The Trick To Producing Great Work- Consistency.
Is there really a trick to producing great work? I guess we’ll find out. Keep reading.
The word “Consistency” is probably one of the most used words I have heard since I got into tech. Consistency is simply doing the same thing over and over and you get better each time.
According to the 10 thousand hour rule, it takes 10,000 hours to be a master or prodigy in something; which makes a lot of sense. But between me and you, we don’t have that much time, do we?
If you’re like me trying to transition into a new field, I really don’t have that much time. So how do I become good enough to get skilled enough to be job-ready?, you guessed right, CONSISTENCY. This means showing up either I want to or not, putting in the work and hours INTENTIONALLY.
Most people give up not because they don’t want to be consistent but the time it takes to be consistent enough to become good at a skill or whatever they are doing seems too long. We, myself included want to do amazing work as fast as possible and trust me it doesn’t work that way- I'm still learning the hard way. We have to accept the fact that our work at the beginning would be trash but with the help of showing up and being consistent, we will get good over time.
By now you are wondering what the trick to being consistent is. I’ll tell you of my journey into UX.
In October 2020, I got interested in UX design, I was pumped and determined to learn. I quickly made my research on how to get started, I read a couple of articles on medium, watched some youtube videos. I was pumped to get started, there was this adrenaline rush I had.
After a month, I had gathered a few resources to get started. I began learning Figma, it was great at the beginning. I created my first mobile app design. It was terrible which was fine I mean I am just starting, but it wasn’t fine to me. It was ugly and felt off compared to what I saw on dribbble and Twitter.
I spent two months comparing my work with others I saw online. I got stuck in that hole and it began to affect my learning. I was searching for the perfect course that would make me a “zero to hero designer” in a couple of months.
The adrenaline wasn’t there anymore. I stopped learning, I felt UX design wasn't for me. I spent time admiring other folks designs instead of showing up for myself to get better each day. Then in January of 2021. I read Cal Newport Get So Good They Can’t Ignore You and it changed my whole mindset.
After reading that book, I asked myself, How bad do you want this?. I made up my mind to show up for myself even on the day I didn’t feel like it.
It’s roughly 5months and I can proudly say I have improved a lot more than when I started last year. I still have a long way to go but I’m determined to stay consistent to get good enough to put out great work and land a UX design job this year of course.
So what’s the trick to producing great work?
Overcome your fear of producing terrible work and build from that terrible work by showing up, learning and iterating till you get good enough to produce great work. The most important thing is to start and focus on your journey.
