Use big numbered goals
Why you should have a giant numbered goal
I know you are smart, you are used to define goals for everything you do so to keep the motivation strong. The next step I recommend is to set not only a standard goal for your project, but also a numbered goal.
What is a big numbered goal?
It’s something you can measure
To keep the motivation high, you need to see that you are going forward. Having as a goal to produce a great logo isn’t enough. It’s a great vision, but not a goal. The easiest way to keep the motivation is to use a goal that is linked to something you can measure. If you are a Graphic Designer, you may produce 100 logos during an exploration phase. If you are a researcher, you may want to find 200 insights. If you are a Service Designer you may want to produce 50 prototypes. And so on. Just find something that you can actually measure.
It’s a hard, symbolic goal to achieve
Pressure is a great source of inspiration. Pressure also helps to keep you motivated and keep you working. When you set a goal for your next project don’t use a goal like: produce 3 items. Think rather with tens and hundreds. At first this might seem impossible and crazy, I know. During my years as a graphic designer I achieved such crazy goals: like creating 1000 logos based on one idea (see more projects in the last section). This seems crazy but it’s possible and not so difficult. You just have to set the goal and keep on working until it’s done.
A big numbered goal is also something symbolic. If I had to choose between the numbers 40, 50, 55, I would do 50. The number you choose to do will be one of the key element that you can use when doing clients or class presentations. You can pitch in 30 second your project by saying: “I researched 300 solutions, to then test out 70, produce 10 and select one as the final product.” This last sentence is how I used to pitch my master project after having explain the main context.
It’s a goal that is possible to achieve
It’s great to have a big numbered goal, but you have to achieve it.
For your first huge numbered goal I would recommend to try something that isn’t too big. Don’t go for 1000 the first time. Try with 30 or 50.
Of course the numbers of items you produce will be bigger if the items are simple. If each item is quiet complexe, like prototypes, go for a goal between 50 and 100. For things like an icon or a logo go with hundreds. For ideas, research insights and mental concepts do the same.
It’s a right balance that comes with practice
Everyone has a different rythme, you have to find yours.
Like for methods, you need to adapt the goal to your way of working.
Your first huge numbered goals will be too hard or too easy to achieve. With the time you can find goals that are the good fit between what you can achieve and what makes keeps you proud and motivated to work.
Why should I set one for my project?
Because you need constraints
As expressed in an article explaining why you should use a timer to be more creative: you need constraints to be creative.
Because you need to let the shit come out
“The first draft of anything is shit” — Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway is one of the greatest writers, he was also just productive. The more you work on a skill set, the more you will be skilled. If you want to be a good designer or creative you have to work hard for it. Their is this myth about the creative guy that makes people think that good ideas and work come from nowhere. That’s not always true. There is a huge proportion of good work which is good because people just worked hard on it. I discovered that when I used gigantic goals I had to let all my shitty ideas come out first. You know, these obvious ideas that everyone has, but nobody really expresses. I also discovered that once I had all my assumptions and obvious ideas out, I then started to think better about the work I was doing. I instantly remembered key insights, came back to my research and founded new ideas that I would never thought of otherwise.
Because you need motivation
When it’s easy to do it, you push it to the next day.
Workers, creatives, designers are like athletes, if you don’t give them a personal or world record to overcome they start to be lazy. Having a huge numbered goal is like having a personal record to push. It helps to maitain a vision and keep you motivated. Because you know that it isn’t easy, and that you will need to work hard, you will start sooner. If it’s too easy, you will usually wait the last time to just produce something based on your previous schemas (see next section).
Because you need to overcome your limits
To learn something new, you have to fall.
There is a time in your work when you get skilled enough to produce on good item easily. It may be a logo, an illustration or a concept. With the time you can produce a good product from the first draft. But this product is usually built on a lot of preconceived schemas. If you want to learn something new again, you have to overcome these schemas that you use everyday. I discovered in my journey using big numbered goals, that the first ideas I produced were always based on these schemas. Then after tens and tens, the schemas were not sufficient enough to get ideas come out. That’s when you start being in danger and learning again.
You have to find new ways to get ideas and that’s when you start to be innovative again.
Projects that used this method
I used huge numbered goals since 2010 I use crazy and huge goals for creative projects. Here is a list of projects I did with their goal, just to show you once again that it is possible and motivating to have giants goals.
— 1000 hand made book covers with a personal sign
— 1000+ logos based on one proverb
— 860+ icons mixing 51 locations with 17 objects
— 300 ideas with sketch and description to improve the homeless situation
— 200 simple and bold icons, the biggest Noun Project collection so far
— 100 vector icons drawn with the thumb on a smartphone
Going further
Discover the other ground rules from the Shit Ideas Method
to generate new and crazy ideas.
