How Fake Work Destroys Graphic Design Productivity and Time Management

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Angry Designer – “How Fake Work Destroys Graphic Design Productivity and Time Management”

Date: December 2, 2025
Hosts: Massimo & Sean

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the persistent struggle graphic designers face with productivity and time management. Rather than focusing on trendy hacks and planner systems, the hosts unapologetically unpack the truth behind wasted hours and unproductive busyness. Their main focus: the devastating effect of "fake work"—tasks that feel productive but don’t truly move your projects or career forward. Listeners are challenged to examine their own habits, address self-inflicted chaos, and build more disciplined, healthy work routines.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Discipline vs. Design Stereotypes

• Discipline in Other Cultures vs. Design Culture (02:05–03:41)

  • The hosts open with a tongue-in-cheek tribute to Japanese time management, comparing it to the chaotic, often undisciplined environment typical in design agencies.
  • Quote:
    “One thing that this [Japanese] culture has done well is, you know, like, they're disciplined...where, unfortunately, graphic designers often aren't known for their discipline.” (A, 03:15)

• The Myth of the Overworked Designer (03:50–04:38)

  • Many agencies glorify working late, burning out, and feeling overwhelmed.
  • Quote:
    “Our industry is always about, you know, burning the midnight oil, working late. And it's like a badge of honor or something. And I've always hated that.” (A, 03:51)

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The Real Time Killers: Fake Work and Micro-Distractions

• Fake Work Defined (10:30–11:28)

  • Fake work includes time-wasting activities—like endlessly reorganizing files or tweaking tiny details—that provide a false sense of productivity.
  • Quote:
    “The most common distractions...is just this. This whole fake work that we're constantly creating for ourselves.” (A, 10:30)

• Why Designers Lean Into Fake Work (11:28–12:23)

  • Often rooted in discomfort or procrastination, designers pick less demanding tasks over meaningful progress.
  • Quote:
    “You don't want to actually do what you're supposed to do. Right. So you're kind of making up all this fake work.” (A, 11:22)

• The “Dopamine Hit” of Tick-Box Tasks (12:10–12:23)

  • These minor accomplishments provide temporary satisfaction but don’t advance key projects.

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Busyness Is Not Productivity

• Busy but Not Productive (08:29–09:04)

  • Many designers feel slammed all day but finish without crossing off anything substantial.
  • Quote:
    “How many people are busy all day long, but they don't get shit done?” (A, 08:43)

• Track Your Real Time Use (10:01–10:17)

  • The hosts suggest logging your activities for a few days; most would see where time is truly lost.

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Distractions and How to Reclaim Focus

• Digital Distractions (13:47–14:30)

  • Open tabs, constant email checking, Slack, and messenger pings ruin creative flow.
  • Quote:
    “You can't actually get to that creative flow state if you keep yourself busy with emails every 10 minutes... in order to truly be creative, you need long stretches of uninterrupted time.” (A, 13:26 & 13:42)

• Setting Communication Boundaries (14:29–15:15; 20:16–22:13)

  • The hosts are adamant about not letting clients and colleagues constantly interrupt just because they have access (e.g., via Slack or email).
  • Quote:
    “We'll never get any work done if customers can feel like they can interrupt us anytime they want to.” (A, 14:30)
  • Practical tip: Use headphones as a signal not to disturb; communicate with managers about needing focused blocks.

• Handling Interruptions (18:16–20:16)

  • Protecting your “focus time” isn’t rude—it’s necessary for professional output.

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The Power of Time Blocking & Creative Flow

• Solid Work Blocks (16:30–17:33)

  • Massimo’s No-BS advice: Set at least two focus periods each day (90 minutes AM, 2 hours PM), and strictly enforce them.
  • Quote:
    “Honestly, give yourself in the morning a 90-minute stretch of just solid work...in the afternoon, have maybe a two-hour stretch in the afternoon of uninterrupted creative flow.” (A, 17:03)

• Overcoming FOMO (17:33–18:16)

  • Fear of missing urgent emails or emergencies is overblown—the work can wait.

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Respecting Personal Rhythms & Rest

• Tapping into Circadian Rhythms (22:33–25:10)

  • Know your natural peak creative window; use it for your most demanding tasks.
  • Quote:
    “If you can tap into those hours, it is free super design power.” (A, 24:36)

• Process Discipline: Don’t Let Busywork Consume You (25:35–26:45)

  • If admin tasks like invoicing take too long, your systems need fixing—not more of your time.
  • Quote:
    “If it takes you a day to invoice...your process sucks. Because when that time comes, okay, everything should be there. An invoice should only take you a few minutes.” (A, 25:51)

• Learn to Say No (27:29–29:33)

  • Setting boundaries with managers and clients is crucial; otherwise, burnout is inevitable.
  • Quote:
    “Burnout doesn't happen by working 20 hours a day on stuff you love...It happens by working...on things you don't love, all day long.” (A, 28:16)

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Rest Is a Creative Tool

• Rest and The Incubation Process (29:57–33:53)
  • True creativity requires downtime, away from screens and tools, to let ideas percolate.
  • Quote:
    “Resting is as much a creative tool as using my Creative Suite.” (A, 29:58)
  • Incubation leads to those “shower thoughts” and sudden bursts of inspiration.
  • Build non-negotiable downtime into your routine, like unplugged lunch breaks.

