Design is a marathon without end

It’s not about instant explosive power, the key is that you have to keep running.

Today, I listened to Mr. K’s theme sharing [Self-drive·Designer’s Self-improvement]. I learned a lot and share it with you. I have heard of Mr. K from designer Xiaoyong several times before, and I happened to see a sharing from him on the learning website today. At the beginning, Mr. K’s metaphor that design learning is a marathon attracted me. Design learning is like a marathon, not about instantaneous explosiveness, the key is that you have to keep running.

• 01-Learning: How to catch up with the designer running in front?Work silently to shorten the distance. You are working when others are working, and you are studying when others are resting. At the expense of entertainment time and holiday time, you must devote yourself to learning. Even if you can’t exceed the other party, you can greatly shorten the distance from your predecessors. Reasonable use of fragmented time and complete time period. Mr. K shared his learning experience when he first entered the industry. He would use the fragmented time, such as on the way to and from get off work, to browse design works; the complete time period after get off work was used for systematic course study; In the learning process, I gradually build my own design knowledge system. With the accumulation of learning depth and work experience, the design system is constantly polished and upgraded. When you see a bad design, drag it into the software and modify it according to your own plan.
• 02-Mindset: What kind of mindset should you use to face your work? Learn to work for yourself. Is work creating value for the company? Create influence for the company? Improve the company’s profit return? If you work with this mental model, you must be very passive, always calculating your investment and returns, worrying that you will suffer. Mr. K shared his mental model: abilities that can be improved at work: communication + coordination + tolerance + perseverance + personal brand. In other words, working for ourselves, the company platform is a platform to help us realize value and further improve our capabilities. In the project, we will do our best to serve each project, communicate with customers, coordinate with team colleagues, and tolerate customers. The ability to exercise lasting perseverance, so that a personal brand is gradually formed, and employees and the company’s platform can achieve each other. Masters worth learning: Chen Shaohua, Liu Xiaoxiang, Wang Yuefei, Guangyu, Nie Yongzhen, Wang Zhihong, Hattori Kazushin, Aoki Katsuken, Asaba Katsuki, Sato Kazuka, Nakajo Masayoshi, Amioka Shintaro… Basic skills are very important. The basic skills are like the foundation of a building. If the foundation is not accurate, the building will fall. Needless to say the importance, especially the half-way designer like us, but also find time to systematically improve the basic theory and design methods and aesthetics.
• 03-Time: Who you will become in the future depends on the 8 hours after get off work. Mr. K calculated a time account, assuming that the working hours are 8 hours, the sleep time is 7 hours, excluding 1 hour of eating time, and there are 8 hours. How to spend these 8 hours determines what will become in the future people. A list of learning that a designer must do: read design art books; browse good designs; watch documentaries, not variety shows; find books of interest; participate in design courses; practice what you have learned; watch the dynamics of people in the industry; follow Design information. This is just a checklist reference. The important thing is to find your own learning rhythm, build and implement your own learning checklist, and stick to it.
• 04-How to keep running? There is a devil of 10 kilometers in the marathon. It means that the first 10 kilometers is the most difficult stage. During this time, the physical strength and endurance of the racers gradually decline. Some walked directly, some gave up the race, but crossed 10 kilometers. After kilometers, it will be easier to stick to it. There is also a devil’s ten kilometers in design learning, which is the first year of maintaining the learning habit, 365 days. The first year is the hardest to stick to. If you can maintain self-discipline and implement the daily learning list, you will surely have a great improvement after one year. This improvement will also motivate yourself to continue doing it, and the subsequent persistence will be much easier , Will fall in love with learning this matter, as indispensable as eating and sleeping. Income and success are the result of hard work, not a goal or a goal. If you can’t persist in completing the tasks of each day, then your plan is not as good as a blank sheet of paper. Resistance in the learning process: ① Always work overtime. Working overtime every day, staying up all night, the biological clock is reversed, and the rhythm is chaotic. It is difficult for anyone to persist in learning; we have to think about the reasons for this status quo? Why can I only rely on working overtime and staying up all night to prove my professional value? Why can’t I say “no” because I have insufficient ability, no right to speak, no right to choose. To change this state, the best way is to learn, improve the ability and efficiency, and have more choices; as for the company platform and job opportunities, there is never a shortage. ②Total entanglement. Is it useful to struggle with learning? How to improve quickly? As a result, I think a lot, do very little, do not take action, fail to see changes in growth, and have no confidence in learning, forming a vicious circle. First of all, learning at the skill level, as long as you persevere and work hard, you will definitely get results and get results; second, learning can’t be done behind closed doors, you have to practice and combine with work needs, you can do everything. Finally, if you want to run on the design track for a long time, you must internalize the normal state of learning: working while learning is internalized into action.

To Sum Up

• ①Income and phased success are the result, the result obtained through hard work, not the goal, not the goal; for me, I need to let go of the utilitarian heart of learning and focus on doing things to improve myself, and the result will come naturally;
• ②The devil of design learning 10 The kilometer is the first year to keep the pace of learning. You must persist in completing your daily tasks. If you relax, you will return to the original point at any time. For me, I need to further improve my execution ability. Sometimes I struggle with methods, rewards, shortcuts, think too much, and try to improve quickly through careful planning. This is my resistance to learning. I have to act more, practice more, and stick to it. carried out!
• ③The normal state of learning is to study while working.

Designing and learning is like running a marathon, a marathon without an end. First, take care of your body, balance work and life, study on the job, devote all your energy to a project, and gain abilities in each project. Breakthrough and join innovation is the best way to improve.