Life: Designed

Over the past seven weeks, I’ve been diving into the topic of deep work. 

I’ve read the entirety of Johann Hari’s book Stolen Focus, which really opened my eyes to the attention crisis going on today in our age of screens. I learned about how everything around us affects our ability to focus, from the amount of sleep we get to how our devices are made to pull us in and not let us go. 

I saw firsthand through my digital detox experiment how much time I was wasting scrolling away on my phone. I saw how much of my time was spent doing work and how I was consistently staying up late to finish everything. 

I explored project management systems and how much the way you choose to organize yourself can help with your productivity.  

All of this has culminated in a white paper titled Always On: How Burnout Clashes with Creativity and Productivity. In this paper, I take a deep dive into how burnout is affecting designers and creators. From productivity loss to passion loss, burnout, and the “always on” culture in today’s world is having effects not only affecting individuals but companies as well. 

To combat the burnout and the grip it has on the design industry, I suggest a dose of focus, flow, and deep work. They improve your satisfaction while also improving your quality of work. It’s the perfect remedy for the overworked designer.  

To learn more and see the culmination of my research, take a look at Always On: How Burnout Clashes with Creativity and Productivity.