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Memorable Quotes

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |---|---|---| | 03:51 | A (Massimo) | “Our industry is always about, you know, burning the midnight oil, working late. And it's like a badge of honor or something. And I’ve always hated that.” | | 08:43 | A | “How many people are busy all day long, but they don't get shit done?” | | 10:30 | A | “The most common distractions...is just this. This whole fake work that we're constantly creating for ourselves.” | | 13:26 | A | “You can't actually get to that creative flow state if you keep yourself busy with emails every 10 minutes...” | | 14:30 | A | “We’ll never get any work done if customers can feel like they can interrupt us anytime they want to.” | | 17:03 | A | “Give yourself in the morning a 90 minute stretch of just solid work...you’d be shocked how much work you could get done by cutting out the distractions.” | | 24:36 | A | “If you can tap into those hours, it is free super design power.” | | 25:51 | A | “If it takes you a day to invoice...your process sucks.” | | 29:58 | A | “Resting is as much a creative tool as using my Creative Suite.” | | 28:16 | A | “Burnout doesn't happen by working 20 hours a day on stuff you love...It happens by working...on things you don't love, all day long.” |

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Suggested Action Steps for Listeners

• Audit your daily activities to spot and eliminate fake work.
• Schedule at least two uninterrupted creative work blocks per day.
• Align your heaviest creative tasks with your natural energy peaks.
• Build non-negotiable downtime into each day to let ideas incubate.
• Establish and communicate clear boundaries with clients and colleagues around your focus hours.
• Streamline admin processes: set up systems to handle busywork efficiently.
• Don’t feel guilty for saying “no” to requests that compromise your effectiveness.

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Closing Thought

“Build in downtime in your schedule...Because, you know, ultimately everything happens so quick. But we only have so much time during the day to get this done. We can't control time. But you can manage what you give time to all day long.” (A, 34:56)

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Stay creative. Stay angry.

Transcript

[A]

You clicked on this video because you're tired of feeling behind and losing hours to nonsense and maybe wondering where the hell the whole day go. Because if there's one thing that designers are terrible at, it's managing time. And mostly because we're too busy doing everything except the work that actually matters and pays the bills. But what if I told you that there is no magical time management technique that's going to miraculously give you all this extra time that you need? And that the real answer is far more logical than sexy? In this episode of the Angry Designer podcast, powered by WIX Studio, we're exposing the real killers of your day. Fake work, pointless techniques, self inflicted chaos. Here's the crazy part, though. Time might not actually be the real problem. The real problem might be how you're using it. Let's go. So it's been a few weeks since we've had whiskey.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Right. Coincidentally enough, I've been sick ever since I stopped drinking whiskey. I have been. I have been sick three times in the past six weeks.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And the only thing that's changed is.

[B]

I haven't been drinking whiskey.

[A]

So this is actually a legitimate experiment.

[B]

Yeah. You're unpickled. I'm unpickle.

[A]

So today we are drinking something special. We are drinking a Japanese whiskey called to. Look at that. Look at that. Suntory whiskey. Okay, let's give this. It's been a long time. Let's do something special.

[B]

Salute.

[A]

Salute.

[B]

Give her a sniff.

[A]

Ooh, that smells delish.

[B]

Interesting. All right.

[A]

Oh, dude. Ow. Oh, my God. This is like a little bit. Almost has a. Oh, but that chaser is.

[B]

She burns going down.

[A]

Chaser burns. But that's a nice flavor.

[B]

Really good. That's like scotch.

[A]

It's light on the tongue, but there is quite a burn going down. So if I do have some sort of chest cold, it's gone. Okay.

[B]

The.

[A]

The samurais here, the little samurai, the little mini, tiny, microscopic samurai, and the whiskey are going to attack it and kill it. This actually ties in perfectly. Oh, does it? We're going to talk about. Okay, okay. Because let me. Let me tell you something, because, you know, Japanese culture, okay, is. Is really big on promptness and they're really big on time management. Not that they are superior in time management, but their. And the discipline, okay, that this. That this culture has, right, allows them to have created all these. These. These extra things, you know, that. That help them be more punctual, to get more done, to be very disciplined. Okay? So I thought, let's do Japanese whiskey because this talks about what we're here to talk about today. Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

No. Is it a weird tie?

[B]

I know. I think it's good. I, I would have, I would have put it at, you know, German with beer. You know, the German efficiency. German efficiency in Japan. They're, they're both the kind of the same cloth. But so either way it would work.

