What happens when two designers with different cognitive and organizational styles compare notes on time management? You get two very different approaches to the same challenges.
Designer A is creative, energetic, and eager to jump into solving problems. Designer B values planning, precision, and preparation.
In this conversation, the two designers compare experiences navigating deadlines, interruptions, and the constant balance between planning and doing. While they arrive at these challenges from opposite directions, their stories reveal a common theme: effective time management starts with understanding yourself.
Challenge #1: How do you accurately estimate how long the project will take?
Designer A:
“Early in my career, I’d see the deadline and jump straight into the work. My brain can struggle with filtering and prioritization, so I’d focus only on what was on my plate to do. That often meant I didn’t accurately account for everything outside my control: review cycles, revision rounds, and approvals, which basically shape what my design timeline needs to be.”
Designer B:
“For me, I was so worried about underestimating stuff that I padded timelines for way too many worst-case scenarios that rarely happened. Looking back, my estimates were less about reality and more about soothing my anxiety.”
Designer A:
“There was a mindset shift, and I now map the whole process first. I start at the final delivery date and work backwards to account for all non-design steps, too: planning, design time, internal review, external review, revisions, approvals, and final packaging. My personal timeline is built around the overarching project milestones of course, but I break the steps down further to account for client behavior, internal workflows, and more granular design steps so everything is accounted for.”
Designer B:
“Yes, to all of that. And paying attention to how long my personal workflow and other people’s workflows actually took for those milestones. It’s good to base estimations on actual pattern observations.”
Challenge #2: How do you balance planning the work and starting it?
Designer B:
“I prefer to feel completely prepared before I start, so I research and try to perfect the plan. But then hours go by and I haven’t started designing yet. What helped me was setting limits, like giving myself a specific amount of time to explore ideas.”
Designer A:
“I’m the opposite: I have to hit pause at the start and take a conscious step back. My default is to jump straight into design, since that’s my strength. But the upfront work like fully understanding the brief, confirming timelines, clarifying questions, flagging issues, and organization are what make designing more efficient and enjoyable.”
Designer B:
“Definitely. And when you do end up re-working a design, it’s helpful to remember that design is a collaborative effort. That’s what I do when I catch myself getting obsessed with making things perfect. I remind myself that my idea of perfect will be different from someone else’s.”
Challenge #3: How do you handle interruptions and changing timelines?
Designer B:
“Interruptions and changes were really hard for me, because it felt like my entire plan crumbled each time they happened. What helped me was building my plans with more flexibility — leaving room for adjustments and reminding myself that changing priorities are a normal part of collaborative work.”
Designer A:
“It’s also helpful to remember that not all deadlines are created equal. From the start, I identify which deadlines are fixed and which are flexible. That allows me to quickly pivot, communicate, and make smarter tradeoffs when delays happen, reducing stress when shifts are needed. Up-front planning not only gives you options before issues surface, it also helps you quickly reset and pick up where you left off.”
Designer B:
“And if you’re having a hard time making the mental shift to change focus, then I find it helpful to physically step away from the computer for a minute. For me, it’s like a hard reset so I can come back to my desk ready to shift gears.”
By understanding your tendencies, knowing when to move forward, and learning how to build flexible plans, you can create a process that supports the way you work best. The key to time management isn’t managing your time — it’s managing yourself.
Same Deadline, Different Brains: Designers’ Take on Time Management was originally published in DCG Life on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
