Its been a long day... after the dust settles I come back to reality and wonder what my personal life side has been up to. To get straight to the point I have a habit of when I go all in on a project for work I will put my soul and body into that until it gets done.
However there is a toll on the body and with the lack of sleep there is for sure a toll on my mental health as well during the project period of 3 months. Usually I would literally do the total opposite when the project is completed would forget about work and hang out with friends and family to the point where I am procrastinating some work duties.
My work desk back in corporate as a product designer
It has been one of my core strengths to execute goals in everyway possible... and until every resource is exhausted then I am not giving up. This type of attitude helped me with leadership and getting my partners join me to the battle and often times we will succeed due to our sheer will.
I like to start design with the usual pencil and paper rather than on the screen... feels more real.
Design in a way for sure fundamentally must look good that is basic, however its just as important knowing how to sell the design and convince your boss or client.
When we create ideations often times we will post them on the wall to get critiqued and try to narrow things down to what will go to final design development... meaning which one will make to make a physical mockup model.
Since design is subjective (what looks good to me may not look good to you) its not easy to define what is good or bad design. It depends on the circumstances given at that moment. Design skill, people skill, and understanding what to say and what not to say in critical moments. Add these up and you got yourself an A-team.
3D printers have been really upscaling productivity for designers in the past few years and also I enjoy it just as a hobby as well.
Its a battle I have been challenging with myself and I am trying to figure out the best way to create the work life balance as I see on text books. But in reality I wonder how feasible it is especially in the field that I am working in... Mobile phone and accessories product design. This is one of the most fastest changing and also extremely fast paced career I have ever experienced.
My 3D printers have moved where ever I moved... they are basically like family now. :)
Things really go up and down like a roller coaster and many times we make changes till the very last minute. Doing this for more than 10 years now I think my work style has accustomed to this type of work style. I realize this due to the fact that I am still working like this even with my own business with product development. Just recently there has been a large scale project which almost got me to burn out... but luckily I am still hanging there. Still got it. :)
Learning how to collaborate with engineers and create PCB boards is... wow... man that was extremely difficult. But in the end the results are rewarding.
But it does take a whole lot of time to recover than it used to be... I need to figure out how to change this work pattern.
Work and Life balance has been extremely difficult for me, and I am not sure how others really handle it. I sometimes think maybe this is how all work places are but I know I am wrong... I seen 24-7 of me and my work colleges work like this and it seemed like the norm. But its not... why? During my career I have witnessed one time one of the designers passed out and literally died on the spot due to complete exhaustion from our model shop. It seems impossible... how can a person die of exhaustion. It made me think really deeply... why are we doing what we are doing all for what? What really matters in our life? So much thoughts going back and forth in my mind at the time.
When designers get together and talk about the finishing on the mockup models at 2AM.
Winding the clock back to present day ever since I quit Corp and doing my own business in product development has it gotten any better? I thought it would but not really... and due to the fact that when you own your own biz... it doesn't get easier only much much more harder as a matter of fact. I been through so much hurdles and even more roller coasters with my own product development firm than any other and I am beginning to think ahhhh work life balance might not work for me.
Machine used when I was working with Electrical engineers... everything was so robotic.
Lets go with the flow and often times being seriously into the work clients have paid is actually desired and admired which brings in more work though recommendations.
When I see a project prototype from engineers like this it already gives me a headache. But before anything is mass produced in a nicely packaged cardboard box this is how we test things...
Its something I am trying to figure out if I can get some work outsourced or automated it can for sure provide me with more time to do other things. Lets see how it will go... this is my worklife style in the making.
At the end of the day if I can still see my family and if I am still breathing I think that is good enough to be thankful for. :) The rest I leave it up to fate. But I do love working to the very edge of the cliff... it is what makes me feel alive after all.
Slept over one of my friends crib one night and what a good morning it was to go to work with this kind of view. :)
Thanks for viewing my worklife blog, and there is so much more to come. Stay tuned.
Set da Tone!!!!