My design work hit a wall when I waited too long for ideas

I had a poster project that needed a fresh look, but I kept putting off starting. Days turned into weeks just browsing for inspiration online. Before I knew it, the due date was tomorrow and I had no real design done. I had to slap something together fast, and it showed in the final product. The client noticed the rush job and was pretty disappointed. From now on, I set a firm stop time for looking at other work. Getting hands-on early saves a lot of trouble later.

3 comments

3 Comments

the_lucas4mo ago

Setting a firm stop time is smart because I've been there with deadlines creeping up.

janah384mo ago

Actually setting a phone alarm an hour before my real stop time was a game changer for me. That buffer forces me to wrap up loose ends instead of starting new tasks, @the_lucas. I even put a sticky note on my monitor that says "shutdown sequence started" when the first alarm goes off. It tricks my brain into winding down mode.

terryrobinson2mo ago

Gotta disagree with the sticky note thing, sorry. I tried that once and it just made me anxious seeing it all day, like a countdown to failure. The alarm buffer hour is solid though, I do the same but I set two alarms instead. First one is 45 mins out to start slowing down, second is 15 mins out to actually stop. Keeps me from getting that last minute "oh wait I can fit this in" panic.