Oh, Come On, Just Do the Task

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 23:20:20 +0300

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.

0001
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.

0010
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!

Don’t touch it!

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 17:40:18 +0300

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!

Sasha's Digital Garden: posts tagged managment

Oh, Come On, Just Do the Task

Don’t touch it!