{"rowid": 178, "title": "Make Out Like a Bandit", "contents": "If you are anything like me, you are a professional juggler. No, we don\u2019t juggle bowling pins or anything like that (or do you? Hey, that\u2019s pretty rad!). I\u2019m talking about the work that we juggle daily. In my case, I\u2019m a full-time designer, a half-time graduate student, a sometimes author and conference speaker, and an all-the-time social networker. Only two of these \u201cpositions\u201d have actually put any money in my pocket (and, well, the second one takes a lot of money out). Still, this is all part of the work that I do. Your work situation is probably similar. We are workaholics.\n\nSo if we work so much in our daily lives, shouldn\u2019t we be making out like bandits? Umm, honestly, I\u2019m not hitting on you, silly. I\u2019m talking about our success. We work and work and work. Shouldn\u2019t we be filthy, stinking rich? Well\u2026 okay, that\u2019s not quite what I mean either. I\u2019m not necessarily talking about money (though that could potentially be a part of it). I\u2019m talking about success \u2014 as in feeling a true sense of accomplishment and feeling happy about what we do and why we do it.\n\nIt\u2019s important to feel accomplished and a general happiness in our work. To make out like a bandit (or have an incredible amount of success), you can either get lucky or work hard for it. And if you\u2019re going to work hard for it, you might as well make it all meaningful and worthwhile. This is what I strive for in my own work and my life, and the following points I\u2019m sharing with you are the steps I am taking to work toward this.\n\n\n\tI know the price of success: dedication, hard work & an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen. \u2014 Frank Lloyd Wright\n\n\nLearn. Participate. Do.\n\nThe best way to get good at something is to keep doing whatever it is you\u2019re doing that you want to be good at. For example, a sushi-enthusiast might take a sushi-making class because she wants to learn to make sushi for herself. It totally makes sense while the teacher demonstrates all the procedures, materials, and methods needed to make good, beautiful sushi. Later, the student goes home and tries to make sushi on her own, she gets totally confused and lost. Okay, I\u2019m not even going to hide it, I\u2019m talking about myself (this happened to me). As much as I love sushi, I couldn\u2019t even begin to make good sushi because I\u2019ve never really practiced.\n\nTake advantage of learning opportunities where possible. Whether you\u2019re learning CSS, Actionscript, or visual design, the best way to grasp how to do things is to participate, practice, do. Apply what you learn in your work. Participation is so vital to your success. If you have problems, let people know, and ask. But definitely practice on your own. And as clich\u00e9 as it may sound, believe in yourself because if you don\u2019t think you can do it, no one else will think you can either.\n\nMaintain momentum\n\nWith whatever it is you\u2019re doing, if you find yourself \u201con a roll\u201d, you should take advantage of that momentum and keep moving. Sure, you\u2019ll definitely want to take breaks here or there, but remember that momentum can be very difficult to obtain again once you\u2019ve lost it. Get it done!\n\nDeal with people\n\nWhether you love or hate people, the fact is, you gotta deal with them \u2014 even the difficult ones. If you\u2019re in a management position, then you know pretty well that most people don\u2019t like being told what to do (even if that\u2019s their job). Find ways to get people excited about what they\u2019re doing. Make people feel that they (and what they do) are needed \u2014 people respond better if they\u2019re valued, not commanded. Even if you\u2019re not in a management position, this still applies to the way you work with your coworkers, clients, vendors, etc.\n\nResolve any conflicts right away. Conflicts will inevitably happen. Move on to how you can improve the situation, and do it as quickly as possible. Don\u2019t spend too much time focusing on whose screw up it is \u2014 nobody feels good in this situation. Also, try to keep people informed on whatever it is you need or what it is you\u2019re doing. If you\u2019re waiting on something from someone, and it\u2019s been a while, don\u2019t be afraid to say something (tactfully). Sometimes people are forgetful \u2014 or just slacking. Hey, it happens!\n\nHelp yourself by helping others\n\nWhat are some of the small, simple things you can do when you\u2019re working that will help the people you work with (and in most cases, will end up helping yourself)? For example: if you\u2019re a designer, perhaps taking a couple minutes now to organize and name your Photoshop layers will end up saving time later (since it will be easier to find things). This is going to help both you and your team. Or, developers: taking some time to write some documentation (even if it\u2019s as simple as a comment in the code, or a well-written commit message) could potentially save valuable time for both you and your team later. Maybe you have to take a little time to sit down with a coworker and explain why something works the way it does. This helps them out tremendously \u2014 and will most likely lead to them respecting you a little more. This is a benefit.\n\nIf you make little things like this a habit, people will notice. People will enjoy working with you. People will trust you and rely on you. Sure, it might seem beneficial at any given moment to be \u201cin it for yourself\u201d (and therefore only helping yourself), but that won\u2019t last very long. Helping others (whether it be a small or large feat) will cause a positive impact in the long run \u2014 and that is what will be more valuable to you and your career.