"9 to 5" = Average?

IdeasOnIdeas (Eric Karjaluoto) and others have been talking about what it takes to be a great designer. Now, I must admit that the original post was made by a serious graphic designer, which I’m not, but I think the sentiment can apply to any profession. Eric’s proposition is that you can’t be great if you don’t put in extra work and that in order to be great it is necessary to make compromises in life.

This post rubbed me the wrong way a bit because I think life balance is really important. It is a very individual thing. I need to be able to enjoy other aspects of life – spending time with my husband, being outdoors, practicing yoga, doing other creative things etc. These things are important to me. But does this mean I’m less good at what I do? After all, I could be spending this time learning more about web design.

My opinion is that spending time on other things actually makes me better at what I do. It brings balance to my life, opens doors, generates new ideas, and keeps me sane! I’m the type of person who would burnout pretty quickly if I spent all my time working. Some of my best ideas come to me when I’ve had the chance to step back and think things over – outside of the office and away from the computer. Last night I came up with a killer marketing idea while watching really bad 80′s television.

Liam, on the other hand, is on the computer for most of his waking hours. When he was working for a big company he would regularly work extra hours in order to get the job done to his perfectionistic standard. Then he’d go home and work another 3-4 hours on his own projects. For him, breakthroughs often come after a few hours of programming. For me, they are more likely to come when I’m not at the computer. As Jim said: “This is a business about communicating with PEOPLE about their life. If you don’t have one of your own, it’s hard to speak to someone who does in a way that invokes passion.”

I also think that there are many things that show passion for one’s work without necessarily working extra hours. I used to work with a bunch of people who would never do research on etheir own, or discuss new ideas, or attend optional seminars. They were boring to work with and they definitely lacked passion. People in my new office are quite the opposite. Even if they don’t work extra hours (which many of them do), you can see it in their expression when they start talking about their work. You can feel the excitement in the air when new ideas are discussed. That’s passion.

Eric, in his IdeasonIdeas post, implies that you have to be really dedicated to be great otherwise you’re just average (which he says is okay but the way he phrases it is quite disparaging). To me, there is more to life than being great at what I do. True, I would like to be very good at what I do. I would like to be recognized by others in my field. I would like to be satisfied with my work on many levels. At the same time, I want to have healthy relationships, a sound mind, a happy heart, and a fit body. If that means I’m not as great a designer as I could be, then so be it

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