[A]

Either way it would work. But I mean. Okay, so one thing that this culture has done well is, you know, like, they're disciplined.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Big time.

[B]

Big time.

[A]

Okay. Where unfortunately, graphic designers often aren't known for their discipline. No, the, the rock stars, the ones who get shit done so much that they are, you know, extremely disciplined. And whether that's over. Over time, trial and error, or whether it's. Maybe they have really good systems in place.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

They got their shit together. But on the whole, you know, we, our industry is always about, you know, burning the midnight oil, working late.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And it's like a badge of honor or something. And I've always hated that.

[B]

I. Because we've worked with agencies before where it's just like they're all working.

[A]

They.

[B]

And they were always working. But there was so much downtime. Yes. So much downtime in between. In between. And I'm like. Is unacceptable.

[A]

It's like if we get this done, we could be done in half the amount of time here.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So I don't understand why. Why, you know, so much of the industry seems to glorify this, this, this whole, you know, and. Oh, you know, I'm, I'm all about Red Bull. You know, I'm drinking extra caffeine. Right. And it's like burning the mid. Like this is something. And you know, we're reality the way I see it. And just like what we just what you just said about the other agencies that we've worked with, you know, it seems like it's. It's not because they're overworked.

[B]

No.

[A]

It's because they have all these tiny interruptions. They take the weirdest breaks. They have all these, these things that discipline could fix. Doesn't.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. And they have all these micro distractions all day long, so it's like it's death by like a thousand pings. You know what I mean? Whether it's somebody's hitting him on slack, somebody's pulling their direction, whether they jump on something, you know, and, and again, this is pretty common in our space. So that's why I thought this would be perfect that we could talk about today. Yeah. Because I don't want to talk about, you know, time management techniques. And, you know, here there's a pomodoro technique. Go buy a little, you know, whatever works, works.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But I think the reality that we have to talk about, what we're here to talk about is, is we kind of suck at managing this. And in order to become good at what you do, you need to be able to manage time. Yes. On the whole, because. Okay. Time doesn't wait for anybody.

[B]

No, no, it's. Yeah, it. It's constant. It's constant.

[A]

Keep sticking.

[B]

It keeps ticking. That's right.

[A]

So we can't control that, but what we can do is control what we give our attention to.

[B]

Right.

[A]

During the time that we have. Right. So again, this isn't about planners. I don't want anybody to think that, you know, you're gonna, you're gonna get some sort of, you know, hack on your system. Sorry, Sean. No, we're not doing that.

[B]

I wanted to bedazzle something.

[A]

No easy button to this. Right. This is about owning your creative energy, owning your time. And, and that's kind of what I want to talk about. Because, you know, regardless, no matter which, which way you cut it, one thing that's a constant in this industry is designers are constantly juggling a million things. You.

[B]

Yes. It's by the very nature of what we do.

[A]

Right.

[B]

There is a lot.

[A]

Emails. Yeah. Jobs, requests, revisions, bills, invoicing proposals. Right. Like, you name it. Like fire drills, where always balance. We're juggling a million balls and it's just, it's. It's become second nature. Yeah. You know, if I don't have, like, six things on the go, which is probably a really bad thing, but if I don't feel. I don't feel like I'm actually busy.

[B]

Yeah. You feel like you're not doing things. That, again, too, is also part of the nature of what we do.

[A]

I agree. I agree.

[B]

You do have to have. And I think that's a good thing sometimes because you can, you can take a break on something when you're kind of hit a wall. Right?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And then you can move on to another project or something similar to that.

[A]

I agree. 100. Right. Like, we can't. You know, there's nothing that's going to change the industry. There's. There's no way that you can have just one job at a time and, and walk a single path.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Because then again, that's not how this industry works. While we do have peaks and valleys, we're constantly trying to take Work to avoid and minimize those peaks and valleys. Right, Right. I think the key in for us is to control what. What gets your attention the most. Okay.

[B]

Right.

[A]

In order to move your needle forward the most, whether it's projects, whether it's day, whether it's efficiency, you need your distractions. No, not necessarily. The distractions are those things that scream the loudest.

[B]

Yeah. Right, Right.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And I don't think that that's what this is about. This is about, you know, controlling the things that actually keep you moving forward. Right. And there's a lot of different.

[B]

See what you're saying?

[A]

Right. Because, again, the myth that we have to, you know, debunk is, is this. There's never enough time.

[B]

Yeah, we never have enough time to do whatever we got to do.

[A]

But that's bullshit.

[B]

Yes. There's always enough time.

[A]

There. There really is.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And again, it's. It's not a matter of you're. You're. You're out of time. It's a matter that you're using.

[B]

It's. Used it. Yes, exactly.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And I think that that's something that we've become really good at here as a factor. Big time is using our time efficiently. Right. And there's a whole bunch of things that, you know, ways we do it. And we'll talk about that today, of course. But again, it's like, you know, designers always go on about being slammed. They're so busy, and they're always scared to say that they're slow.

