I don't know what it is, but when I'm working in InDesign I stay and stay and stay. Work was officially done at 6:00 p.m. today. It's now after 11:00 p.m. and I just got home. I was making little signs for the Alumni Journal booth I'll be manning during the big alumni homecoming (of sorts) this weekend. Really, they're kind of dumb little things. But I couldn't call a sign or form (I was also working on a questionnaire, among other things) done until I'd fixed every little thing. I mean, what is that? But the thing is, I didn't mind at all. I was in the zone. Enjoy it? Maybe. Time just was going, but I was just there, doing my thing.
Thinking about it while walking from the car to the house, I wondered what it would take to just make up a little sign real quick and call it good. And on the flip side, what it would take to scheme and then produce a really elaborate sign, like a true graphic designer would accomplish. I'm in the middle, or have been this week. I couldn't decide whether it was a blessing or a curse. It's great that I see the little things that I want to adjust and fix and change, I guess. But the problem is that I can't be done until it's all done. It may be somewhat perfectionistic, but only in the scope of my limited abilities and creative vision. It's more of a perfectionism in process or something, not actual product. I can't make anything whoa that's crazy amazing. I can just bore you to death with my diligence. But again, I didn't notice that I was lingering. I have no idea how long I was actually spending on things. It was just happening. I listened to Coldplay's Parachute album twice, with plenty of silence bookending the listens. That's something.
Will I understand this better someday? Will "it," whatever it is, turn out to be my thing, a blessing, a gift? Will it just always be a weird requirement for getting arguably menial tasks accomplished? More of a curse? An unfortunate side effect? I really don't know. But I'd like to think someday it will come in handy and I'll be the envy of the town. (Not with that attitude, Mister.)
1 comment:
This study reminded me of this article/study that Tommy just told me about: so interesting!
http://www.texasenterprise.utexas.edu/article/creativity-idea-work-employee-pay
I think it's sooo easy to get hung up in making something "creative" (I am soooo guilty of this) but in this study, the researchers asked one group to just CRANK OUT as many pieces as they could and then asked the other group to focus on making fewer "quality/creative" works....and the interesting thing was, they found that the creativity of the two groups products was actually very comparable and the quantity-focused group of course had a lot more projects to choose from because they had been given deadlines. Reading the study made me want to focus on doing more and thinking less...because I think like Ira Glass says, doing alot of work is really important. Ok, I'll end my ramble, BUT on the flip side of my ramble. I definitely think caring about the work you do is a really, really good quality. And so maybe there is a middle ground! :)
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