Six Habits of the Productive Logo Designers

We have just passed into a new year and every logo designer works hard to accomplish the resolutions for 2015. It’s common at the beginning of the year to make some own resolutions and try to follow them – in this way is better quantified the personal evolution. I believe that at least every other logo designer proposed to be more productive in 2015. It’s such a common purpose that across time lost from its value and for some designers is a deprecated goal. The loyal readers of iBrandStudio know that we many times published articles about productivity: here, here and here. And due to their feedback we will continue to offer tips and solutions to become a more productive logo designer.

Cicero was a great Roman politician and rhetoric and he was the first one that mentioned into his works the power of example. Since then the power of example is one of the best method of learning. It’s pretty normal- if you get the habits of a productive person it’s highly probable that you will turn into a productive person, too. Under these circumstances, the advices of experienced designers are golden.

Consequently, in the next lines we will present six habits and ideas that are common to the productive logo designers. It’s quite probable that once these works for them, these must work for you, too.

Habit #1: Time is a limited resource

Every individual knows that time is a very limited resource, but a productive logo designer works having this idea in mind. Any minute spend worthless is gone…forever! Instead of wasting time a productive logo designer tries by all means to create more and better logos. It’s true that even the most talented designers aren’t able to be 100% productive during a working day, but their overall evolution is positive.

Productivity isn’t keen to talent or skills, it’s very dependent on the inner will. Consequently, a logo designer must be very engaged in making oneself more productive and the base of this mentality is the fact the time is limited. Personally, I think that wasting time without doing something useful or relaxing is a sin. Do you agree with my “uncommon” idea?

Habit #2: A healthy life is essential

A strong body makes the mind strong said Thomas Jefferson and the modern medicine proved this statement. Even though a logo designer spends a lot of time in front of a computer, he/she is still a human being. The many hours sitting into a chair isn’t the best environment for a healthy life. Everyone is aware that being in a good physical condition is mandatory for a productive workflow. Unfortunately, just a part of logo designers take action!

Maybe some of you will have the tendency to state this idea is useless and have little to do with the productivity. Some of us are stronger, but most of us have various health problems. The conclusion is clear and simple to put into practice: from time to time some physical exercises are golden. Even a 30 minutes walking into park may represent a good choice.

Don’t take me wrong, I wish you never have healthy problems, but please try this experiment: try to work when you are sick. Unfortunately, I tried „this experiment” last month and I had almost 0 productivity.

Habit #3: Work hard, play hard

As I said, a logo designer isn’t a robot. A human being needs pauses and moments to relax. Working hard is an undeniable condition for being productive, but a condition for being able to work hard is to have the inner power to realize it. The inner power is refueled by the relaxing moments. Following this logical enhancement, it’s obvious that you should take care of your breaks because these are important.Working hard without any break isn’t a sustainable solution, therefore carefully plan your breaks. All the great logo designers have worked hard, but at the same time they have enjoyed relaxing moment with the family or friends.

Habit #4: Planning is productive

Some logo designers consider that planning is a very useless activity. The truth is that the huge majority of the plans aren’t realized, so from this perspective planning may be useless. Still, there is a fact that people ignore, but it’s extremely important: the degree of the plans that are realized. There is a huge difference between a plan that is 90% accomplished and one that is only 9% accomplished. The idea is that a plan is useful even though it’s not 100% accomplished. A plan contains the directory ideas and in this way the creator of it has a better control over his/her evolution. This control is vital in improving the productivity. Once again, the conclusion is simple: planning and productivity are interconnected.

Habit #5: Discipline is the base of productivity

The road to become more productive isn’t easy at all. Many logo designers quickly abandon the idea of being more productive because of the huge efforts. The discipline is another must have “ingredient” to be more productive. There are so many distractions when working online (Facebook, chat with the friends, emailing) that many logo designers waste precious time. Only the disciplined ones manage to ignore these and work hard no matter the context. Certainly, a logo designer must be very serious about his/her work; the competitors are many and talented, therefore it’s difficult to “survive” into such a competitive environment. I read tons of interviews of famous logo designers and they in unanimity stated that discipline is almost as important as the talent.

Habit #6: “NO” should be a frequently used word

I purposely let the most difficult idea at the end. Generally speaking, the designers are very sociable and kindly people. They are trying to avoid saying “NO”, but the reality is harsher than we want. Willing or not, a logo designer must say pretty frequently “NO” in the case he/she wants to be productive. ”NO” must be said to the friends that invite you to a drink when you are working and the deadline is near. Also, “NO” must be said to some job proposals that are convenient or to some previous clients that, reckoning on your friendship, asks for free to do small tasks.

You have my own word that I don’t like saying a brutal “NO”, but every now and then it’s mandatory. You have your own schedule and none should modify it without a clear and reasonable purpose.

Conclusion

I hope that these ideas will help you in transforming yourself into a better and more productive logo designer. The transformation won’t be easy, but the outcome is fully deserving the endeavors. What do you do to be more productive? Are the ideas showcased here working for you? Did you try a ”recipe” of turning in a more productive you? Please share your thoughts with us, we are waiting for them!