How to practice and not give up on Service Design?
In short: you can practice Service Design everyday, no matter what the context and the limits of your job are today. Service Design Katas can help for this.
"You are what you do everyday"
This idea is one of the key ideas that might help you if you are really passionated about Service Design. If you have a real passion about Service Design, you'll practice it every day no matter what.
The context and limits don't really matter
No matter if you:
- You don't feel like it
- Your job isn't really about Service Design at the moment
- You don't have much time
Because in the end even if you work in a completly other field at the moment, have kids and no time, you still can find 5 minutes everyday to practice your passion.
A daily routine helps
Practically I'd suggest to have a daily routine that is about Service Design.
It can be reading about Service Design, writing about Service Design, improving a specific skill, etc.
Personally I've found that it's much simpler to do something everyday instead of trying to do it once a week. When something is done everyday there is a kind of muscle memory that kicks in. You don't need motivation or planning to get started. You just get started. Just like brushing your teeth.
Service Design Katas
If you are interested in improving your Service Design skills you might find the "Service Design Katas" I've created interesting.
These are simple exercices you can do daily to improve your skills in Service Design.
Recommended readings
If you want to build such a daily practice over the years I'd recommend you read these books that will really help you get into this mindset:
- Atomic Habits: to learn to build the habits
- Grit: to learn to stick to one key passion over years
Related articles
What are the mental health challenges a service designer will be faced with?
In short: learn to deal with negative feedback, give enough time for life and learning, keep track of the good stuff, and don't forget to sleep.
Can a service designer survive a recession?
In short: Yes, if you can also provide a lean and low-hanging fruit approach that is focused on the present. No, if you are "only" focused on long-term strategic work.
What are tips to become a senior service designer?
In short: mentor others, teach others, try out new technics.