Project Management
When you’re stuck, ask yourself: what’s the simplest, worst version of this I can whip out in 15 minutes?
• Free-flow shitty first draft of a blog post
• 5-slide presentation with no design flourish
• Messy project mindmap in your notebook
Put a timer on and give it a try :)
Artists: Be your own best assistant. Do your research. Get your tools and materials in order. These will be the ancestors, spirit guides and self-replicating imagination of your work. This will allow art to reproduce itself in you. You’ll thank yourself during & afterwards.
Thinking is fundamentally done alone
Lilly Chen • How Brainstory follows management principles
It bears repeating: Being productive is not a path to fulfilment. Your productivity is not your self-worth. You can live a great life with zero ‘productive’ output. Do work that gives you an intrinsic sense of satisfaction, not as a stepping stone to happiness.
“When momentum is on your side, people focus on your strengths and forgive your weaknesses. When the momentum stops, they scrutinize the whole thing.” – Packy McCormick
Collaborative Fund • Smart Words From Smart People
Henry Ford said:
"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."
Y Combinator disagrees:
“Talk to your users.”
Leber • The Feedback Tradeoff
"When we focus on linear goals in a non linear world the only result is being overwhelmed and burnout. " #sxsw2025@neuranne
X. It’s what’s happening
One of the things that surprised me the most was to see that for any piece of work being shared, designers would put together a keynote deck for it. It could be the smallest thing, like a quick look at the latest work progression, or big presentations, of course. At Apple, designers use the power of storytelling to influence others, instead of just
... See moreAndrea Pacheco • What I Learned as a Product Designer at Apple
"I frequently worry that being productive is the surest way to lull ourselves into a trance of passivity and busyness the greatest distraction from living, as we coast through our lives day after day, showing up for our obligations but being absent from our selves, mistaking the doing for the being." — Maria Popova