The brain consumes 20% of the overall energy produced by the body, but it only represents 2% of your total body weight. That’s insane!
So, why not protect it?
Graphic Design is demanding in its nature: you enjoy the work so much that it’s easy to blur the lines between personal time and work time. This results in an exhausted, depleted, and uninspired mind. I can’t speak for anyone but myself, but in my short-lived experience as a Graphic Designer, I can surely say that ever since there has been a shift in my awareness of how much I’m asking of my brain, my creativity has exploded.
TAKE BREAKS. In 2010, 20% of the workforce admitted to eating lunch at their desks. You can read more about the Vanishing Lunch Break, and how in the end you become less productive overall. Here are some awesome ways you can take breaks if you have to eat lunch at your desk:
- Call your mom
- Go outside
- Chat up a classmate or workmate
- Do jumping jacks
- Basically do anything that takes you away from your desk and into a different mode.
Find out if you’re performing sustainably with this simple questionnaire.
Some creatives swear by the witching hour as well as procrastination, but I don’t believe that lifestyle to be sustainable, or in anyway healthy.
MEDITATE. Get a “gym membership for you mind.” Holy sh*ts, meditation has changed my life. Particularly this wonderful app:
If you’re intimidated by the monthly cost of the app — which I definitely was — don’t worry. Headspace provides 10 free 10 minute sessions along with several animations that help you grasp what meditation is really all about. It is beautifully designed (the logo is a hand drawn circle) and includes everything you could ever need when it comes to meditation. Some of the subscription perks include: “on-the-go” sessions for sleeping, walking, and eating, as well as SOS sessions directed towards calming you down in a highly stressful situation.
I was hooked by session 7, and I have been meditating everyday for about a month now. That says a lot considering I had never meditated before opening up this app.
Just a few reasons to start:
Don’t let self-doubt be a creativity killer.
We are all amateurs, but even the best designers know there is someone better than them out there. I recently came across this awesome website full of articles on how to become a better designer. These have helped me realize I am not the only one having these thoughts, and that this career is full of challenges, no matter how experienced you are.
This video is maybe overshared, but it’s a perfect reminder:
THE GAP by Ira Glass from Daniel Sax on Vimeo.