it is all a matter of perception and perspective. If you speak negatively—”there is no way we can get this done”—you will convince yourself of whatever you speak. If you speak positively—”we can do this, lets ask for some help and see if we can get some more time”—you may find things to go smoother without the stress and pressure.

When looking at the deadline(s) you have you may want to consider these items:

1. Take stock of what is on your plate.
2. Can some tasks/projects be put on hold until you clear the pressing matter?
3. Is there anything you can delegate to a co-worker, assistant, or sub-contractor?
4. Renegotiate the delivery of your tasks, projects, or priorities with your superiors, or your clients. Everyone understands that things change.
5. Take one task at a time and reassess when new things come up.

Getting things done by a deadline will always be with us. The good news is meeting them done does not always have to feel like a monster hovering over you. Take a deep breath, assess the big-picture, offload and delay what you can, and get-to-work!

How do you handle deadlines?

Do you have any unique ways of handling the ‘stress‘ of the situation?