Relationships.ai

We’ve talked about love in a recent entry, and with love come relationships. In an Absolute World, we’d all be living in harmony, holding each others hands while running along a field of purple daisies all in One Love. However in the real world, we’re working with clients and colleagues who feel like it's the apocalypse, and with Photoshop running like a speeding coffee mug. What’s a loving graphic artist to do in a not-so-ideal-world?

1. Relax, breath. When you’re in hakuna matata state, you make better creative decisions, and find ingenious solutions faster. In this kind of environment, you can’t afford to work for naught and make wasteful panic decisions.

2. Smile. The Dalai Lama said, “A smile is the only crooked line that sets everything straight.” When you smile the whole world smiles with you. Always consider giving a relaxed smile (even a giggle) when you are asked to go to mars and back in 2 seconds. By smiling, you reduce aggression and stress. You relax and you create better.

3. Plan. Can you ever think of having lots of children in a shoestring budget? The same is true with working with designs. Each day you’re given a limited number of hours, resources and most especially, patience. So you need to manage and allocate your time and energy well.

4. Eat. Your brain is a 24-hour workhorse and you use it a lot for creative work. It consumes 75% of your blood sugar and 20% of your body’s oxygen. Imagine, your brain uses 1.5 calories per minute by doing crossword puzzles, how much more when you’re dealing with your beloved clients and layouts? So eat. Well-fed graphic artists are more creative and happy.

5. Like the last entry, when everything really goes sour. When you really can’t work it out, the last resort is to go home and sleep. Everything will be different tomorrow. Fresh eyes give you new perspectives, and new perspectives offer you a better view of the world around you. Always enjoy your days off, and feed the soul! Remember, “A Sunday well spent, brings a week of content.”

These are few of the hundred ways on how to manage your calling. If you’re a graphic artist and you know of other ways please share it to everyone and leave us a comment below. ‘Till next time! Kudos!

Sources: http://www.impactlab.net/2006/07/05/how-much-energy-does-your-brain-use/

Love.psd

Ever wondered how creatives maintain their hakuna matata in a calling that was ranked as one of the most stressful jobs in the world? Simple answer, love—it’s the thing that makes the difference between a job and a calling. Though we’re not Cannes divas or love doctors, here are four simple tips on how you could fall in love with your work all over again.

1. Never like, always love. Like is a diluted form of love. Romeo and Juliet didn’t die for like and artists never did art for like’s sake; they all did it for love! Whatever you do put your energy into it. Always think that whatever you design, you design for someone special. Just remember those kindergarten days when you tried to draw something nice with a crayon for your cute teacher.

2. Workplace less ideal? The simple fix is to find something or someone that makes you smile and distracts you from the stress crawling all over your desk. If you could find that, cling on to it, make it surround you. So every time you go to work, you could open your day with a big smile and the warmest “BONJOUR !” in the world.

3. Eat dark chocolate. This may not be for everyone, but eating chocolate increases your endorphin levels—these are the chemicals you get after a romantic date. The more endorphins you have, the less headache you’re going to have, the more in love you’re going to feel and the more creative you’re going to be.

4. Finally, if all else fails… go home and spend some time with your special someone. At the end of the day, what makes us perform well as creatives is our life outside work, the people and things that are close to our heart. People who see more, know more and if you know more, you’re probably more likely to nail that design before that 8 AM deadline.

So there you have it, simple techniques that everyone could apply. If you have your own technique, leave us a comment below and share the love!

Remember, love makes the world go 'round.