High Five #20 - The Fall Season 🍂
How to cope with a heavy workload, fall season book tips, and more.
Hey, everyone!
It's week 40 of 2023, and this is my high five:
Actually, before I start, I have to apologize for a minor technical glitch in the last post. I've noticed a "subscribe form" spam in both the email and Substack post, which I'm unable to fix. 🙈 I have reported the issue to the support team. Hopefully, they'll look into it soon.
Now, to my high five:
September and October are usually the busiest months of the year for work. I guess it is the same for you. I've had a pretty intense past 2-3 weeks, jumping from one thing to another and trying to understand everything. I always remember my lessons from the past (I've been doing design for a while, duh). While still trying to do my best, I also apply these learnings when work gets tricky, complicated, or there is too much:
Relaxing (or just taking breaks) is as important as being productive
Set realistic goals (workload) when days get busy
Break bigger tasks into smaller and manageable steps
Be cautious when multitasking, and balance focus and actual productivity
Keep up the healthy routine (diet, exercise, sleep)
One of my most recent projects will be released in the upcoming weeks. It's the AI startup I've mentioned in the post #18. I hoped to share some previews along the way, but unfortunately, there wasn't much space as the creative process got quite intense (I enjoyed it!). I'd love to share those designs later when the project goes live. It's one of my favorites this year!
With October hitting, we're officially in the fall season, and what it means for me is I'm about to start reading again! I usually read the most between October and February (I measured it). Evenings are longer in Czechia, making me want to sit down with a cup of tea after dinner and pick up a book. I also travel the most during these months. Here's what I have on my to-read list:
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr. Julie Smith
Finish What You Start by Peter Hollins
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
I've decided to stop recording the audio versions of my posts on Substacks (at least for now). It provided less value to my readers than I thought, and the functionality of playing audio is already built-in in the Substack app anyway. I know it is not my own voice, but that's fine. I have plenty of other ideas where my own audio recording would make much more sense.
A Little off-topics life update: I'm currently learning Californication and Boulevard of Broken Dreams on drums. I got less practice because of the work focus, but I am slowly picking up the pace again.
Have a great rest of the week, and talk again soon!
A.
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[This post was written by a human, not AI.]
Links & inspiration
Stuff I'm currently digging:
💟 Icons - SimpleIcons - Free SVG icons for popular brands, one click to download.
💻 Website - Cargo - Cargo took a pretty standout approach to their new site design. I'm unsure if I like it 100%, but kudos for their courage.
💻 Website - Rejouice - Agency website (branding and digital). I'm a big fan of project thumbnail hover videos and overall subtle aesthetics.
📏 Design system - Base by Uber - Not sure if this site is new, or it was around and I missed it. It's one of those design systems guidelines you wish you had created yourself. So much to learn from!
🔤 Fonts - Typeverything - A type-foundry specializing in developing display fonts. Now I know what I want for Christmas.