This is an article on the topic of purpose. You know… the reason(s) why we exist. The thing(s) that get us out of bed every morning and make our existence go from bearable to pleasureful. For us designers, creating is a big part of that purpose but is it all there is?
If we know our purpose, we won’t be pulled by the many internal impulses and outside distractions. We would do things aligned with it, have direction and live our lives more intentionally (and not on auto pilot). That’s what it means to do something on purpose and with purpose.
We would have made one decision that makes all other decisions easier to make. Making sure we do the right things, for the right reasons.
Clear? Clear. Cool.
Going beyond the basics above, this article is a documentation of my purpose as a designer. I am documenting it for myself but also opening it up to perhaps inspire a younger version of myself or perhaps even a future self, when lost and in need of re-centring.
To understand my purpose as a designer, we have to start with my purpose as a human being.
I got to my purpose while having a conversation with a close friend of mine. In a moment of crisis, my friend asked me:
What’s the point of it all, what’s the purpose of life?
I first gave an answer I heard somewhere out there:
That’s a question that life asks you. It’s something that you should find and give the answer to, you won’t get an answer from the universe or from somebody else.
Even though I believe that’s great guidance, after a bit of back and forth, I articulated my version and came up with something more straight forward. My friend wanted an answer after all, not a question. My final answer was:
Maximize life.
That’s the high level purpose I settled on back then and the one that still works for me a few years after.
It’s simple. But it has many (unnamed) layers and (detached) components. Just like my design files.
How does this translate? How can I have some more detailed guidance from my purpose? How can I use it for how I live, how I parent and how I work?
Let me break it down for ya (and for myself).
As a human…
Maximize life, as a human, for me means: I want to have as many experiences as possible. I would like to maximize my time on this earth. I want to open myself up for everything that life has in store. Have fun. Do things that give energy. Be bold (< I had to do it :)) and brave. Try new things and even if it’s a failure, it will be a lesson type of experience.
Besides for myself, I want to maximize life for my family and friends as well. Provide, lend a helping hand and create experiences for others. Lift people up, don’t put them down. What’s the point of my life being maximized when others around me are miserable and don’t live life to the fullest?
The principles that support all of this:
Maximum 1 hour of screen time per day.
Damn, that’s hard, almost impossible! Right??? Even though I know that every hour I spend on my phone is an hour I spend away from life. It’s an hour spent in the virtual world, not in the real world. I like a phrase I heard recently, that the phone is an “experience blocker”. I don’t want to block myself of experiences. Not one bit.
Maximize interactions and connections, minimise distractions.
See above. Damn you (beautiful) screen. Even if I overstep that 1 hour of phone usage, I don’t regret it if it was chatting or face timing with friends and family. I prioritise that over doom scrolling.
Don’t accumulate possessions, accumulate experiences.
Perhaps my book and running shoe collection is a contradiction to this but those things push me to have more experiences. That’s how I rationalise it at least. Even though I am not a minimalist, I want to use the time and money I have for good, for maximisation of my life. I don’t want to waste them. I like to remind myself daily that I have plenty material things.
Help without expecting anything in return.
My satisfaction lays in helping others. That’s my reward. Give maximum of my time and energy to others with minimum amount of taking. It’s a balance though, this does not mean not asking for help when needed!
Be in the best possible shape physically and mentally.
Be active, rest well and be healthy. Without this, none of the above is possible. We don’t fully control our health but we can make changes and influence things in the positive direction. We owe this to ourselves and the people around us.
Finally… As a designer…
Maximize life for me as a designer means: creating more. Design as many experiences as possible. It’s not only about quantity though, I aim to maximize the quality of those experiences as well. What else, what else… It means staying away from the non essential / non value added activities, being in the flow, being productive. Think, design, write, speak, present. Move things forward. Jump at opportunities, don’s shy away. I believe one thing can lead you to the next — an article can take you to a speaker opportunity which can take you to new connections and possibilities. Go for it! In sum, this is all about maximizing my potential and make good use of my talents.
In line with what I mentioned above, this is about maximising life for others. So this also means —being useful. It’s not only about screens at this point, it’s actually more about setting direction, helping and mentoring others and improving processes. It’s about leading others but at the same time, being a servant and a guardian for them. It’s also about creating value (making money) for the person / company that pays my salary.
And last but not least, it’s also about improving lives of people using my products (a.k.a. users, customers, travellers in my case). How can I maximize life for them? I can give them a utility that makes their life easier. I can make it pleasing to look at and use. I can take complex things and make them simple for them. I can give them clarity. All of this so they can get what they need and move on with maximizing their lives outside of the screen.
The principles that support this:
Work for companies that are the right fit with me and my purpose.
I want to work in places and on challenges that add more to my experience. This for me was and still is big corporations in the FinTech space for the past ~10 years (damn, time flies). My last two companies provide utility to a big number of people and aim to empower people as part of their missions. As a bonus, these are companies that I admire and use myself, even before working for them.
Aim for maximum impact.
Whether it’s a big strategic North Star initiative that can change a course of a business or small quick wins / optimisations, I am always on the lookout for ways to maximize my impact. This means prioritising work that has a clear WHY to back it up. And clear success metrics that can ensure we are on track.
Give the people what they need!
Don’t waste people’s time. What would be the easiest, quickest path to their needs or goals of the user? Understand them and give them exactly what they want. Or as a stretch — give them something better that not only does the job but delights in addition to that.
Add to other people’s portfolios, not just mine.
I want to enable my team members and add to their portfolios. I am far enough in my career trajectory, with no rush to advance further at this point. I want to serve others, help them reach their potential and grow in their careers. If there is a opportunity, I want to give it first to my team and if there are no takers, only then it can go to me. Help them make great work and then become their biggest promoter.
That was my purpose.
What’s yours?
Whatever it is, I wish you a maximized life!
This article was originally published on Medium. You can find the original post here.