At work, I assign tasks not only to designers but also to developers, researchers, and analysts. Naturally, I always want my tasks to be done as quickly and efficiently as possible. That would be easy if I were the only one giving out tasks, but these people have multiple sources of work. They can choose which tasks to tackle first and which to ignore or postpone. To make sure my tasks don’t end up in the “ignore” pile, I use a couple of tricks.

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Make It Effortless to Start. A person has a long to-do list and needs to decide which task to work on next. To do that, they must quickly grasp what each task requires. My goal is to minimize the time it takes for them to understand my task.

If I need a developer to complete a task, I craft the task title so that just by reading it, they already understand the issue and the expected result. I attach everything they might need: mockups, browser versions, system details, and a clear description of the problem and the desired outcome—so they can verify the result themselves.

This way, there’s almost no resistance to starting the task. They know what the result should be, what needs to be done, and where to find the necessary data. Even if the task itself is time-consuming, it feels smaller and more manageable.

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Bait for Perfectionists. For tasks where I can produce a quick initial result—like writing text, gathering stats, or doing a rough design—I deliberately make it awful and attach it to the task. The moment someone sees my messy work, their eye starts twitching, and their brain and hands itch to fix it. Sure, they’ll think I’m hopelessly unskilled and should stay away from this kind of work—but they’ll still do it. And that’s exactly what I want. 🙂

These tricks work for me, and they’ll definitely work for you. Give them a try!

When I was in elementary school and couldn’t solve a math problem, my dad would ask, “Where’s your draft? Show me your thought process.” I didn’t understand why he needed that. After all, I already knew that I didn’t understand anything, so I would honestly say, “I just can’t solve it.” But my dad explained that the answer itself wasn’t the most important thing—what mattered was the process of thinking that led to it.

For a long time, I resisted and refused to waste my time on drafts. If I didn’t immediately see the solution, it meant I didn’t know anything—and so I might as well not do anything at all. That’s how I saw it.

But my dad would sit me down at the table, and together, we would break down the solution step by step, thinking through each move and checking the results. Over time, I accepted this method and still use it to this day.

Pablo Picasso said on Inspiration:

Yes, inspiration exists, but it must find you working. Don’t waste time waiting for the ‘right’ moment. If inspiration strikes—great, create! But don’t rely only on this magical component.

My dad wasn’t a great artist, but he was certainly a great father. And both he and Picasso spoke about the same thing: if you just sit in front of a blank page, waiting for a sudden revelation, all you’ll end up with is that same blank page. The best ideas and solutions are born in the process—through attempts, mistakes, and exploration.

Writers, artists, musicians—they all know that you can’t wait for the muse. You just have to start. Even if the first lines, brushstrokes, or notes seem unsuccessful, they lead to something greater. Inspiration isn’t the starting point—it’s the result of movement.

So if you feel stuck or don’t know where to begin—just start. Take the first step, no matter how small: draw a button, sketch an idea, or describe what you want the outcome to look like. And inspiration will find you—it always comes in the process.

The hardest part of transitioning from a designer to a manager is stopping myself from meddling with the designs using my now non-designer hands. As usual, the client sends a comment asking to move, for example, a button. I think, “Oh, this is quick; why distract the person?” I can do everything myself. Here’s the layout, here’s the button, just 5px to the right. It’s all simple—what could go wrong? It turns out, quite a lot.

Moving buttons is not my job. There’s a designer for that, who can handle this task better. They will notice that if they move the button a bit, they’ll also need to shift another element, and in this case, it’s even better to remove this thing altogether. If changes need to be made, I inform the designer.

There’s a lack of trust in the designer as a professional. This can lead to a decrease in motivation for the person. Why bother doing anything if someone will just come in and mess it up anyway?

It creates an illusion of work. Such changes can easily consume half or even my entire workday. In the end, I worked, but there’s no result from my work; instead, I “helped” others. So, why do we need someone as smart as me? I might as well focus on my own work, like replying to emails.

