As we embrace 2024, Nigerians adopt the mantra ‘no gree for anybody’. This means you should not let anyone or anything stop you from reaching your goal, destination, dream, or potential.
I like this slogan; it resonates with my resolve for the year: I won’t allow myself to stop me from reaching my goals. Before we talk about those goals, a bit of background story.
Background story
In 2020, I delved into the writing world, ghostwriting and crafting engaging pieces across diverse niches such as Fashion, Web 3, Business, Mental health, Beauty, and lifestyle.
During this time, I also started experimenting with Canva; a friend saw some images I created and encouraged me to try out UI/UX design (User interface and user experience design).
So, I signed up for the Zuri Internship( a tech internship for beginners) and started virtual classes.
I followed every class and did my assignments diligently. But I noticed I struggled a lot with the UI aspect of the course; oh dear!
We had some fantastic designers, some with previous knowledge and others like me, who were complete newbies, but I persisted, did my final project, and passed.
I wasn’t sure if I fit into the UI space, but I tried another internship to ensure I had given it a good shot before quitting.
Like the last time, I did my best, but I still wasn’t great with UI, so I gave up and decided to try something else. During that time, I had a “world stood still moment”.
A turning point
A UI/UX designer had made a post on X( formerly Twitter) for her donation app project; the post was very engaging. I had to read the entire case study she had developed on Behance.
The case study was nicely curated; every part of the project was logical and followed the proper sequence with the right visuals to explain.
But something else struck me about the case study. The text on the UI was filler text(lorem ipsum text). I wondered, “Why would anyone ruin their project by taking out the piece that completes the puzzle?”
That moment birthed my curiosity; I wanted to know whose role it was to create such text or copies. Why weren’t they in the process from the start? Content on an interface tells you how the product works, so why skip that part?
There were many questions, and I had to find the answers.
Beginning as a UX writer
I researched enthusiastically, trying to understand the different writing roles that exist and their perspective.
I found out it was the job of UX writers (also called content designers) to create UX copies for digital interfaces, sometimes even physical products.
I was excited! My curiosity was satisfied, and most importantly, I found a place where I felt comfortable.
So, I got to work:
- I watched videos
- read articles
- took courses (some free, some paid)
- signed up on ADPlist for mentorship with experienced UX writers
These actions spurred me to take up the 15-day UX writing challenge (between you and me, it’s like a ritual for those coming into the UX writing space, lol).
I continued my exciting quest to develop as a UX writer when the challenge ended. The first step was to boldly update my LinkedIn profile to UX writer (I was excited to make that announcement ).
I made posts about my 15-day UX writing challenge and wrote a summary article. Check out the article.
Then, I reached out to designers on LinkedIn with whom I could collaborate; I collaborated on two projects successfully.
Most importantly, I connected with experienced UX writers doing great work and sharing their knowledge and struggles.
Now, with a background like this and thinking of my journey, I thought of how to make the Nigerian mantra for 2024 work for me.
I had to be honest with myself and make some changes. That is the basis of this article.
Re-introducing Myself as a consistent UX Writer
Reflecting on those times, I struggled with UI/UX design. I realised that I was striving for perfection when what I needed to get better was consistency.
I have found a space, my space as a UX writer; this year, my goal is to be consistent in my journey.
My goal for consistency this year:
- Share my journey through articles on Medium biweekly (currently, I’m taking a course that will help me achieve this)
- I’d share articles about UX writing based on my experience to help you understand UX writing.
- I’ll read four content books this year.
Equipping myself for this journey, I discovered two invaluable tools.
- Goal tracker: A goal tracker is a lifeline for someone like me who struggles with consistency. With the goal tracker, I plan to keep a tab of my article topics, set a calendar for content publishing and have a space to dump my thoughts for my articles.
Check out this amazing Notion year planner by Alison
2. A reading app. This is not an advertisement for any app, but I recommend the ReadEra app. It has impressive features for its basic plan, and my favorite part is that it’s Ad-free.
These goals aim to work on consistency, share my knowledge, and build my writing skills as I develop into a T-shaped UX writer(I’ll explain this as time goes on).
In alignment with my 2024 mantra, ‘no gree for anybody,’ I am learning that success isn’t an overnight feat. It results from consistent hard work, a principle I carry into my journey as a UX writer.
So, what do you say? Would you like to work on consistency as well? Take a bold step with me, “no gree for anybody”.
Make a goal, create an active plan and follow through, especially on those bad days. Don’t give up! Push!
I hope you enjoyed this article. See you in the next one 🤗. Follow me for more about UX writing.