Design like an Athlete

I'm in the middle of a career shift. I have five years under my belt as a professional designer. My background is in architecture and I am now making the pivot to digital design. What's been on my mind is the process of this change — rewriting my resume, refining my design skills, and ultimately repositioning myself so that I can break into UX design.

I used to be an athlete — a competitive athlete. I trained with some of the best players in the world and have also spent the last five years giving back to the community as a competitive youth coach, training driven young kids who have dreams like I used to.

Mentors and industry professionals have all given me the same feedback: take it off your resume. But I just can't seem to do it. It's such a simple act — highlight the text, hit delete. I would have more real estate on the page, a more concise story of who I am as a designer. Less fluff, they say. So why can't I do it?

I went for a run today — it's day six of my marathon training. It was ugly. It hurt. I haven't run in a long time. It was new for me. But what wasn't new was the attitude and discipline it takes to train. That has been ingrained in me since a young age. It got me to one of the highest levels of competitive sports for women and it's what's going to get me to finish this marathon. It is the mentality to put in the work. It is the attitude that's going to make me a better designer.

There is a phrase I often tell the kids I coach: "push through the awkwardness." They always laugh at it, but that's because they know it's true. It's awkward sometimes — learning a new skill, training your muscles, being pushed out of your comfort zone. All you can do is keep doing it.

I came across a short video called The Gap by Ira Glass. It was the final lesson in the UX Academy through Designlab, and it has stuck with me more than any other lesson so far. I can't get it out of my head — especially when I run. I can't help but find the parallels.

I know that I am at that place in my career where my taste and vision often exceeds my technical skills to execute. It can be frustrating, much like that run. But here is what I am going to do about it.

1. Be uncomfortable

In sports, we call them mistakes. If you want to be successful, you can't be afraid to make them. In design, we don't call them mistakes — creatives don't make mistakes, right? But we do make things that aren't as good, or as elegant, or as intuitive as they could be.

As a coach, it was easy to celebrate the mistakes made by my players. From that perspective it was easy to see how much they grew when they put themselves in a new or uncomfortable position. As an athlete, it was a different story. It's hard to put yourself out there when you know it's not up to the level you want it to be — but you fight on, you train, and it's okay. Eventually you master the skill and move on to tackle new ones. It's normal. It's called growth.

Mistakes mean you are testing your boundaries. Right now, some aspects of digital design are out of my comfort zone. So I'm testing, pushing, diving deeper, and ultimately expanding my knowledge. I can only do this by putting aside perfection and just getting the work out there, even when I know it may be sub-par. Perfection can be paralyzing.

2. Get in reps, reps, and more reps

There are some skills that can't be taught by a book or a lesson. You can understand and learn every corner of a concept but still not master the skill. It takes action — over and over and over again. Ira Glass calls this closing the gap. I think I'm going to call it that too.

I'm closing the gap in my marathon training. Today was ugly, tomorrow might be too, but the cumulation will hopefully result in something impressive, earned, and satisfying. I will close the gap in my digital skills the same way — pushing through the awkwardness, building good habits in design process and design thinking, training my creative side the way I would train muscles.

3. Train on a higher tier

I used to play with the boys because they were stronger and faster than I was. It forced me to come up with new, more elegant solutions to win. It forced me to think of the game in a new light and find creative solutions to reach the same end result.

It also gave me the incentive to practice — the kind of incentive that is humbling, maddening, and inspiring all at once. I wanted to be the best, so surrounding myself with the best built good technical habits and held me accountable. So, hello tech meetups and hackathons. You are my new favorite pastime.

4. Set tangible goals

In UX, it is important to gauge the success of your work through usability tests. Goals are defined in the beginning stages, referenced throughout the process, and analyzed at the end. What makes them work is that they are measurable and realistic. Measurable goals allow you to track success. Realistic goals allow you to be successful.

The bottom line is that training is an attitude. It takes work ethic, discipline, courage, and confidence. I am training to be a UX designer. Right now I am still new, still a beginner — but as Ira Glass says, what separates the successful from those who aren't is taste and not quitting. Eventually it won't be awkward, it won't be painful, and you will have conquered it. You will have closed the gap between wanting to be great and being great.

So I am pushing through the awkwardness, letting go of perfection, getting in the reps, and surrounding myself with great design and great design professionals. And I'm keeping my athletic background on my resume.

Onward.