High standards and knowing when to stop aren't opposites
This week, Design Lead Jordan Snell shared a lesson in our company-wide Roundtable. The topic centered on how he navigates a busy week across multiple clients — a constant challenge for any agency or freelancer.
Here were a few of our team's favorite takeaways:
1. Keep prioritizing Your plan on Monday may not be your plan by Tuesday. New information comes in, client needs shift, and priorities change. Part of doing the work well is being willing to reassess and adjust as the week unfolds.
2. Bucket similar work together Instead of bouncing between tasks, messages, and meetings all day, group similar work when you can. This reduces context switching and makes it easier to stay focused, lowers mental fatigue, and helps you make meaningful progress instead of feeling busy all day.
(and the big one...)
3. Know when to stop This was the lesson that resonated the most. Jordan talked about the importance of recognizing when something is done enough to serve the client well, rather than continuing to refine it simply because you could.
One of the most screencapped slides from his pres was: Holding yourself to a high standard and knowing when to stop are not opposites.
In other words, more isn't automatically better. Our job isn't to demonstrate everything we're capable of on every deliverable. It's to solve the client's problem with the right level of craft, thoughtfulness, and effort for the situation. That's creative discipline.
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