Let me get just get ahead of it here: I can’t tell you what compelled Emmy award-winning screenwriter Dan Harmon to attend a live recording of his podcast topless. Whatever that reason may be, the absurdity of his appearance stands in stark contrast to the profundity of his words. 

As designers, we, too, find ourselves in a creative field. Our process, like his as a writer, can be messy. The roller coaster ride of a process is unpredictable and rife with trial and error. Some days, after hours of relentless sketching, mapping, and research, we may still find ourselves empty-handed. When we seek to prove to ourselves we are great designers, even the prospect of an unproductive day like this can feel daunting.

The immateriality of the mental roadblocks we may face on the path to a foolproof design concept can make those very roadblocks difficult to pinpoint. But so often the greatest challenges are ones we’re imposing on ourselves. They’re challenges stemming from our own egos, intentions, and perspectives. It’s difficult not to compare yourself to your best day or best project. We may dehumanize ourselves in the aimless pursuit of reaching that point once more, as if we are one-dimensional robots with the ability to spit out our best work at any given moment. 

Harmon recognizes this. A screenwriter and producer behind a laundry list of immensely popular shows such as Community and Rick and Morty, it goes without saying that he’s no stranger to producing some of the most quality writing in his respective field. And yet, still, every now and again in the midst of his lowest creative moments, he must willingly prove to himself that he’s terrible at this. In doing so, he is at the very least doing. Ridding oneself of that ego and persistently insisting on working out those creative muscles even when it feels as if they have nothing left to give is what prompts growth and progress. 

In continuing to apply this tactic himself, Harmon proves that this strategy can grow with you as you spread your wings and ascend as a creative. A “bad design,” in one;s eyes, will always be relative to what they're capable of creating. As we all continue to grow as designers, our bar for what’s of sufficient quality will be enhanced. As this enhancement process progresses with each day we work out these muscles, we reach a point where the untrained eye will recognize even our worst work produced on our least productive of days as valuable. That’s the place that applying this strategy will bring you. And doesn’t that sound like such a lovely place to be?