Contracting is like riding a bike without the stabilisers
After easing into contracting this week, it was straight into the deep end of work.
It’s the end of my first full week as a contractor, and I’m starting to realise what people mean when they say there aren’t enough hours in the day. This week has made me realise two things:
- I relied a lot on my coworkers when in an agency, and
- Contracting is a test of whether your process really works
Teamwork makes the dream work
It’s interesting to think that only two weeks ago, I was within a team who I had known for three years. I was used to the people, comfortable with our way of working, and I knew exactly how we worked best together. And I think I took a lot of that for granted. Only this week am I realising that I wouldn’t be able to seamlessly start a new role and feel at home like I did at Inktrap. I’d forgotten that working with new coworkers and clients meant that there would be a period of adjusting.
As I’ve been focusing a lot on user research this week, I’ve noticed how much I would have relied on a wider team for support. For example, I was used to having a team that I could delegate work to. Perhaps I’m a bit harsh on myself, as I’d assumed I would be able to maintain the same level of output as we had at my previous role, but I don’t think I’d recognised that most of the time, there was two of us working on a project at once. At the moment, I’m fortunate to be working with someone else, but as both contractors, we’ve got our own tasks to do, so it doesn’t feel quite the same.
A designer is only as good as their process.
I was trying to describe the feeling of what it is like now being a contractor to my boyfriend, and the closest I could get is that it feels like the stabilisers of the metaphorical Design bike have come off. It’s time for me to keep the bike balanced while still going forward.
It feels like all the workshops I’ve run, all the processes I’ve tried and tested have been mounting to this point where it's now time for me to really see if the process I thought I had really worked, rather than the process just working in one agency, for a certain type of client or project.
I suppose it’s too early to say at the moment, but it’s not all fallen apart yet, so I can only take that as a positive. Though working as a contractor has been quite an upheaval, I am quite proud of myself and the work that I’ve done so far. It’s almost been self-affirming that actually, I am a good designer, and I do know what I’m doing (surprisingly).
I’m going to keep it short and sweet this week so that I can enjoy the long bank holiday weekend. But I do want to share the new tools and processes I’ve learnt by doing user research this week.
If there are any resources you think would help me on my journey, let me know, as I’d love to learn more.
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