I’ve finally finished some projects I’ve been designing. They’re ready for your viewing pleasure. Once I get the printed ephemera, I’ll post another higher quality image. Enjoy.
- Letterhead
- Business card
- Sign (24″ x 36″)
- Magnet (12″ x 4.5″)
- Window decal (40″ x 18″)
Back in November, 2007, I started working with Independence Investment Education, a company in Pittsburgh, PA. They provide affordable education for trading stocks and options. It was a great pleasure working with these folks, and I’ve learned a lot about myself in the process.
What did I learn, you say? The two most important things I learned in the past three months are, 1) the meaning of deadlines, and 2) how to give myself a buffer between my optimistic goal and the deadline.
Deadlines mean always finishing early. In the past, with school projects, I would sometimes work up until the day of the deadline, finishing just in time to hand in my work (since then, I’ve broken this nasty habit). However, in the business world, this is not something anyone should risk. Things come up, distractions, delays, anything could happen. You can’t plan for everything, but you can give yourself extra time to recover from delays.
Enter the buffer. Giving yourself more time than you need is essential. One may have the urge to estimate how fast you can complete the task (to please the client’s schedule), and then set that as the deadline. However, this is just plain foolish. For instance, there are a number of things that could delay the launch of a web site (i.e. server crash). It’s hard to account for every one of those things before they happen, but you’ve got to give yourself time to recover from errors, even if they’re not your fault.
Remember, you can (and should) always finish ahead of schedule. If everything goes according to plan, you finish very early, if it doesn’t, you still have to beat the deadline. Learning this has made a huge difference in how I plan my projects. I’ll never miss a deadline, it’s absolutely not an option.
