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If you keep rearranging your workspace instead of doing the work, your stuff may be costing you more than you think.
I’ve been noticing this while preparing to move.
Every object creates another tiny decision:
• Where does this go?
• Do I still need it?
• Should I clean it?
• When will I use it?
• Pack it? Sell it? Donate it?
And suddenly something I paid for once is still collecting payment—in attention, time and mental bandwidth.
I started thinking of it as the micro-decision tax.
—
So I did what I tend to do when an idea gets stuck in my head: I turned it into a visual system.
The more I think about it, the more interested I am in creating this kind of work: taking an observation, finding the larger idea inside it, and making that idea visible.
In my own life, I’m experimenting with the same principle: less physical inventory, fewer things to manage, more room for writing and creative work.
Because the real price of an object isn’t always what it costs at checkout.
Sometimes it’s how many times it asks something from you afterward.
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
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I used to strive for perfection, but recently I’ve realized that trying to make everything perfect just makes me create less.
I spend so much time wondering whether an idea is good enough that sometimes, I end up not making anything at all.
So I keep reminding myself to create first and judge later.
Not everything has to be my best work. Not every idea has to turn out exactly the way I imagined it.
Sometimes, it’s better to make something, learn from it, and move on to the next thing.
So, what will you create next?
Something that helped me with perfection was telling myself, "Create like a kid, refine like a teacher."
Kids don't think. They just create whatever comes to mind. Teachers help us to improve what we made and grow in our skills.
My career as a designer has never been a consistent one.
No straight line. No winning year on year. Honestly, the bumpiest journey imaginable to get where I am.
I started in this industry with a cracked version of Photoshop, running on a PC that would crash with anything I designed.
I once worked for a company on 12k a year and could barely make rent. But I did what I could, because I love what I do.
To anyone expecting perfection in your first year, think twice. Technology lets us get better faster, sure, but you still need the fundamentals of design and business. Without them you're just guessing at what's good, and your clients pay the price.
Take your time. The reality of success is still damn hard work. A social following doesn't pay the way you think it does not unless you know how to sell or create.
If I could give someone a piece of advice, it'd be this: Be patient, Be willing to give more than you take and don't rely on AI to do all the thinking for you.
How long have you been in this industry? Since I started this career, I have been a huge fan of your work. From which design period did you start to show the desired outcome after you joined?
A client gave this idea the green light before I even started building it.
Been using AI a lot lately to prototype ideas early, show the direction, and make sure we’re aligned before jumping into the actual build.
Such a good time saver.