It's ok that your work sucks sometimes.
I spent hours writing this week's article and then deleted it all.
Some concepts are difficult to articulate concisely. And especially difficult to communicate without coming across as pseudo-intellectual or preachy. It always takes twice the effort to write an article that is complex or abstract, over one that just describes the obvious. What I wanted to say will take more time and headspace than I have available today. Which is ironic given how much time I've already spent.
That's ok.
It's ok that your work sucks sometimes.
As my son just said; "They can't all be bangers".
If I'm honest, I'm not sure any of my articles are bangers. Though I do know that my writing has improved over the last sixty articles. Maybe with enough time and consistency the articles will get easier (or maybe it'll be like cycling - it never gets easier, you just get faster).
In a lot of the work we do, we focus too much on the metrics of what others define as good. Something readily comparable and easily quantifiable. How many likes, subscribers, followers. We don't focus enough on consistent, slow, and sustained improvement. Putting in the time to be [on average] 1% better each day, every day, year on year. Imperceptible to all but your past self.
I chuckle to think about it, but in 2024 it seems that clocking 10000 followers makes you more of an expert than clocking 10000 hours. What a time to be alive.
It's not that I want to become some wordsmith of great renown. In fact the purpose of my writing has nothing to do with writing at all. Instead the purpose of my writing, if I get meta for a moment, is precisely to demonstrate consistent participation my field. It's to show that I am here and continue to be so. To remind the world that I am active, and when you're ready talk design, I am too.
I keep writing so that I can keep designing.
Sure, I'll admit that when I set out with the blog it was boost SEO, grow a newsletter, etc etc. But as I've pointed out previously, the cost/benefit just doesn't add up. If I wanted to create a media empire, yeah that might have made some sense. But investing so heavily in areas unrelated to what I really want to be doing makes significantly less sense. With the exception of today, most weeks dropping a few hours into an article is what I would consider sufficient investment.
Of course, in an ideal world I wouldn't need to write at all. Instead, my work would speak volumes. But in medical device design it takes years for the work you do on the front end to show up on the back. Yes that's right, you have to work for years before you ever have anything you can show the world.
That puts you back at square one; putting in the time.
There is one thing that putting in the time does to build a business however. It builds an identity. For me that's my name, the brand, and showing up wherever I can. While some of that trust can be induced (by writing for instance), the kind of familiarity that builds a sustainable client base and strong industry relationships can only be achieved with time. It's as simple as that.
It's why the design space is dominated by the oldest players in the game. They may not be the best, cheapest, or fastest (pick two), but they've delivered consistently for many years. Decades. Reputations like theirs cannot be built any other way.
In the earlier draft that I unceremoniously scrapped, I planned to drill down into career objectives, goal setting, and growth. I wanted to expand on some things I've learnt recently in my own career. Specifically, how jumping at any and every opportunity that comes by may serve only as a distraction. That by doing so may inhibit long-term growth, rather than enable it. I wanted to discuss the value of identifying specific career objectives and focusing only on those activities that move you toward that goal. You can perhaps see why I scrapped it and started again.
Still, focus is an appropriate theme for today. Despite any immediate failure, being able to focus on that long-term objective and know that with consistent effort you'll get there. Even if the long-term objective is nothing more than consistency itself.
In the context of 5, 10, or 20 years of work, one dud article, one cancelled project, one broken prototype doesn't even move the needle.
Not everything you touch will be a banger, but 1% compounded daily will move mountains.