[B]

Yeah, right, Right.

[A]

Because, you know, slow equates. You know, it's like, yeah, I suck. I'm not busy. I'm a failure.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But that's not really what this is. Because being busy doesn't mean your success, and being busy doesn't actually mean that you're being productive.

[B]

Right. Okay.

[A]

Because how many people are busy all day long, but they don't get shit done?

[B]

They don't have anything to show for it? Yeah.

[A]

I've always had. I've had those days. Even recently, I think a couple weeks ago, I was like, from the moment I got in, man, I was running to the bathroom. You know, I wasn't. Cause I was like, I was so busy, and I was like, oh, God, I got to go be voltage, only to come back. And by the end of the day, I'm like, I don't feel like I do accomplish anything.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Hate those days. Right. So, again, it's not, you know, being overwhelmed isn't. Is no badge of honor, because I felt like I Wasted that day, and I hate that. Versus other days where it's like, you know, you're. You. You're in control. You get so much done. At the end of it, you're like, wow.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, I was damn productive.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You know, even on the weekends, I can't stand it if I'm. I mean, don't get me wrong. In the moment, I'd love to binge watch something, you know, and spend half the day, binge watch. By the end of the day, I didn't accomplish anything other than, you know, brain rot and, you know, versus those other days where it's like I get a million things off my plate and it just. You feel good accomplished.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So again, you know, I think the challenge here is, you know, a lot of designers don't actually know where all those hours go during the day. So while they do feel busy and they're constantly chasing and they're always scratching their head and wondering, why am I so busy? You know, the reality is, you know, they don't know where their time goes.

[B]

Right. Right.

[A]

And I think some of them would probably benefit by, like, tracking that for. For a day or two days or three days and. And kind of see where that goes, because I think people would be shocked to find out.

[B]

I think you're probably right. Yeah. There. Because now nowadays in this world, there's a ton of distractions.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

You know, that. That are kind of all that stuff's vying for your time. So I. I think back in the old days, it was a little easier. I hate to say that the old days. You know what I mean? Like, you were. You. You didn't have those.

[A]

You didn't have as many different kinds of distractions. So. Yeah. You know, I think the most common distractions, you know, is just this. This whole fake work that we're constantly, you know, creating for ourselves.

[B]

Got to do this and I've got to do that, and.

[A]

Yeah. And, you know, because of the. Sometimes there's a lot of pressure to jump into creativity or if you're not feeling creative.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right. You end up doing all this other fake work to keep you busy, like reorganizing folders or. Or double checking invoicing. Even though you just did that yesterday.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, and just kind of creating all this make work stuff for yourself.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

That isn't really project productive.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You know, so you're getting done, but it doesn't necessarily, you know, you don't necessarily need. You're repolishing a job, you're revisiting jobs and, and retweaking this. And it's just, you know, you don't want to actually do what you're supposed to do. Right. So you're kind of making up all this fake work.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And I think that that's, that a lot of people suffer from that and don't realize that they do because it's, it still is technically worked.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's funny because I just experienced that today. I've been putting off this Vis Me project because I'm kind of nervous about getting in there. So I was tweaking, I was tweaking one of the other projects that I was doing just a little too much today, but true. But you know what? I, as soon as I got into Vis Me this afternoon, I just kind of cranked through it all. Well, this is like, See, it's good. I was, I was a little worried, but.

[A]

Because you were uncomfortable.

[B]

I was uncomfortable.

[A]

So you were trying to find. But, so you were uncomfortable to attack the real job.

[B]

Yes. Yes.

[A]

So you would find all this. Something else everywhere else.

[B]

Drag me from that.

[A]

And here's the thing. When you're getting all these other fake things done, you're still checking that box.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You're getting that dopamine hit of, Of.

[B]

I'm doing. Yes.

[A]

I'm done. I got another thing.

[B]

This is perfect.

[A]

It doesn't matter if it's project related or not, because once you got that project done.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You actually move the needle.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

But the thing is, you got that quick little dopamine every single day, the hit, every time. And I think people suffer from that unknowingly. Okay. Just to feel like that they've actually accomplished anything, you know, So I, I do think that, you know, you know, I, I, I don't know. I think people just need to be a little bit more aware of this kind of stuff.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Right. For their own good anyway. And not be so scared. Because the one thing that's, that's for sure is the distractions are going to happen no matter what.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And you're doing the fake work, but once you actually get into your workflow.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Then you know that that's a different kind of rush.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay. And that's the best rush, in my opinion.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

A lot of things have to be working properly in order to get that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You need your time block. You need to be in the zone. Maybe, you know, you need the right tunes on. Right. When you get into that, that creative zone. Yeah. Okay. Shit happens. Project happens. Miracles Happen, you know, at the end of your hand. Which is pretty cool.

