I’ve been feeling increasingly indecisive recently. Hours spent trawling Netflix insearch of something to watch, along with agonising over what to have for dinner, each and every night.
Let’s call it ‘possibility paralysis’, indecision in pursuit of the perfect outcome. I’m sure we’ve all experienced this feeling at one time or another, but in our brave new world of remote working, isolation can magnify these feelings and get in the way of creativity.
Don’t get me wrong, second guessing myself and overthinking every detail are a vital part of my creative process, but without the ability to huddle round my Mac and bounce ideas off the team, I’ve been feeling a little unsure of late.
In an effort to recapture the energy of an office stand-up, and give myself more perspective, I’ve made a conscious effort to host team calls to share designs early and often. Sure, it’s easier to ping out an email to ask for feedback, but it’s those watercooler conversations that usually let you know you’re on the right track.
I’ve noticed some of our clients feeling this way too. While we’ve always seen close collaboration with clients as an essential part of the creative process, video calls are no substitute for getting people together in a room for a kick-off meeting. So we’ve had to explore other ways to engage everyone in the process.
Like with our internal catch-ups, we’re now sharing things more frequently. No more holding off until we polish the ‘perfect’ idea, instead we’re sharing initial concepts and hand drawn sketches. Bringing clients into the creative process like this, we’ve been able to refine ideas more quickly, which gives us extra time to execute the final result. We’ve also found that this approach breeds more confidence in everyone around the virtual table, reducing the desire to continually churn out new ideas in search of the ‘perfect’ outcome.
Despite these challenges, I think we’ve delivered some of our best work over the last year, and I’m really proud of how both our team and clients have adapted to this new way of working.
