The Design Process
Years ago I came across this beautiful illustration of what the design process actually feels like.
Starting something new is tough. Whether itâs a new career, a creative endeavour, or simply gathering up the courage to leave the oppressive, high-demand religion you were raised in. đ
In my case, itâs exacerbated by having ADHD. Something I need to write about in more detail in the future. What this means is that I often get stuck in the âresearchâ phase. This is often called âanalysis paralysisâ. Itâs the beginning, the starting point, where everything youâre coming up with feels like garbage. You have this far away concept of how you want things to look but you canât quite pinpoint it yet.
Adults with ADHD also tend to be perfectionists. Itâs scary to put anything out into the world unless itâs 100% ready. It never will be 100% ready, hence getting stuck in the first or second phase.
I have no idea where I found this quote but I read it often to remind myself to just put some shit out there. Just do! Refine the process as you go along.
âPreparing to do the thing isnât doing the thing.
Scheduling time to do the thing isnât doing the thing.
Making a to-do list for the thing isnât doing the thing.
Telling people youâre going to do the thing isnât doing the thing.
Messaging friends who may or may not be doing the thing isnât doing the thing.
Writing a banger tweet about how youâre going to do the thing isnât doing the thing.
Hating on yourself for not doing the thing isnât doing the thing.
Hating on other people who have done the thing isnât doing the thing.
Hating on the obstacles in the way of doing the thing isnât doing the thing.
Fantasizing about all of the adoration youâll receive once you do the thing isnât doing the thing.
Reading about how to do the thing isnât doing the thing. Reading about how other people did the thing isnât doing the thing. Reading this essay isnât doing the thing.
The only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing.â