You're a product designer with a heavy workload. How can you make sure you don't burn out?

I always believe "Whats get measured gets improved". Know where you spend most of your time, start looking for ways to improvise. There are always a better way to do certain activity or task, never stop looking for it.

é importante sempre cronogramar suas atividades no inicio de cada projeto/sprint, declarando para stakeholders ou PMs/ POs as etapas que ser?o cumpridas para o atingimento do objetivo, para que haja compreens?o sobre o tempo necessário para atingimento do objetivo com qualidade e que, se necessário, seja negociada flexibiliza??o nas etapas de modo a n?o abrir m?o da qualidade do entregavel compartilhando o risco com os envolvidos diante destas flexibiliza??es. Ao cronogramar suas atividades, você deverá necessariamente considerar sua carga horária de trabalho e a expectativa de data de entrega do grupo, e entender o que é possível ser feito dentro desta janela de prazo sem abrir m?o da qualidade e processos de Design.

I have found these helpful, 1. Break down a problem or a task into multiple small tasks, which will make it easy to prioritize and have the milestones delivered within the given timeframe. 2. Allocate these subtasks to resources who have the right skills for that particular task (be it vendor identification, 3D CAD building, research on off-the-shelf components, etc.). 3. Keep the customer, client, or stakeholder informed on the milestones and have daily or weekly updates sent to them in order to ensure they are aware of the schedule and the status of the tasks. 4. Help the team close small milestones within the time frame, which will set a feeling of accomplishment and will motivate the team for further tasks.

Setting realistic goals is a fundamental strategy for product designers to prevent burnout in the face of a heavy workload. Prioritizing tasks, establishing achievable milestones, defining clear objectives, and managing timelines sensibly contribute to a balanced and sustainable approach to work. Regularly evaluating and adjusting the workload, along with embracing a supportive work environment, ensures that designers can navigate their responsibilities without compromising their well-being. Incorporating these strategies into the design process not only enhances productivity and creativity but also promotes a positive and sustainable work culture.

As a product designer with a heavy workload, it is essential to prioritize self-care and prevent burnout. One effective strategy is to set realistic goals. By assessing your capacity and available resources, you can establish achievable targets, which promotes a healthy work-life balance. Additionally, identifying priorities allows you to focus on tasks that contribute the most value, increasing productivity and job satisfaction.

The most important skill is learning to say "no" without angering the person who wants something done. Few people teach us how to say no. My own technique is to put the "no" in the greater context of what we are trying to get done together -- and show how saying yes to their need will slow or hurt the overall project. Moreover, I usually go the next level of analysis on what it would mean if I said yes, so they can see that I did not say no lightly but had thought it through.

In my experience as a hyper-focus person, thinking about “managing time” is overwhelming, because I’m not aware of time while I’m working. So instead, I focus on managing very specific, prioritized small batches of user tasks (or any elemental piece of what I’m working on) that can be completed in a reasonable amount of time. I track my progress visually in a list—UX for myself. This is not a nice-to-have; visually tracking the completion of each task is intended to keep my brain’s reward system active. For visualizing progress, I prefer to avoid using management tools, as they often become a new task in themselves (making Trello look organized). Instead, I handwrite a simple checklist in my notebook, stepping away from the pixel universe.

I agree with proper time management burnouts can be avoided. With only organizational skill help many major manufacturing firms find success. Organise the day with reserving time slots to work on focussed topic of your deliverables. Google Calendar helps in creating focus time slots with notes and self reservations. Burnout happens due to piling of activities without proper planning.

In order to achieve exceptional results, it is important to set priorities and organize tasks efficiently and Make use of tools that can assist you in managing your time efficiently.

With my experience, what I understood is, if you dedicate your daily work hours (6 to 9 hrs) to do your work and nothing else, all your work will get done. We face time management issue because, we end up spend our work time doing non-work related stuff and at the end of the day we feel we didn't get enough time

You are the key ingredient in all the contributions that you make; if your brain is not at it's 100% capacity no matter how hard you work it would just not hit 100% productivity. Struggling with something for far too long? Take a break, go for a walk or just do something else.

Prioritize physical training to release serotonin; focus on sweating it out. Maintain a balanced diet, engage in recreational activities, and participate in a sport that challenges your endurance. Clearing your mind is crucial for enjoying your work.

Often it’s hard to separate yourself when you do something you love and enjoy. It’s important to remember that by taking care of yourself, you are also taking care of your creativity and your ability to be creative, which is in turn helping you work more efficiently.

