10 Things I’ve Learned This Year
1.My time is limited.
We all have just 24 hours each day to achieve things, and you need to find ways to be more effective. If it’s not going to help solve the problem, get someone to help you and lead you in the right direction.
2. My family or health is not comodity.
You can’t just go and buy a new family or a new body. So whatever you do, keep that in mind. You might one day regret that you haven’t spent more time with your loved ones. Don’t sacrifice those family or health for anything else.
3. Building a product is hard — super hard.
Making your own startup is like a rollercoaster ride. One moment, you’re up and super hyped. Two days later, you’re down like it was the morning after a New Years party. The important thing is to get up and keep moving forward. It can take 2–3 years to to get to where you really want to be. Never give up. That’s what I do with Othericons.
4. Don’t disconnect yourself from humanity.
I’ve found out that everyday people often give me the best types of ideas. I don’t want to design or build products for people like myself. I want to build things for real, regular, hardworking people, but in order to do that, I need to really listen to them. Turn off your music and listen to people on the bus or on the street. You will hear interesting things, and problems that you can help them solve.
5. Food is important.
I’ve really started to realize how large of a portion of human life is taken up by food. Don’t eat junk food. Focus on quality and you’ll notice a big difference. I also quit coffee this year, but I’ll get back to that in a different article.
6. Don’t hustle (too much).
You can’t be successful overnight (some people can but it’s rare). For most people, it’s going to take years to see the results of their work. Never stop. Slow down for a bit if you need to, but keep moving forward.
7. Working hard and travelling is possible.
I have traveled to 8 different countries (including 3 week trip over California) over the past year, and I have still been able to lead the Design Team at Toptal. Don’t listen to people who say that you need to be in the office to produce great work. It’s simply not true.
8. If you reach 500 connections on LinkedIn, nothing happens.
It’s a little like Pokemon, you catch all of them and that’s really it. I haven’t found any value in it (yet).
9. Be passionate about the stuff you do.
Never ever be ashamed to show your passion for something. People will constantly recognize you for it, and you will be seen in a better light. Passion is the momentum that will help you to move forward.
10. Say no, and say it often.
I have finally improved my ability to say no to people. Life will prepare lots of different paths and distractions for you. You need to be able to say no to them and focus on your target. It’s not easy, but it’s definitely possible.
Each of these 10 items can be a separate article, and I promise that I will write way more this year. Last year I made 7 articles, and that’s not bad at all. Next year it’s going to be double! :) Thanks for reading this!
About Me
I’m the lead product designer at Toptal. This year, we worked hard to launch Toptal Designers, an amazing community of UI, UX, visual, and interaction designers from around the world.