[B]

Yeah, it's true.

[A]

Why I'm doing this. Yeah.

[B]

Ex.

[A]

You know, and again. But the thing is, you can't actually get to that creative flow state if you keep yourself busy with emails every 10 minutes. Distracting with those distractions. Right, right. Because again, you, in order to truly be creative, you need long stretches of uninterrupted time.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And that takes discipline. Yes. That a lot of designers don't have.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, whether it's because they don't want to, whether it's because they're uncomfortable, whether it's because they don't realize the state they need to be in or the surroundings that they need to have in order to get that happen. So you. It doesn't help when you have 20 tabs open.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Or you're checking your email every minute.

[B]

What's Envato got for me today?

[A]

Yeah. Right. What's even worse? Yeah. Slack.

[B]

Slack.

[A]

If people have slack open. Right. Think of, think of Messenger.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

But just now with your customers, with vendors, partners. Right. You have like 50 messages going on at the same time and everybody. Dude, we have so many customers that have asked, oh, do you have Slack? I was just like, you know what we do. But, but we only use it internally.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And that's it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because we'll never get any work done if customers can feel like they can interrupt us anytime they want to. And now a word from our sponsor.

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[A]

Web design for graphic designers thinking, you know, that you can, you know, do all this, keep your tabs open, jump between project to project, jump on slack mult thinking that you can multitask and still get shit done on a regular basis. This is, this is bullshit. It's a myth.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And people just can't do that. You just can't get. I think designers need to genuinely try to get like two solid stretches of work every day. Oh, you know, like, like a batch in the morning, block in the morning, block in the afternoon.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Okay. Because emails are not going to go away.

[B]

No.

[A]

Right. And you know, customer requests and, and messages, you know, there's going to be things that are going to be vying for your time all day long. It doesn't mean that they have to have your time. Yeah. Every time they want it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. You can organize that. You have the power to be disciplined enough.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Honestly, giving. Give yourself in the morning a 90 minute stretch of just solid work. Okay. Have two or three jobs stacked up if you have to. If they're small enough in the afternoon, since there's more time, have maybe a two hour stretch in the afternoon on interruptive creative flow time.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

This is your time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. And you need that. And you need to be able to confidently and discipline, like shut everything else. You would be shocked how much work you could get done in a day by being able to just cut out the distractions.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

Okay. And how many designers couldn't do this because they'd be scared they're missing something?

[B]

Yeah. Well, that's the worst fomo. Yeah. Right.

[A]

I'm going to miss that one email. That's going to be a million dollar job.

[B]

Yeah, exactly.

[A]

There is going to be a design emergency that my customer needs and right away. Because I didn't jump on it right away.

[B]

No, it doesn't work that way.

[A]

It doesn't work like that. Right. And, and that's what I think. It's hard, it's uncomfortable to be able to shut that off, but you have to be able to do that. And this is where the discipline of the Japanese culture is incre. Because they can cut that tie and they built all these other things around them. Right. In order to keep all the distractions away and get that shit all the noise.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Interruptions. Handling interruptions, That's a huge, you know, time waster. That's a killer. Okay, Interruptions. And again, I get it with, if you're a freelancer, interruptions. Maybe if you're working home, you got kids bothering you, your dog's going crazy, mailman, there's a package waiting for you, right? Yep. Horrible interruptions.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

In house. If you're an in house agent, that might be a little different.

[B]

Right. It's harder because like, I know, like from freelancing and stuff like that, you, you can block time after the kids go to bed or something like that. Do you know what I mean? You talked about earlier with the blocks, you can, your blocks are very flexible at that time.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Whereas here it's nine to five.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Those are your block. You got to put a block in there. And if somebody's going to distract you during that, then.

[A]

But you know, you're not going to get shit done, unfortunately by, you know, constantly getting all these interruptions.

[B]

This is true.

[A]

Yeah. You need to basically start protecting your focus. Time, your creative flow time. Because that's the time that you need to get your best work done.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And by getting all these interruptions, unfortunately, throughout the day, it doesn't work.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, now I get it. You can't, you don't want to be a jerk and be like, no, sorry.

[B]

Don'T talk to me.

[A]

No, sorry. But the reality is, you know, you can have like a, you know, when I have my headphones on, you know, don't interrupt me.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

Better yet, you then take your phone and put it in the drawer. Because the phone is equal. Interruption is a big, big one.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But I'm talking about more if you're in the environment, like of a studio or something. Right, right. Or even an in house designer at a bigger company or something.

[B]

Right. Yeah.

