Making stuff automatically makes you better.

Music and links from this episode

Venga Bus by Pierlo

Walking Alone by Telegraphy

Barbarian by Pierlo

Do the Pump by MrJuan

Line-by-line notes

INTRO

No matter what you do as a job

I think you should be doing this thing in your spare time

Whether you're an accountant, a developer, a designer or a lawyer, doing this thing makes you automatically better at your job

That thing is stuff

And the thing you should be doing with it is making it

Because making stuff makes you better

This is AADA, and I’m Craig Burgess

By the way, I’m feeling in a bit of a Friday mood today

So today’s music is quite weekendy...

PLAY MID SONG

After recording another episode of AADA a few days ago, I started to think about what I could tell my younger 18 year old self

That if I could go back in time, what is the one most important thing that's turned me into the human I am today?

Im too humble to call myself successful, but I'm happy, and I lead a life I enjoy with no limitations.

I got to thinking about what makes a good designer, and what one thing you could teach a young designer that could potentially turn that young designer into a great one

When I sit down and really think about the things I've learnt in my short career of 11 years so far

There's lots of things I could mention

Creative ability

Curiosity

A passion for learning

Networking

Being friendly

Helping others

Having a vision

And never giving up

Yes, they're all important

And really, it's impossible or not really that important to pick one

But if I think about one thing specifically

It's the simple act of making things

And making things often

Let me explain

Making things can be anything, and I think that's why it's such a powerful concept to any industry

In my world, making things meant designing stuff

Even before I got my first design job, I've always just designed stuff

Ever since I started my design education

I became obsessed

And started just making stuff all the time

Because I was constantly making stuff

I was constantly getting better

I was getting 10000 hours of practice in just by designing stuff all the time

And at the time when I first started out

Almost 99 percent of it was for myself

Just making stuff completely for the fun of it

Some people would call this pointless

But for me

It was and still is some of the best work I do

Because you get to explore things

And learn new things

And you're doing it for yourself and for nobody else

I live for making work like this

And making things

At the minute I'm spending 2 hours a day making a podcast

And some people might think that's quite a lot of time

And it is

But I do it because I just love the act of making things

I'd prefer to spend 2 hours learning and making

Than 2 hours vegetating

Watching crap television

The simple and sometimes complex act of making

Has a deeper meaning for me

It's like my daily meditation

Or my daily exercise for my brain

Im a maker at heart

And if I'm not making things, I'm getting twitchy and not feeling myself

Making stuff makes me a better human in so many ways

So if there's one thing young designers should do

Is make more stuff

And keep making more stuff

Because making more stuff than everybody else

Automatically makes you better

OUTRO 

This was AADA. I’m Craig Burgess.

Music featured in this episode was

Venga Bus by Pierlo

Walking Alone by Telegraphy

Barbarian by Pierlo

Do the Pump by MrJuan

For a line-by-line run down of this episode, go to askadesignernaything.com/ep105

I’m back tomorrow for another episode of AADA

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