Take a walk

If you hit the wall, find yourself getting overly attached to ideas or resisting feedback it’s time to step away. Distance improves your perspective and calms your nerves. Research creativity and a couple scenarios come up over and over again. People get ideas while showering and while taking a walk.

Stepping away from my computer is the one tool that I’ve used every single day for the past 20 years. I discovered this tool when I was a political cartoonist and it became an essential tool that I’ve incorporated into my workflow. It’s that valuable.

I’ll start by feeding my brain with research and then I’ll take a walk and let my mind wander. While walking I’m more likely to make connections between ideas and more freely plan my next steps. Whether I need the break or not I take a walk religiously every day in the mid-afternoon.

Feedback: Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process

Giving and receiving feedback is one of those things that's easy to recognize when it’s done well but few of us have a structure for it. Crazy since it's something we do every day. Liz Lerman’s is the first of a few feedback models that I’m going to feature. Try it out.

Each participant has a role (the Artist, the Respondees and the Facilitator) and the process has four steps:

1. Statement of meaning by the group. Each Respondee shares what is meaningful, evocative or interesting about the work being critiqued.
2. Questions by the writer for the group. The Artist asks specific questions of the Respondees.
3. Questions by the group for the writer. Respondees ask the Artist neutral questions about the work.
4. Opinions. Respondees offer opinions about the work.

The Ninety-Ninety Rule

The Ninety-Ninety Rule is attributed to Tom Cargill of Bell Labs and states the following: "The first 90% of the code accounts for the first 90% of the development time. The remaining 10% of the code accounts for the other 90% of the development time."

The quote was made in relation to computer programming but one of the underlying themes of Tools not Rules is that the concepts translate across disciplines. These ideas work for illustrators, designers, bakers, musicians, dancers and more. The Ninety-Nintey rule is no exception.

That first big push, coming up with the ideas and laying the groundwork is the easy part. Wrapping up everything, polishing the idea so it’s ready for world is the hardest part and the push for the final 10% of a project can often take half, or more, of your production time.

Yo dog, you’re not stoned, you’re multitasking.

People just aren’t good at multitasking. Not only are multitaskers bad at filtering incorrect information but, on average, multitasking drops accessible IQ by 10 pts. In 80 clinical trials, Dr. Glenn Wilson, discovered that workers who juggled messages and work suffered the equivalent of missing a night's sleep and up to double the 4-point drop seen after smoking marijuana.

What can you do? Protect your state of creative flow. Do one think at a time. Prioritize in the morning. Don't use IM or auto notifications while working. Fight the urge to compulsively check email, Facebook and your phone. 

Another bummer: Listening to music while working reduces productivity when the music has lyrics and your work relates to language (like speaking or writing emails).

On a positive note, naps boost productivity.

Convert details into goals

Ever been frustrated by feedback that’s too specific? You can’t always rely on others to provide useful critique. It’s up to you to get information that you can use, to shift conversation from details to goals. When feedback isn't helpful dig for more information. Find out what that detail represents to the person. Don’t blame others for not communicating well. Help them be helpful. Become an alchemist, it's a portable skill worth developing. 

Example:
Client: Make that button blue.
You: Hmmm...why do you think the button should be blue?
Client: I don’t know. I just like blue.
You: Why? What do you like about blue?
Client: I don’t know...it’s like the sky or water. It’s calming.
You: I see, you’re goal is to make this calming. How much room do I have to explore other ideas that have this same effect?

Throw away your work

Any creative pursuit can test your Buddha nature. To make something special you need to get excited about an idea but be prepared to throw it away. Respond to your work as it’s in progress. Try something, react and either build on that idea or toss it. Every final design should be the result of dozens of these decisions.

Probably 90% of my work as a designer is thrown away. Does that mean I’m a failure because I don’t have a 100% track record? No, it means I’m constantly evaluating and adjusting my vision as its taking shape.

The thing I had in my head is almost never the thing I end up producing and I find that keeping my vision locked on a singular goals makes my ideas fragile. Fragile ideas are not inherently bad, just be prepared to break them.

Practice non attachment and make it part of your process.

Become a Fixer

This term came from my friend, the gifted composer, Paul Dinletir. A Fixer is someone who gets things done. Simple as that.