Prioritize self-care - Just as a smartphone requires recharging, schedule regular breaks and indulge in a hobby. Like a software update, staying mindful of mental health ensures sustained creativity, productivity, and overall well-being.

As a product designer, both physical and mental health are crucial. Physically, maintaining the ability to sit for extended periods, cope with the demands of daily life, and sustain a healthy level of movement directly impacts performance and creative output. Mentally, managing stress, maintaining emotional balance, and solving challenges can influence creativity, overall work satisfaction, and the ability to tackle complex tasks. Creating a work environment that supports mental health promotes positive outcomes and creativity in achieving goals.

You can enhance your collaboration with the development team by acquiring additional programming skills. This proficiency will enable you to seamlessly create components within your chosen prototyping tool (Figma, XD, etc.), aligning your approach with theirs. Such alignment not only streamlines communication but also fosters more effective collaboration with the team.

Embrace a mindful approach. Imagine your workload as a garden – tend to diverse tasks with intentional breaks, cultivating balance like a gardener tending to a variety of plants. This metaphorical mindset fosters sustained productivity and well-being.

The only way to get even further is believing you have just begun and the best way to bet this feeling is trying to learn new software or new skills every year!

Not just learning new skills, but taking the risk to assume something new, regardless if this is the responsibility of a more experienced Engineer. Take this as your life school, when the company look at the team and you are constantly developing yourself and taking more responsibility, your are the top one for a promotion.

Learning is a never ending process. Being in a tech field, its always important to learn new skills whenever you get time. If you are working as an Engineer, recently I realized that Data Analysis is one important skill all Engineers should learn. Based on my experience making Product Design Decisions based on what the data suggests, really helped me improve the product functionality and reliability. If you are still thinking what new skills I can learn, start with Data Analysis and Data Interpretation.

Make time for your hobbies. Having a hobby that is unrelated to your work can help you relax, recharge, and explore other aspects of yourself. It can also provide a sense of accomplishment and joy that can boost your mood and motivation. Whether it is playing an instrument, listening to music, reading, or anything else that you enjoy, make sure you carve out some time for it regularly.

Infuse creativity and enjoyment into tasks. Treat design challenges like puzzle-solving, turning the workload into a playful quest. Embracing a light-hearted approach can enhance resilience and maintain passion, ensuring sustainable productivity in the long run.

I always infuse my creativity with one of my hobbies, either gaming or scrolling through design websites or even hanging out with my family members or talk to friends, I personally try my best to take a break every time I feel overwhelmed by a task, go outside, have a fresh breath of air before resuming working

Work is going to be 33% of your lifetime at least. You have to enjoy a little bit the process of your work otherwise it will burn you out. Make it fun or you’ll regret it

You never tired if you have passion and a joy for what you do. It doesn’t feel like a job and you wonder why you get paid for doing something you love to do.

If there is no safe space to say no to some initiatives and/or propose to de-prioritize or delegate others, consider quitting before you hurt yourself more. Toxic environments should be punished, not the employees who suffer from them.

Here are few scenarios which may cause burn out for product designer: 1. Working on a new product there is lot of initial work like building guidelines or working on components and making sure they follow all the norms like accessibility and also can be easily developed - Difficult to avoid unless planning is good 2. Working in different timezones can be difficult when they have very less overlap time especially in case of remote work - Need to adapt async comms 3. Lot of iterations or change of complete designs - Tech person should be involved in early stage or PM should have tech perspective 4. Working with multiple teams with no overlap at all can be overwhelming to maintain relationships - Request for common team if possible

In setting goals and managing time correctly, you should make sure that you are sufficiently committed to the tasks. In my opinion, it is important and necessary to know how to ask for help and maintain flexibility and space that will allow closing the gaps and meeting the goals. Of course, it is important not to take on too many tasks that you cannot handle. It is better to do a few high-quality tasks than a lot of low-quality tasks.

Sometimes, having a lot on your plate can actually help you avoid burnout. In my opinion, one of the common reasons creatives face burnout is due to the repetitiveness of the tasks they are working on. Working on a single product, especially in a fast-paced environment, for several years can become challenging. When I find myself in this kind of situation, I intentionally take on more work. Specifically, I start a side project that differs from my usual tasks. Then, when I begin to feel burned out, I switch to the side project, even if only briefly. This helps to 'reset' my mind, and when I return to the original task, it feels much easier.

If you have a tons of stamina, fill your private time with personal things, to prevent yourself to be working many overtime hours, it's not healthy, the next day you'll be feeling drained and all the rest might goes wrong.