Yesterday I was having an interesting conversation about being a designer and how burnout seems to be a common thing at times. There are days where things just seem hard, weird, out of sync. Your Apple products aren’t as exciting as they usually are, you can’t figure out what music to listen to, you just feel blah. As we talked I shared with him some of my tricks and realized that this might be something worth sharing.
Your environment is something that is super important to how well you work. I have always hated fluorescent lighting and blank white walls, but it goes beyond that. Even if you have great stuff on your desk, the coolest posters on the wall and the best lighting it can still get old. You sit in the same space every day and after time there is nothing more of interest to you. Everything just sort of becomes white noise. That red swingline doesn’t make you laugh anymore and that bobble head Dwight is super dusty. When this happens I have a few little things I do create some interest again. Hope some of these help you out of your funk.
Change your lighting – If you have lamps (and you should) move them around on your desk. Move them to the other side of the desk, set them on the floor, stack some books and put a lamp on top, switch lamps with one in a different room, go buy a new lamp shade, something. Light can dramatically change the feeling of any environment.
Switch Artwork - Move around the stuff on your walls. If there is nothing on your walls go get some cheap posters from http://www.aestheticapparatus.com or http://www.etsy.com/category/art. Go to Target and get some random wall decorations. Go to a flea market, estate sell, antique store or something and get some random artwork.
Find an Aroma – Design and creativity can be greatly effected through all of your senses. Go to one of those girly stores and get a candle or one of those wall plug-ins. Pick a smell that is different. Something you are not used to smelling but you enjoy. It will trick your brain into thinking there is something new about your place.
Change where you work – Move your chair to the other side of the desk. Trade offices or cubicles with someone else. If you have the flexibility, go find a new environment to work. Crash a community college. See if a local church will let you sit somewhere in their building. I guess you could go to a coffee shop but that rarely works for me. Go find a new environment! I have even been known to go park the car somewhere, roll down the windows and work unplugged for a while.
Switch your desk layout – If you have a ton of stuff on your desk, put it all in a drawer or box and go for a super clean, modern desk for a bit. If you have nothing on your desk go find some interesting things to layout on your desk. Go to the toy store and get some fun little toys, go to http://www.cubeecraft.com/, print off some templates and make a little army of men to celebrate your accomplishments. Do something different than what you have been doing.
I know some of this may seem obvious, or maybe it doesn’t. If you have worked at the same place for years and don’t even think you are blocked try some of these things out. I guarantee you will notice the difference. Your environment where you work greatly impacts how you do it is what you do.
If you have any other great ideas or tricks that you do to get your mojo back I’d love to hear em. Leave a comment below and tell us.
