modus operandi

Emails > phone calls > in person

Using the right communication tool for the task is crucial to maximizing efficiency. Getting together in person is great for first time meetings (although usually a phone or video call will suffice), phone calls are good for hashing out more complex tasks/problems, and emails are great for giving itemized tasks or edits. Most of my communication is through email, as it gives me an instant digital trail of tasks, dates, and requirements, and allows me to respond at regular, determined intervals (rather than interrupting my workflow). If you’re a person who likes to do a lot of phone calls and video calls, I can tell you right now that I’m probably going to try to steer you toward email as much as possible.

And everything in its place

I’m a very organized person. I’m at my best when projects come to me in an organized way (and I generally bill hourly, so the more disorganized the project is when I receive it, the more it costs you). You’ll get the best out of me if the only problems I have to solve are design problems—spending time sorting through convoluted instructions or incomplete/confusing content shifts my focus away from what it is you’ve hired me to do for you.

Balancing admin time with design time

I run this business by myself, and I try to keep admin time to a minimum so that I can focus on the design work. My contract is written in simple, easy-to-understand language because like me, most of my clients are small businesses and don’t have a legal team to review. I also do all of the accounting and invoicing (and hunting down of late invoices), all of the scheduling, and all of the general administrative drudge work.

I *might* be wearing pajamas right now

I design from my home office in Fonthill, Ontario. I listen to music and podcasts as loud as I like. My coworkers are pets. I do strength training on my lunch break. I have a beautiful tiny oasis of a backyard full of birds and trees that my office bay window looks out onto, and I take my coffee breaks by my small pond. When the work allows for it, sometimes I even work from my deck. I have a pretty fantastic setup here, so if you’re looking for a designer to work in-house on a contract basis, that designer definitely isn’t me.

Not just a movie starring the great Dolly Parton

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that there’s a lot more to life than work. I enjoy what I do, but I also have a bunch of hobbies and people and animals that really fill my cup. Having a proper work-life balance and engaging in activities that re-energize me is crucial to creativity and critical thinking. A burnt out mind is a limited mind.

To that end, I try to work a normal 9-5 workday, and I’ve recently started taking Mondays off whenever possible to create a four day work week for myself, a trend that I hope will continue in other workplaces. In line with a lot of the studies done on a four day work week, my productivity hasn’t decreased at all—I’m billing the same number of hours per week, but I have an extra day to attend to life stuff—whether that’s painting my house or reading a book.

Practicing our trust falls

This relationship requires trust on both sides. I have to trust that you’ll treat me as a respected partner and pay me for the work I do for you, and you have to trust that my consultation is rooted in a wealth of education and experience. Just as you’re an expert in your field, I’m an expert in mine. If you can’t trust that’s the case, then our working relationship will be a constant struggle.