Tools for Sanity - 100 Days of Writing, Design & Emotions

"How are you maintaining your sanity?"



I'm going to start using 5 tools, call them methods, to maintain balance while I work towards my current goal. The below post is a cheat-sheet for myself. A light-house I'll be coming back to regularly.



The tools:



1/ A clear, limited number of projects that I'm free to jump between

• → I have 5 projects written on post-its stuck on my wall. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I look at the notes and pick one to focus on. Whenever I become distracted or bored, I jump to another note. I call this method, 'making peace with your brain'



2/ Make it easier: only two toggles can be high at any one time

• → when I envision my projects I'll have 3 imaginary toggles in mind:

---→ number of goals

---→ difficulty

---→ speed

Burn out happens when the toggles are all pushed to near maximum:

On the other hand, a healthy, sustainable approach to work looks like:



3/ Time-based tasks and goals > completion based goals

• → My to-do list usually says something like, ‘finish wireframe, write copy’. At face-value, it makes sense but upon closer inspection, finishing a wireframe could take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the level of complexity. If I set a goal based on task completion, I'm not managing my time or energy. I'm letting the task dictate how long I go for.

  
  

• → Instead, set time-based goals: work on the wireframe for 30 minutes. Once the time is up, move on to the next task.

  
  

• Garden for half an hour rather than a full day. And tend to the garden regularly.



4/ Work like you're gardening

• → Listen to your feelings and your body. Let your feeling dictate the stopping point.

  
  

• Think of your work like you would gardening: you garden until you no longer feel like gardening. As in the above example, you don't say, 'I'm not going to stop gardening until I‘ve tended to every plant in the garden.' You stop when it's no longer enjoyable.



5/ Micro-tiny-baby chunks

• → Take your big mental project concept and break it down. Then break it down again. And you know what? Yep, again.

  
  

• To borrow from Stacking the Bricks: "break[..] up the whole process into tiny chunks that build on each other"



• I can't emphasis how often my failure modes are the result of tasks becoming daunting because they're too large. This is a mental gym. Let me stop lifting the 100kg barbell and focus on the 10kg instead. Over time, you'll be able to lift heavier and bigger weights. Accomplish bigger tasks, work in 2 hour segments instead of 10 minutes. For now, make it small. Every time there's resistance, make it even smaller.



These tools also form the basis for successful UX project management. A project:

• can only have so many moving parts (limited #)

• is best shipped as an MVP initially (easy)

• should be planned out based on hours required (time-based)

• is completed in sprints, not as a marathon (gardening)

• should be broken down into clear, manageable next steps (tiny)



UX lesson 5: develop a solid project framework