As a young designer, you start to learn quickly what your limits are and how those limits are quickly reached. Over time you get a better understanding of how to manage your time and how to keep yourself from exploding from being over worked. I think it’s completely natural to want to take on ALL the projects that come your way and I’m not sure you fully understand your limits until you’ve been pushed to them, over and over again.

After 3.5 years work experience since graduating design school, I feel I am JUST now getting a good grip on this concept of being over-worked and the idea that I have limits. With the experience that I’ve gained in those 3.5 years, I can now say that I can spot the warning signs of being over worked. I can (for the most part), tell people NO…even though the project will most likely be awesome. I’ve also learned that I don’t have to take on all the projects that come through my email. I’ve learned that both myself and my clients benefit from me only taking on projects I’m extremely passionate about. I’ve learned that it’s not about the money for me. I’ve learned that my nights and weekend are for me and my family….all things I didn’t really understand until just now.

Are you struggling because you continually over commit yourself to your work? If so…STOP…haha. I know. Easier said than done.  Experiment with passing up some jobs, taking the evenings for yourself, and working only when passionate. I’d love to hear about how you guys have worked through this idea of  “over-working”.

Here’s another great post about the glorificaton of “busy”. Thanks Eva.
Above photo: Annaleena Leino

This is how my mornings go. I wake up anywhere between 7:00 & 8:00. If I’m feeling peppy, I make coffee/tea for my fiancé and I before he leaves for work at 8:30. Once he leaves, I plop myself on the couch with my ipad and zone out for about an hour. I spend that hour reading through my emails that came in overnight, go through my bloglovin’ blog roll, and scroll through inspiration on Pinterest and Tumblr. The hour goes by quickly, but I’ve found it to be a really good way to start the day.

I find that the hour I spend a day browsing online inspiration has a really big influence on how creative I’m going to fell that day. This got me thinking about how much my personal work is influenced by others. Bri of Design Love Fest recently wrote about this exact thing HERE and makes some great suggestions about how to avoid being sucked down the rabbit hole.

I totally agree with her suggestions/ concerns and strive to let the internet inspire my own personal ideas to grow and evolve, and for my personal ideas to not mimic my internet favorites. It’s a tough one, but I think we can all find the perfect balance of drawing in inspiration and generating your own to share.

What are your thoughts on using internet inspiration to influence your own personal design???

Its been almost 3 weeks since I’ve set off on my own to start my own business. I’ll have to say that I’m still loving it 🙂 I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting to fully appreciate aspects of my new day to day life and made a little list of  “perks & pits” so far. I’m sure this list will keep growing, but my “perks” list is longer than my “pits” lists…so that must be a good sign right?

Perks:
1. Being REALLY inspired and energized to create…constantly
2. Sundays don’t suck. No more dreading the upcoming work week.
3. Gained Flexibility in my Schedule. Last week I decided to have a last minute meet up with a friend to eat cupcakes and spent my Friday afternoon at the St. Louis Art Museum.
4. Making my own rules as I go and trying to forget some I’ve acquired in my Agency years.
5. Taking baths in the middle of the day while taking an ecourse on my ipad…multitasking relaxing/learning.
6. Getting to be home all day with my pup. I can tell he really likes it too!
7. Being less tired at night because I’m not pushing myself to the limits all day.
8. Making healthy dinners because I actually have time to cook!
9. Cleaning can happen throughout the week instead of piling up for the weekend.

Pits:
1. I have a hard time remembering to eat lunch and STOP to breath. I’m exploring the idea of making a morning and afternoon “to-do” list to keep me on track.
2. Being so inspired you feel a little lost as to which project to tackle first.
3. When you’re feeling lazy…it’s SOOOO easy to turn on Netflix and get sucked into the unproductive zone.
4. The hours of the day just FLY by and before you know it, it’s time to make dinner. Ahhh!!!

I actually had a hard time creating that “pits” list and this gives me more confidence that my new work/life balance is a really good change for me. I’m still very thankful I’ve had this opportunity to give it a try.

Freelancers out there….I’m curious what “pits” you’ve found along the way?