We’re not here to design a lukewarm life.

Your pen is not a wand, it’s just a tool. It’s you who brings the magic to the page.

A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. —ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY

In times like these, it can help to write out a brief mission statement to define why we’re doing something, what we hope to get out of the experience, and how we will go about doing it. You can even use this script if it’s helpful: I want to _____ [what] so that I can _____ [why] by _____ [how].

Challenges Is there some part of your life that’s consistently making you feel angry, anxious, overwhelmed, or self-critical? Once you’ve figured out what the challenge is, creating a Custom Collection tailored to address said challenge can prove very useful. It provides a dedicated space that helps you gather and clarify your thoughts so that you

Junk drawer Collections, in contrast, have limited longevity because they don’t provide insight.

Avoid being an information hoarder! I’ve been guilty of this myself, creating Collections to track the TV shows I’ve watched, restaurants I’ve patronized, and other minutiae. I call these “junk drawer” Collections. There’s nothing wrong with tracking what you’re doing in a Collection, as long as you plan to do something constructive with the

Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration. —JEFFREY ZELDMAN

Mastery replaces the notion of perfection with aspiring to better ourselves through dedication and practice. When it comes to skill, there can be no fixed point. Even the greatest masters remain avid students. Their skill, like our own, develops over time.