Be Boring. (It's the only way to get work done.) ~ Austin Kleon

I'm up to Chapter 9 in my review of Steal Like An Artist, by Austin Kleon. This chapter is called Be Boring. (It's the only way to get work done.) and I will be covering the main points that it is trying to make.

I believe that Austin is basically telling us to take care—take care of yourself, take care of your money (stay out of debt) and take care of your life (through routine, calendaring and scheduling). These are all really good advice and can help with all walks of life.

As most people learn, you have to have a routine when working on a project. I was taught a really good way to start out projects and how to keep track of them, use a process page. I'm including an image of part of my process page as an example of the steps I take when working on a project. This shows that the steps taken for each one can be different depending on what all is involved in the project.

Just remember, even if you have a 9-5 job that doesn't have anything to do with design, make time to be creative and add that time to your routine. 

Austin is adamant about "Get yourself a calendar." I couldn't agree more. I have a calendar and a special app that helps me keep track of when everything is due. The app I use is called iHomework and it can be used not only for homework, but for scheduling projects, in general. It allows you to put in custom "Assignment" types (i.e. proof, brief, blog, sketches, key frames, story board, etc.) along with reminder alarms, who it's for, even partner names with contact information. You are then able to click on them when you have them completed and they go into the "completed" category. I LOVE this app! I'm including a screenshot of it so you can an idea of what it's like.