My first graphic design job was at a weekly newspaper and nothing teaches you about deadlines more than print publications. It didn’t matter if you were tired or the writers were late with their stories; we stayed, worked longer and got those blue boards to the printer.
Tuesdays as workdays were always up in the air because the paper went out on Wednesdays. I started work in the early afternoon, I think I clocked in at 1 pm. If things were running smoothly that week the art crew could be in and out of there in three or four hours just in time to hit happy hour for pitchers and 10¢ wings. If things weren’t on schedule, we basement-dwellers would stay, drinking coffee, cleaning the wax machine, teasing each other and waiting for the stories to appear from the editors so we could finish our layouts and hopefully go home by 1 am.
There was no saying no on Tuesdays. It was deadline day.
Thinking back, I definitely feel like that newspaper job gave me my first real sense of pride in finishing a job. I hadn’t ever put that much care or effort into a deadline before. School reports didn’t really matter to me in the same way.
But being part of a team that worked their asses off to wrap a weird little local newspaper each week made me gave me a sense of accomplishment I’d never really experienced.
I also thiiiiiinkkk it might have helped give me a long problem with achieving deadlines.
Fast forward 20-some years and I’m only now coming to terms with the idea that, as a self-employed person my deadlines are all self-imposed.
I mean, logically I know that my deadlines are set by me. But on the other side of my brain THERE’S A DEADLINE!! And I very much can still feel the stress of the newsroom.
I mean, the skills I learned were invaluable but, did I write and photograph an entire knitting book in four and a half months even though I was offered a year? Yes, I did.
Why? I don’t know.
Do I think my book would have been better if I took more time? No, not at all!
But, I do think I could do it with a lot less tears if I wrote a book today.
As a solo-worker, I’m getting so much better at breaking down my huge projects in to smaller stages.
I’ve learned to slow my mind and focus all of my energy on the one task that’s in front of me.
I’ve learned to listen to my creative energy and go with what’s working for me that day with the understanding that the next day might fill three days worth of goals.
It’s been a long and winding ride filled with ups and downs. It’s been fun and I look back at all of it fondly but it’s ok to let that teeth-clenching work ethic go.
Today, I can distill these lessons to this: I do a lot of fucking work every day, reaching goals, building a business and finishing projects. My brain works so much better if it isn’t focused on the outcome but only the task at hand. I don’t worry about deadlines anymore because if a project matters, I always get it done!
