"Death is nature's way of telling you to slow down" -Anonymous
I'm always fascinated by my complete ignorance of time when it comes to my own projects. For client work I'm always careful to account for plenty of time for each phase of a project: planning and research, wireframing (when necessary), conceptual design, production design, and development.
Yet, when it comes to my own projects like a site redesign or an app, I'm quick to jump right into Photoshop or Sublime to start hammering things out. Somehow I trick myself into thinking that the other steps aren't necessary for my own work but then feel depressed that I haven't created something amazing and original after 30 minutes of time spent.
I'm reminded constantly by my own ignorance that quality work takes time. In my own mind I think to myself, "Just make it awesome, something simple, without spending too much time on it." And we all know that you can only pick two of those three things.
If I, as a professional designer who is painfully aware of the intricacies of this line of work, fall victim to this mindset of "good, fast, and cheap," how much more do I need to remind clients, investors, team members, managers, and more? Perhaps you've thought like this too?
Here's the bottom line: quality work takes time. Period. This will look different for each project, but there is no denying this universal truth. If you want something produced with a high level of craftsmanship, you're going to have to roll you sleeves up and get busy doing the hard work.
Slow down so you can speed up.