[A]

It is to your benefit to talk to your manager and just be like, look, I, I am not looking to, you know, block off the whole day.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But the reality is, you know, I need creative time. I need creative time to concentrate on the job and get it done.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. Every, Anybody can respect that. Yeah. Okay. There's no rush. Okay. You don't have to be, you know, like a drill sergeant and 100% of the time, never take on anything in emergency, but you need to get to that point where everybody in that organization needs to be able to respect you. Okay. And again, even at headphones on.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, if somebody's tapping you on the shoulder and they're disrespecting it. You can be a little shorter with it. You can only pull one time open. Right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, oh, I need, I need this jumped on it. And then you just like, I have to finish this.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Can I get this done for you? We'll talk more.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Can I call you as soon as I'm done this?

[B]

Right.

[A]

Okay. Because again, you're just gonna have people climbing for your attention, and everybody's stepping all over everybody. So in some situations like this, you just need to speak. You're not saying, I don't want to take on the work.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

But I need to be able to get the work done, you know, in those times. And I, I, Everybody I've talked to. Okay. In that space respects that. This is true. And they get that.

[B]

Clients the same thing. Do they respect that?

[A]

Oh, my God. Clients. You just don't have to answer if you don't want to.

[B]

Okay, so that is the thing.

[A]

So 100.

[B]

You would be like, if you're in the zone and, and you don't have.

[A]

To take on the client. Well, and that's the thing. Clients are only going to treat you the way you let them.

[B]

That's true. So if you're available at their beck and call, they know they will always call you.

[A]

They will call you days, they will call you at night. So if you ignore them, weekend a.

[B]

Couple of times, or not ignore them, but you're too busy to take a call at this point.

[A]

100.

[B]

Not going to be that bad. Right?

[A]

It's not. And it really. Again, what kind of design emergencies do we have?

[B]

Oh, this is exactly it. It's not like heart surgeons or something. Right.

[A]

We don't have, you know, marketing emergencies. Yes. Even if you know something needs to get out because they're waiting for you at the press. Okay, well, they're not actually waiting for you. The press.

[B]

No.

[A]

They're not standing there at the press going, where the is that from? Sean? I'm not pushing this start button until there's a million things that they're doing until.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So this is why I'm recommending, you know, do the. Do the two blocks of time. 90 minutes in the morning, two hours in the afternoon. Yeah. Okay. And then this way, it gets you that emergency time if you need to. If, if a whole job crashes because you were unavailable for two hours. Okay. There's other going on. There's way other. Okay.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So again, if, if nothing else happens, you know, you need to try to protect your window. Yeah. And it's for your own, your own benefit here.

[B]

This is, it's going to benefit you for sure. Like, this is. You need that time to focus up on the job. Yeah.

[A]

I think there's something that a lot of designers overlook or refuse to believe.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Okay. And I am a huge believer. Okay. Of tapping into your circadian rhythm.

[B]

No.

[A]

Okay. It's a legit thing. Okay. Designers, they're doing it anyway. Okay. They're always like, oh, I'm a. I'm a night owl. I do my best work at night. Or, you know, oh, I like to do it first. They try to label themselves. Like, it's cool, you know, like we're all branding experts or something. But the circadian rhythm, for anybody who's been living under a rock. Okay. Is like your, your brain has natural windows. Okay. Where it's sharper, where it's more creative, where it's more strategic.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

You feel that. You know that.

[A]

You feel it. You know, it's. Once you tap into that, it changes your whole world. Okay. So you're right. I mean, again, sometimes it's like if I know I had to get a whole bunch of shit done. Okay. And it was creative work and I had to crank it out, you know, I needed idea plus execution plus all my skills.

[B]

Right.

[A]

That is strongest in the morning for 100%. And sometimes I would come in here early. When we're talking early, I'm talking four in the morning early. I'd wake up at home at 3:30, I'd roll out of bed. No distractions.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay. Music as loud as I want without headphones. Okay. In the echoing studio.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And. And I would just. I would crank out a week's worth of work in like a five hour period. Okay. And it's great. So basically by the time everybody's rolling in.

[B]

Yeah. My hair is done. Yeah.

[A]

Okay. So mornings, hands down and. Okay. Not insane mornings like that, but ideally, mornings are my creative time. Afternoons tend to be my strategic time. Right. This is just the way my brain works. Right. Yeah. Okay. The admin, you know, that, that just gets sprinkled in during my unproductive times.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But I'm kind of blessed because a lot of the admin stuff is now off my plates and other people are taking care of that, which is, which is great. I'm very lucky that. But again, everybody has these peak creative hours. Okay. And if you can tap into those hours, it is free. Super design power. Yes. Okay. It's, it's. You want to see how much you can actually get done. Tap into your circadian rhythm.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you'd be shocked at how much you can get done in such a short time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So again, you know, your brain is looking for that routine.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. And I'm not saying that you probably couldn't train your brain long term if you. Yeah. For whatever reason, you probably could. But the reality is, you know, they both. The message is the same. Find out what your circadian rhythm is.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And tap into it and use that to your benefit.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

This way, it's like. Heck, you know what? Like, if you're better off to. To use two hours in the morning, get all your creative, and only spend an hour in the afternoon to just polish off stuff. Do that.

