On the Costs of Habits

We know this will work You read a new brief, and straight away something familiar comes to mind. You have done it before. The client liked it. You know you can make it work. There is a certain comfort in that. And perhaps it is the right starting point. Experience counts for something. But perhaps you are tired. Or you don’t feel ready to explain an idea that might be questioned. I think both can happen. You can produce good work and still feel that there was something else you wanted to explore. Something you didn’t quite give yourself time to find.

Yes, I can do that One more change. One more call. Something small before you finish. You say yes. You want to help, and it feels good to be someone people can rely on. I understand that. But the time has to come from somewhere. Perhaps dinner gets pushed back. Perhaps you miss a walk. Perhaps you get home and have very little left to give anyone. Each request seems small. After a while, saying yes becomes what people expect from you. You might even expect it from yourself. Then saying you need some time can feel like letting someone down, even when you have already given quite a lot.

Just one more adjustment You look at the drawing again. Something still bothers you. So you change it. Then you notice something else. That care is part of being a designer. You see things other people might miss, and you want to get them right. But I wonder about those evenings when the work is nearly there, and you still cannot leave it alone. Perhaps it needs another hour. Perhaps showing it to someone feels harder than working on it. It can be difficult to tell. Especially when you care so much that a comment about the work feels like a comment about you. And the habit of making it a little better keeps you at the desk again.