\n\nDo work that is meaningful\n\nOne of the best ways to feel successful about what you do is to feel good and happy about it. And a great way to feel good and happy about what you\u2019re doing is to actually do good. This could be purpose-driven work that focuses on sustainability and environmentalism, or work that helps support causes and charity. Perhaps the work simply inspires people. Or maybe the work is just something you are very passionate about. Whatever the work may be, try working on projects that are meaningful to you. You\u2019ll do well simply by being more motivated and interested. And it\u2019s a double-win if the project is meaningful to others as well.\n\nI feel very fortunate to work at a place like Crush + Lovely, where we have found quite frequently that the projects that inspire people, focus on global and social good, and create some sort of positive impact are the very projects that bring us more paid projects. But more importantly, we are happy and excited to do it. You might not work at a company that takes on those types of projects. But perhaps you have your own personal endeavors that create this excitement for you. Elliot Jay Stocks wrote about having pet projects. Do you take on side projects? What are those projects?\n\nOver the last couple years, I\u2019ve seen some really fantastic side projects come out that are great examples of meaningful work. These projects reflect the passions and goals of the respective designers and developers involved, and therefore become quite successful (because the people involved simply love what they are doing while they\u2019re doing it). Some of these projects include:\n\n\n\tTypedia is a shared encyclopedia of typefaces which serves as a resource to classify, categorize, and connect typefaces. It was founded by Jason Santa Maria, a graphic designer with a love and passion for typography. He created it as a solution to a problem he faced as a designer: finding the right typeface.\n\tHuffduffer was created by Jeremy Keith, a web developer who wanted to create a podcast of inspirational talks \u2014 but after he found that this could be tedious, he decided to create a tool to automate this.\n\tLevel & Tap was created by passionate photographer and web developer, Tom Watson. It began as a photography print store for Tom\u2019s best personal photography. Over time, more photographers were added to the site and the site has grown to become quite a great collection of beautiful photography.\n\tHeat Eat Review is a review blog created by information architect and user experience designer, Abi Jones. As a foodie, she is able to use this passion for this blog, as it focuses on reviewing TV Dinners, Frozen Meals, and Microwavable Foods.\n\tArt in My Coffee, a favorite personal project of my own, is a photo blog of coffee art I created, after I found that my friends and I were frequently posting coffee art photos to Flickr, Twitter, and other websites. After the blog became more popular, I teamed up with Meagan Fisher on the project, who has just as much a passion for coffee art, if not more.\n\n\nSo, what\u2019s important to you?\n\nThis is the very, very important question here. What really matters to you most? Beyond just working on meaningful projects you are passionate about, is the work you\u2019re doing the right work for you, so that you can live a good lifestyle? Scott Boms wrote an excellent article, Burnout, in which he shares his own experience in battling stress and exhaustion, and what he learned from it. You should definitely read the article in its entirety, but a couple of his points that are particularly excellent are:\n\n\n\tMake time for numero uno, in which you make time for the things in life that make you happy\n\tExamine your values, goals, and measures of success, in which you work toward the things you are passionate about, your own personal development, and focusing on the things that matter.\n\n\nA solid work-life balance can be a challenging struggle to obtain. Of course, you can cheat this by finding ways to combine the things you love with the things you do (so then it doesn\u2019t even feel like you\u2019re working \u2014 oh, you sneaky little bandit!). However, there are other factors to consider beyond your general love for the work you\u2019re doing. Take proper care of yourself physically, mentally, and socially.\n\nSo, are you making out like a bandit?\n\nDo you feel accomplished and generally happy with your work? If not, perhaps that is something to focus on for the next year. Consider your work (both in your job as well as any side projects you may take on) and how it benefits you \u2014 present and future. Take any steps necessary to get you to where you need to be. If you are miserable, fix it!\n\nFinally, it\u2019s important to be thankful for the things that matter to you and make you happy. Pass it along everyday. Thank people. It\u2019s a simple thing, really. Saying \u201cthank you\u201d can and will have enormous impact on the people around you. Oh. And, I apologize if the title of this article led you to thinking it would teach you how to be an amazing kisser. That\u2019s a different article entirely for 24 ways to impress your friends!", "year": "2009", "author": "Jina Anne", "author_slug": "jina", "published": "2009-12-21T00:00:00+00:00", "url": "https://24ways.org/2009/make-out-like-a-bandit/", "topic": "business"}