It's just a simple trick

Wed, 07 Oct 2026

Hiya.

I unexpectedly hit on something that got a lot of people talking (and sharing) this week with the whole idea of practice being the thing that is going to help us all survive the AI Bust that is inevitable (and feels very much on the horizon.) I'm not here to have an argument about "AI", I'm not a fan due to all the very real harms it is causing right this very now and the fact that it's a wildly unstable base to build anything (a team, a company, a professional practice) on because it's being massively subsidized at levels that are... unsustainable. Lots of other people are talking about this, so if you want to read more about it, they got you covered.

What I do wanna talk about how deal with it. Even if you think I am completely wrong (thank you for reading me despite disagreeing with me), the "what to do about it" turns out to be something we all should have been doing anyway. Practice. Keep your skills sharp.

"But Tony, what should I be practicing?" is a question I got in lots of different forms... some more "and yet you participate in society" tinged than others *stares into the distance*... and as much of a meme as it is for a designer to tell you "it depends" while answering a totally different question, it depends.

What do you want to be great at? What do you want to do? What kind of stuff do you want to design? "Design," as much as those of us in the digital media space (is any media not digital these days, at least in part? Also yes, software is "digital media" get over it) love to use that one word like it's SOOOOOOO descriptive, is not actually one thing. I mean it is. Design is a word and it has a definition. It roughly is:

Design - verb - an activity that you do where you come up with a plan on how to change something and then convince other people to go along with that plan.

If any dictionary people are reading this, please update your books.

When we say "design", as in "Hi, I'm Tony and I'm a designer" there is a lot we're implying. For me to answer this question I was asked in so many different forms over the last four days we gotta be more precise. And by me, I mean you because I cannot answer this question for you. All I can do is guide you in the right direction based on your answers. Here are a few good questions to answer to figure out what you should be practicing:

• What are you designing?
• Whom(st) do you need to make that design real?
• What are the preconceived notions people have about designing that kind of thing?

Once you know the answer to those questions, now we can talk about what you should practice. That's not a satisfying answer, huh?

Ok so the very general, applies to everyone answer to the question "What should I be practicing?" is roughly:

the skills you need to make good versions of [what you are designing], the skills you need to collaborate and convince those [whomst you need to make that design real], and the skills you need to overcome [the preconceived notions people have about designing that kind of thing].

Easy right? No, not at all. Simple, yes. Simple things are rarely easy.

Figuring out what you should be practicing requires knowing what your goals are, knowing what the expectations people will have of you when you set out to achieve those goals, and knowing who you are going to meet and need along the way. There is no one-size fits all. Anyone who tells you there is "one thing" is trying to sell you something (usually a PDF that tells you how much money you can make selling people that very same PDF... or ya know...Figma.)

And with that, here is one thing you can practice this week (I make no promises about how "all set" you will be when you master it, but you will certainly have an easier time as any type of designer you choose to be.)

Enough talking, let's do design!

There are very few problems that are universal, but everyone I have ever met who "makes stuff" does have one shared problem: the blank page problem. How do you know if you have this problem?

Do you make stuff? Have you had a great idea and been super excited about it only to down to start working on it.... and you hit a wall. Where do you start? There are so many options!!! So many possible paths to carve through the pristine snowy white of a clean piece of paper, or screen or whatever... oh it doesn't have to be paper, but you get the idea.

This still happens to me, btw. It happened about an hour ago when I sat down to write this. You never really out run it, you just build the confidence and the skills to overcome it faster. Yes, you can actually practice dealing with the blank page. There are a lot of ways to do it, but today we're going to focus on reducing how precious any one thing you make feels. That's right, you're just going to practice making a lot of stuff as quickly as possible.

This works because the point here is to make lots of low quality stuff quickly. It's not high quality, because nothing starts out high quality. High quality work comes from polish and refinement and going to get another cup of tea while you're editing to make sure your jokes are still funny but don't confuse the point of the sentence. You're practicing treating the first thing you come up with like what it is: a cheap starting point that you can replace whenever you want.

Here's what you need

• A piece of paper (this one is best done on actual paper. If you have a sketchbook this is a great thing to do in it. If you don't have sketchbook, add it to your todo list)
• Something to make marks on that paper (I recommend a pen, but you do you)
• A timer (this is your phone. It's 2026, lets not pretend like we aren't using our pocket computers for this)

Here's what you do

1. Come up with a set of three things you can doodle. They could be shapes, they could be objects, they could be letters, they could be three distinct squiggles. When I was first given this exercise the objects I was told to work with were: a tea cup, tea pot, and a saucer but you can use whatever you want. It doesn't matter.
2. On the piece of paper draw 16 roughly 1" square boxes (or just print out the worksheet at the end of the lesson)
3. Set a timer (on your phone) for five minutes. No more than five minutes!! This is the most important part of this exercise!!
4. Start the timer and then draw a different scene using each one of your things from step one exactly one time in each box. Each doodle you do should be different!
5. When the timer rings, stop. (Put that pen down... no not just 3 more seconds, now)
6. Look at what you've done:
   1. most importantly congratulate yourself for doing it. Doing it is the hardest part.
   2. Find any boxes you feel are "duplicates" or at least "too similar" and put an X next to them (don't cross them out!!!) Be honest with yourself here, the whole point of this is to fill the page and generate ideas, not doodle the same thing over and over.

You will likely not fill in all 16 boxes the first time you try this. It might take you all week to be able to get all 16, maybe longer. That's ok! Even if you do fill in all 16, it will probably take you even longer to be able to fill in all 16 and have no duplicates. If you can do that and you want a challenge do 32 boxes in 10 minutes.

What you will be left with is a stack of first drafts. Notice how easy it was for you to create that stack. It only took five minutes! Also it wasn't the end of the world to just put stuff down on paper, because if it's wrong, you just start over on a new page (or in a new box.) Blank pages are there to be filled, and if you don't like what you've filled it with, you can always just start another page.

If you want an example of the layout (or you haven't bought a sketchbook yet) I've put together a page you can print-out and draw on. This is honestly best done in a sketchbook so you can see how you're progressing, but you could always just put these in a folder, or paste them into your sketchbook later. Be creative.

More from We Beasties

• There are still available spots for new Design Lessons students! If you want a partner to help you get that practice routine set up and locked in, and help you answer "What should I practice?" sign up for a free goal-setting lesson
• Silvia made these awesome "Change Management" stickers that I love, in part because they feel like they answer the question "What if the MO factory made more than just BMO?" They'd look great on your sketchbook or laptop

Your moment of Pancake