Take a freakin’ break!
How to Become a Design Genius: Take Time Off. Lots of It.
Every seven years, the graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister takes a one-year sabbatical. As he argues, that’s not so crazy.
Stefan Sagmeister is one of the most talented graphic designers working today, so he knows a little bit about keeping his creativity flowing. His trick? Taking really, really long vacations. In fact, every seven years, he takes an entire year off.
As Sagmeister describes it in his recent TED talk (which just made it to the Web), we spend our first 25 years learning, the next 40 years working, and the last 15 retired. “I thought it might be helpful to cut off five of those retirement years and intersperse them in between those working years,” Sagmeister says. And what’s more: “That’s clearly enjoyable for myself but probably even more important is that the work that comes out of those years flows back into the company and the society at larger rather than benefiting just a grandchild or two.”
You have to admit it’s a pretty great way of looking at things. And incidentally, it’s one that neoclassical economists such as Milton Friedman would endorse–those types are always rattling on “consumption smoothing“–the idea that consumers will spread their income or goods (such as leisure) over time, so that overall consumption is even. Sagmeister channeling Friedman? Who knew?!
Sagmeister notes that the first sabbatical wasn’t terribly useful because it wasn’t structured enough. But when he segmented his day into activities–from “storytelling” to “future thinking”–things started to pop. In fact, Sagmeister argues that all seven years of work after his time off sprung from ideas that were formed during the previous sabbatical. His proof is his own charming portfolio–including one example of a brilliantly flexible logo system he designed. Check the video for more.
Have you ever found yourself saying “I need a vacation… A really long vacation”? I know I have. The idea seems blissful, but then you start thinking about the biggest consequence to not working: no income. But, say that was not an issue (which is hard to believe in today’s economic situation). I know several times I have called off of work because I was becoming burnt out from the combination of my job, freelance work and classes. Then when I come back, I am refreshed and can work to an even higher capacity. Producing higher and higher qualities of work all thanks to these mini-breaks have given me several raises throughout the couple years of working as a graphic designer. When Stefan Sagmeister gets back from his vacations, he is able to create an even larger income because of the higher quality of pieces he develops all because of having a very long vacation. Now not everybody can take a year-long vacation after seven years and not regret about it, which is why I believe companies should enforce four-day work weeks. Instead of the Monday through Friday, eight-hour day, let’s change it to Monday through Thursday, ten-hour days.
As a designer, these are my personal reasons as to why I believe four-day work weeks are highly effective:
- Designers often find themselves get so involved in a project that we will not stop until we are completely satisfied with the results. When I get to that point, I find it very difficult to find the motivation to start back up again the next day, so an extra two hours in the work shift would not hurt.
- Let’s be honest, do we want to spend about 71% of our days of the week at work? Why not 57%? Imagine all of the extra projects we can do personally for ourselves but haven’t been able to get to them due to constantly being pushed back by other projects!
According to the Newser on a four-day work week experiment in Utah, there are even far more beneficial reasons in which help the economy, the environment, and even your health!
- Closed offices on Fridays have cut energy use by 13% and reduced the state’s carbon footprint by some 6,000 metric tons—and that doesn’t even count the gas saved through fewer commutes.
- There’s less traffic with people commuting at different times, or, on Fridays, not at all. That means less air pollution for drivers.
- After 9 months of the program, the state had saved $1.8 million in operational costs.
- A survey showed that 82% of workers like the new schedule more than the five-day scheme and “show decreased health complaints, less stress, and fewer sick days.” Meanwhile, “productivity and quality of service” are up, writes Ben Jervey.
So the next time you find yourself saying that you need a vacation, do not be afraid to listen to that voice. In the end, everyone benefits from it! Take a freakin’ break!