Work Flow
Working in the creative space I feel that we all benefit from stepping away from a project for a while before returning to it with a fresh set of eyes. I definitely feel the act of pushing the project aside to focus on another task brings something extra to the table. The unfinished task swims around my unconscious picking up connections and surfacing to encourage notes before submerging again.
A brief layout of my workspace would be I have client boards up on the wall, deliverables on the righthand side of the board and briefs, outlines and texture on the left.
I like to start with a hack piece, the most everyman version that can be banged out in a stream of conscious style. This is printed out and pinned to the client board then I walk away.
I think it was journalist A.J. Liebling that said
"I Can Write Faster than Anyone Who Can Write Better, and I Can Write Better than Anyone Who Can Write Faster"
So off I go to another project and work on that step by step until the progress on the project finds a natural pause. Returning to the initial project I write the most flowery prose in the romantic style as one is one best able to express the secrets of the universe, to evoke the spirit world, infinity, and the absolute. After laying the glamour on with a trowel I flounce out the room for a quick absinthe at the peacock room not returning to work that day.
On returning to the board the following day I denounce both pieces as a travesty of typological turpitude and write a new piece being hypercritical of word choice and style. I think Flaubert had it right when he stated that he believed in and pursued the principle of finding "le mot juste" ("the right word"),
I now have a piece that can be shown to the client. This also should have a period set aside for reflection. "Looking forward to your feedback on Friday" the last thing you want is a reply in 15 minutes and if I get this I typically reply "Thanks, for your initial notes and I look forward to discussing your thoughts in detail on Friday. This gives you and the client time to mull over the work.
I find this process helps my workflow and the work flow.