I used to do this, but I won’t anymore, and I recommend you don’t either. Guys, I swear, I won’t do it again!

At one of the meetings with a psychotherapist, we discussed how to help a child become more independent. The main thing I understood from the conversation is that you need to allow the child to do what he wants and can by himself.

The psychotherapist suggested an interesting method – the ‘lazy dad’. This means that the adult participates verbally but gives all opportunities for action to the child. For example, if the child asks to make a sandwich, instead of doing everything themselves, the adult becomes ‘lazy’. They ask the child to get the products out of the fridge, cut the bread, and cheese. As a result, the child has their desired sandwich and the skill to prepare it.

I first consciously applied this approach during the summer when my finger was broken. We were on vacation at our country house, and Vlad wanted to take an inflatable mattress to the river. But the mattress was deflated, and I would have inflated it myself, but at that moment it was difficult for me to do so. Instead of refusing, I said: “If you want, inflate it yourself, the pump is in the car.” I only helped with words: explained how to connect the pump. Then my son did everything himself: connected the pump, started the car, inflated the mattress, turned off the pump and the car, returned everything as it was. And, feeling proud of himself, went swimming on the mattress in the river. And I was proud of myself because I taught him how to use the pump with such a simple method.

P. S. This approach also works with adults. You just need to step aside and give people the opportunity to show themselves.

There is an exercise where you need to write down 100 of your wishes. Coming up with the first 10 or 20 is easy. It gets harder after you’ve listed the obvious ones like a phone, a car, a house, and a yacht. What comes next? Next, you have to think harder and tap into your imagination.

In design, solving a problem works the same way. The first solutions are simple and obvious—they just warm up your brain. Things get more interesting after the first ten. That’s where ideas are born that wouldn’t come up otherwise.

Don’t hesitate to duplicate your artboard and think through another option. It will only work in your favor.

Every morning, my Apple Watch sends me a notification about my activity from the previous day. And when I haven’t closed my rings, they tell me: “Don’t worry, today is another day.”

It’s a great attitude towards everything you didn’t manage to do. Didn’t finish something yesterday? Don’t worry. Today is a new day, take action. The most important thing is to keep moving forward and not stop. This wording is much more motivating than if they scolded me every time I missed something.

Encourage yourself, don’t criticize. The key is to keep moving forward.

We’re not just about creating design, but something deeper — education. It’s a challenging yet captivating process. Each of our projects is a form of education. Designers aim to educate not only their clients but the entire market audience.

We teach clients to develop their taste, broaden their horizons of perception, and see beauty in the smallest details. We involve them in the creation process, helping them develop their own style.

But it’s not just about clients. We also aim to educate the audience, inspire them with new ideas, and change their view of the world through design. We create not just products, but stories that reshape the concept of beauty and functionality.

Design is not just a tool to meet needs but a means to cultivate new perspectives and ideas.

When we have an idea, it may seem so bright and clear in our mind. But to turn this idea into reality, it is necessary to clothe it in words.

Clarity. By clothing the idea in words, you make it more specific and understandable. This helps you better understand what you want to achieve and allows other people to more easily grasp your idea.

Communication. When you express your idea in words, you can share it with other people. This opens up opportunities for collaboration, feedback, and new ideas. You can also use words to create action plans and strategies.

Development. You analyze it and further develop it. You can identify weaknesses and find ways to address them. You can also come up with new ways to implement your idea.

Motivation. You make your idea more real and achievable. This can be a powerful source of motivation for you and other people who share your idea.

Evaluation: You can assess its effectiveness and results. This will help you determine which aspects need improvement or change.

Recording your ideas is an important step towards their realization. It helps make the idea more concrete, allows you to share it with other people, and motivates you for further development. Therefore, do not hesitate to express your thoughts in words and share them with the world.

Just like I did with this note!