[B]

Do that.

[A]

Chances are you'll get, like, almost a full day's worth of work if you tap into it at the right time.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[A]

And the catch is, you know, if you. If your circadian rhythm says that, you know, morning time is creative, afternoon time is creative, whatever. And you got your blocks, and you only have these small blocks of additional time. Yeah. That's the time you have to try to find and get your other done. Yeah. Okay.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Your proposals, your invoicing.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Right. And again, this. This has nothing to do with how much work there is. And we talk about, you know, like, the wasteful work or are all the interruptions. You know, this kind of stuff has to still get done because this is business.

[B]

It's. Yeah. It's a necessity. Right. Like, it's this part of the job.

[A]

It's part of the job. Right. But again, you know, this is up to you to streamline as much as possible. Okay. Just because you have a day's worth of invoicing, you know, and that's a figure of speec. It doesn't mean it's going to take you a day. A day to invoice. Because if it takes you a day to invoice, because you got to collect this information from this person, you got to call this vendor for this. You've got to double check with the customer. You got to check your hours. Dude, your process is rocked. Seriously, your process sucks. Because when that time comes, okay, everything should be there. An invoice should only take you a few minutes to do because you should already have everything for that invoice in place. This goes back to the discipline. This goes back to the process.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Okay. And this is what people don't get. Right again, you know, this is. This is what separates pro designers.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

From scattered design. Yeah. Okay, so this is what I mean. Like, when it comes to time management, a lot of it is in the designer's hands.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

They're just not sure what the hell.

[B]

To do with it. It's not sexy. And that's kind of the problem with it, too. Right. Like, you know, getting all your invoice together, it's just like. Like. Yeah, but you're right. You do something at the outset so that you could track this stuff so the actual invoice doesn't take you forever. Like, you're not looking all over the place and calling people.

[A]

It's so true.

[B]

How brutal is that? How many hours did I work on this? Like, you imagine, like, what a waste.

[A]

Yeah. Oh, 100%. Jesus. Right? You know, the only other thing that you know, designers have to learn how to do two other things.

[B]

Two other things.

[A]

Number one, they have to learn how to say no.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Okay. And this goes back to, you know, protecting your time. Okay. In the morning, in the afternoon, like we said, putting on your headphones, owning that creative flow. You can't be scared to speak up. It doesn't mean you have to be evil about it. Again, I said drill sergeant. It's true. Okay, but saying known to protect your time. This is your time. Yeah. To get shit done. And it's. Let me remind everybody, this is your time to get stuff done that you're expected to get done.

[B]

Yes, exactly.

[A]

So, again, by saying the real world, everybody, you're not helping any. Definitely not helping yourself.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you're not helping the person you're currently working with. Yeah. The.

[B]

The.

[A]

The extra job that gets added on to you working those extra hours. I mean, again, this is how burnout happens.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Burnout doesn't happen by working 20 hours a day on stuff you love. Okay.

[B]

Yeah, exactly.

[A]

Happens by working, you know, getting all these little.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

That are making you do things you don't love.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

All day long.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Every day. Time and time again and again. You know, if your hair's on fire all day long, well, guess what? You're going to be burning out exactly 100%. So, again, boundaries aren't fricking rude. And that's what people have to remember. Okay. It's how professional designers protect what they do.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. We're not scared to say no, no, no, no.

[B]

That's fine. It's.

[A]

We're to a point where customers, if they need something less than 48 hours, they're like.

[B]

They are just. Yeah, right. They're so like, oh, my God, I am so Sorry to be doing this to you. Which is. Which is an amazing thing.

[A]

This is 48 hours.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. We have designers that are, like, calling him at noon saying, I'm sorry, I need this. By end of day. We're given. We're like, if somebody needs something more than 48 hours, we're getting apologies, let alone.

[B]

I know.

[A]

We don't get same day asks.

[B]

Yes. Yes.

[A]

So this is. This is because we've trained it this way. We've created boundaries, we've created systems. They know the systems that we have, so it's not. Not rude. Okay. But people are only gonna. They're gonna act the way you've trained them.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

Yes. And so saying no is a massive, massive part. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And another part that. That, again, everybody always overlooks. And I think this is probably one of the most important part. Okay. Is in order to get a lot of shit done, designers need to rest, because resting is as much a creative tool as using my creative suite.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. Like, number one, you know, if you're acting like a zombie because you're tired, because you're. You're overworked, you didn't get a lot of sleep because you're putting late hours, well, that's going to kind of reflect on the work that you're going to do.

[B]

Yeah. It's going to be sloppy. Yeah.

[A]

Sloppy, uncreative. It's going to be basically productive, you know, or. Sorry, like production. Production work. Yes. Right. Nobody wants that. And you don't want to deliver that? No. Okay.

[B]

Nobody wants to phone it in.

