I am a designer. It’s how I spend my days and usually, my nights. I research, read practice, and talk design. I live in a world of fonts, grids, resolutions, and browser capabilities. I get distracted by good font choices and unfortunate signs walking down the street, and whole dinners have been spent analyzing menu designs. Welcome to the geeked out life of a designer.

I also teach yoga. I target shoot (give me a 9mm. and I’ll be happy). I go to as many live concerts as possible. The mere sight of Sephora makes me giddy (and glittery, by the end of a visit). I love winding around back roads with the windows down. Last night, I joined a fight club.

None of these things really go together, and they definitely don’t fit into my design world. That’s the point. If all I did was design all day and night, I would be facing a quick and recurring burn out. With the deadlines, fatigue, meetings, and business aspect of freelancing, I need to be able to step away and let my mind relax now and then. Even though my brain is saying to keep working, some of my best ideas come from these times away from my computer. Staring at a design for hours doesn’t usually help me, the design, or the client.

Another benefit of being involved in so many different things is that I learn to see a variety of aesthetics and environments. Want to know how design for people? Get to know people. The inner city gym guys, my fashionista single ladies, moms of all ages, and my flower loving hippie friends all offer me new ways of looking at the world around me. They give me color palettes I would never use on my own (I just used yellow for the first time in a design) and they have information that would take me hours to research. I am challenged in new ways and stretched as a person and as a designer.

Whether you design or not, I would encourage you to do something completely unexpected and new. Get away from your desk, your work, and maybe even your friends for a while. Talk to a stranger next to you at a show, join a fitness class, or go to an unusual event. Learn how to cook, draw, or throw a mean punch. I can guarantee that you’ll meet some interesting people and possibly learn more than you expect. I’d love to hear about the experiences you have!

Some places to start:
Wild Goose Creative
Ohio Fight Club
Junctionview Studios
Justice Gardens

*Photo via Ffffound.