Manager's fantasize that every employee will be a Fixer. Entrepreneurs need to be Fixers by necessity.

A Fixer doesn't care where the good ideas come from and they'll use them without getting jealous, defensive or insecure. No task is too big or too small. They see a gap and they fill it. They anticipate what needs to get done. If they finish their work early they'll help their teammates even if it means doing something that is outside of their skillset or below their pay-grade.

I'm sure you know a Fixer, they're recognizable because they're a pleasure to work with. It doesn't mean they're weak or that conflict won't happen with them but they can set aside their ego to get things done.

Don't hold back. Use your best ideas.

There is no better time than now for your best ideas. Use them, there will be more. Don’t save them for a better project or a better client because good ideas breed more good ideas.

When we become stingy with our concepts we get attached to them and when we get attached to an idea it becomes the thing that is always pushed to another day because we think it has to be perfect. It's easy to put off the perfect idea because it'll take too much time.

Additionally, the more things you try the more likely you’ll find something that works and when you do find something that works don't be afraid to repeat yourself.

You don't have to reinvent yourself on every project. And repetition is the thing that all your favorite artists are known for. Repetition is style and style is the thing that reputations are built upon.

Would your manager fight to keep you?

A few years ago Netflix released to the public a presentation about their company culture and one of the themes is effective hiring. They focus on superstars and everyone else is let go. It sounds harsh but I love this idea, particularly if everyone is aware of this standard.

Here’s the test the Netflix managers use to determine whether someone should remain or be cut from the payroll: Which of my people, if they told me they were leaving, for a similar job at a peer company, would I fight hard to keep at Netflix?

Now flip that around: Would your manager fight to keep you?

If the answer is no you need to ask yourself 'why not?'. Either you aren't aware of your managers expectations, you aren't personally driven for excellence, you aren't qualified for your position or you should be doing something else that does inspire you. Which is it?

Develop a daily habit

When I started studying music my teacher said the secret to practice is doing a little bit every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s only 5-10 minutes because the regularity is better than one or two longer practice sessions per week.

He was right. It’s about developing momentum and making sure the last thing you did is at the surface of your thoughts and easily accessible. The skills we don't practice atrophy over time. How long is too long? It's a matter of degrees but every bit counts when you're trying to improve.

You might have heard that doing something 21 days consecutively forms a habit. Maybe, but it doesn’t mean the your body will go on autopilot. On day 22 and every day thereafter you still need to make the decision: am I going to maintain my momentum? 

Regular practice leads to mastery. There is no other way.

Keep asking Why

Wikipedia calls The 5 Whys “...an iterative question-asking technique.” The idea is that you repeatedly ask yourself, or your client/partner/product owner ‘Why?’ as a way to better understand the issue you are addressing. It’s a useful skill when interviewing clients about their feedback or goals for a design.

Example...
I don’t like this logo.

1. Why? I can’t read what it says.
2. Why? Actually it’s okay at some sizes but doesn’t read when small.
3. Why? The font closes up.
4. Why? The icon overwhelms the name.
5. Why? The icon is too big and has too much detail.

Action: Select a new font, simplify the icon and rebalance the hierarchy between the icon and the name.

How to kill an idea: write it down and call it a rule

Be wary of rules. They are often well-intentioned but they don’t respect context. They are, by their nature, inflexible. In contrast, a designer needs to be flexible and have room to explore. Constraints are the fuel for a designers creativity while rules are the box that seals in a singular vision. A constraint describes a goal, a rule describes a solution.

That’s not to say rules don’t have their place. They’re wonderful for describing processes that have been reached through the creative process.

Rules represent values from a specific moment in time and, once you document an idea as a rule, it stops responding to the world around it. It becomes a rule and rules, by their nature, are rigid. They’re meant to protect us, to keep us from doing the wrong thing, to make sure we play well together. Think about the Bible, the Koran, the Torah, the NFL rule book and the U.S. Constitution. All of them are powerful documents but once they’re written down people become attached to their interpretation of the text and the principles described become a subject of debate. A distraction from the original idea. Convert an idea into a rule and it will cease to grow. If it evolves that growth will be slow and painful.

Try new things and develop your own tools. Unexpected input from outside our systems is what forces us out of our routines and produces results. View rules as guidelines and tools, use the ones that work for you, discard the rest or save them for another day when they might be relevant.