[A]

No. Not at all. Not. Can you imagine? But again, when. When creativity, okay, comes from when you. You've had all the information sticking in your head, the knowledge, you know, and all of a sudden the idea is clear as.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay. Because to me, I'm a firm believer that, you know, creativity comes from knowledge, knowing, thinking, you know, letting ideas percolate in your mind. Okay. And that'll never happen if you're constantly trying to foggy. Push them out.

[B]

Yeah. Y. No, no.

[A]

Underneath this whole fog.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

It's impossible to do. So rest is important, but it's just as an equal deal. Because, you know, while, you know, some people hate this idea of, you know, a creative is a lifestyle, and you're always, you know, I'm a firm believer of the creative. Being a creative is a lifestyle.

[B]

Oh, totally.

[A]

It is 100% who.

[B]

You cannot switch it off. You're always thinking about something. Yeah. Like a solution or a project in the shower. I don't know how many times that's happened. It's like, oh, oh, right, I know what to do.

[A]

Exactly. And that is called the incubation period. Okay. And it is. And, and oftentimes. And that's why rest is important because, you know, you take in a job, okay. During the day, you know, you've got some time, you know, you do some research, you know the customer problem, and you just let it sit and fester. Yes. This is the incubation process. Okay. And what happens then is subconsciously your mind is like, like it's still on a mission. It's still working.

[B]

Yes, yes.

[A]

But not. It's not consciously working. It doesn't. It's not in the front of your brain, in front of your eyes the entire time.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

It's working your subconscious. And that's where the shower thought comes in.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

That's why maybe picking, you know, seeing a random sign, seeing a random, you know, commercial, some other form of inspiration. Yes. Puts everything together and you're like, that's it.

[B]

There it is.

[A]

But you need rest for that. And that's what people. Rest is how professional designers, long term designers, okay. Maintain consistency. They, they can, you know, continuously, you know, month after month, year after year, crank out incredible ideas because they know how to rest.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

And I hate some of them. I hear stories. Some of them are like on, on cruises, some of them are on beach resorts. They do these incredible retreats for like weeks at a time. And I'm like, I don't think I've had weeks in my entire career. But, you know, the reality is, you know, the most important thing that, you know, the most important tool that designers need is to have that downtime.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. Doesn't mean you're turning it off.

[B]

It's not, it's downtime away from the computer. It's working without tools is my step.

[A]

Oh, dude, that's brilliant.

[B]

Yes. It really is because you're always kind of. But it's, there's something about that. There's something about to be facing a problem and it just. You cannot figure it out.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

During the day.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Do you know what I mean? And, and, and you're just, it's frustrating. But then once you've. It's almost like a Zen thing or something. Like you just kind of like, oh, you let it go, you forget about it. But it's there. Yeah. It's always there.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know what I mean?

[A]

And then it comes to you.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And it's just like, really good idea. Yeah.

[B]

It's so good. It's so good. But that's. I see what you're saying. When, when you, the creative lifestyle you always live that you, you're living in.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Never.

[A]

But without the tools. And that's.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Br.

[B]

Into.

[A]

Good on you. That's amazing. Yeah, it is. It's because removing yourself from the tools, you know, will allow you brain to ability to just kind of kick back, to stretch, absorb. Yes, that's good. That's brilliant.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Love it. So build in downtime in your schedule.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. Whether it's, you know, for me during the day. I know this sounds ridiculous, but when I eat my lunch. Yeah, okay. I will, I'll shut everything down. Maybe I'll put on a YouTube video. I'll put on. And which is like trailers, movie trailers, or just like a really cool car video. And I'll just eat and everybody knows. Yeah. Don't come in if he's eating. It's broken downtime.

[B]

And it's true.

[A]

I, I see it all the time at the corner of mine. They come in, they see me eating, they turn around and they go. But you have to protect that time. And whether that time is during the day, whether it's nights, weekends, you need that downtime or away from the tools or away from creator, Adobe creator, whatever it is you're using. Right. You just get away from, from that because, you know, ultimately everything happens so quick. Okay. We've got a lot of things put on us, Right. But we only have so much time during the day to get this done. This is true. Okay. And we can't control time. But you can manage what you give time to all day long.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

If you can get a hold of your attention span throughout the day, you know, and, and, and protect your hours of getting done. Okay. And then, and then this way, get the rest you need to. You don't have to worry about. You can enjoy life nights and weekends.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And I, I, and we are proof that this can happen.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So don't, don't go on this. It can't happen. It can't happen. Okay. It obviously can, because that's what we do. Yes. Cool. I hope you guys got enough out of this. Please, by all means. You know, if you have anything else to add to this, drop us a line, let us know on social. And don't forget to sign up for our newsletter, Anger Management for Designers. So please, you know, more of this just online.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

All right.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

With that being said, my name is Massimo.

[B]

And my name is Sean. Stay creative and stay angry.