The Everyday Designer #19 — Healthy boundaries: The best way to find balance

Have you ever worked madly late at night on an unreasonable “urgent” project outside your working hours? OR Have you ever felt that people expect you to work 24/7 because you are a “freelancer”?

Sometimes, in the growing “start-up and hustling culture” employees are expected to take all the responsibilities and are chained to their desks for long hours. All these things lead to burnout in the end.

Most of these problems can be solved by building healthy boundaries.

Hello 👋, my name is Meghana and I have been working as a Designer and Illustrator for the last 6 years. And if you are looking for a good work-life balance and peace of mind, you need to set clear boundaries with yourself and the client!

What does it mean to set boundaries?

1. Respect your time

It is very important that your client values your time and hard work. You shouldn’t work outside your working hours just because the client gives you an unreasonable urgent change in the project. Let your client clearly know your working hours and days. Make sure they know that “just a small work” outside your scope of work will be charged. This way the client is aware of your working schedule and you can work without exhausting yourself and can deliver quality work!

A short story: I used to work at an agency before starting to work as a full-time illustrator.In the beginning, I was very excited and used to enjoy exploring and working on every kind of design. I used to be so engrossed that I would end up working for long hours and it became a habit for me. Also, I had this urge to complete everything from the task list that I used to work overtime. Eventually, it led to bad burnout. I realized that I need to stick to the schedule and have some time for myself.

2. Mode of Communication

Never share your personal contact number with the client (except in a few cases). Imagine it is a Sunday and you are getting calls or messages from your client or it is a weekday but you get a call after your working hours, sounds irritating, right? Even though this feels like not a big problem, the moment you get a message you feel compelled to reply to it. Instead, before you start the work be clear with your client about the mode of communication and when they can expect a response from you. And the most important thing is to have all the important communication and sharing of files via email!

3. Get everything in writing

Have a detailed contract. Be clear about the scope of work, additional work charges, number of rounds of revisions, timeline, and buffer time for changes. Also, make sure to have a clause to let the client know that you won’t be responsible if there is a delay in response from their side.

4. Point of contact

Ensure to have only one dedicated person from the client’s side who gives you feedback about the designs. If there are multiple people giving you feedback on the design it will turn into a disaster and nightmare for the designer because often the feedback is conflicting due to a lack of communication between them.

5. Saying “NO” without guilt

There is nothing wrong with saying no! It is for your own good.

You are the one who needs to decide which project to take on depending on the factors like timeline, brief, cost and whether it fits your style. You have to say no if they are expecting you to do 10 hours of work in 2 hours (Or you can charge more😉). Don’t keep saying yes to everything just because it is easier to say yes than no.

To conclude, setting boundaries is beneficial for both the client and the designer. It helps you to deliver your best work. Hope you find this helpful!

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🌊 Currents

I love sharing what I’ve been up to lately and this is one way for me to let you in on what’s been happening in my life.

🚀 Currently inspired: Starship flight test: Anyone else a fan of space exploration or interplanetary travel?! Okay phew, not just me. I say we make it to Mars for 2030, only time will tell…

🎧 Currently listening: Succession Soundtrack: This contributes to my productivity levels and work getting done, very reminiscent of the Last of Us soundtracks in some regards. Nonetheless, catchy, and helpful with focusing on work.

🛹 Currently excited: Skate. : Who played Skate 3 as a kid?!?! I was so excited when they announced they’re gunna make a “Skate 4” which is now being dubbed “Skate.” Whatever it’s called, I’m excited for the day that I’ll be able to shred in 4k glory 🤙

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