A nod to unpolished thoughts
Have you ever sat down with intent to write and found it difficult to frame the first sentence? If so, you have an ally in me not just as a writer who struggles to pen things together but as a creative who finds it difficult to put first dot on a sheet of paper.
While the stereotypical expectation from us as designers is to produce something beautiful every time we see a blank canvas, the reality is far from it. Basically, for me, that’s the horror.
More often than not, it is regarded as a symptom of perfectionist mindset which practically every self-help writer wants you to step out of. Even though I do not keep such books in high regards, I regret the ideas which never saw the day of light just because I couldn’t dare let the pen scribble.
I’m not just talking about myself, but have witnessed this paranoia of producing perfect first draft in my fellow designers as well. We, as a community just can’t accept that we are allowed to produce something not great even if we understand that it is part of process.
I have a behemoth of ideas finding their end of life in drafts. Scrolling through them, I found an article titled ‘My first year as a UX designer — things I learnt and mistakes I made’. Well, one mistake for sure was to not publish it. Not that it would’ve made any difference but I didn’t achieve much keeping it private either. Also, it read that as designers we need to grow thick skin for harsh feedback/ opinions and viewpoints. Ironically, I didn’t publish it possibly fearing mean comments from some random netzine. Basically, I didn’t grow thick skin after all.
So, I am giving up on final coat before sharing my thoughts or work in public. There will be rough patches, cracks and other inconsistencies, and so be it. That will mean that some of the content I share might be suboptimal but I’ll own it. So should you.
Write that damn thought down.
