Episode 455: UX designer without a mentor and I get bored too easily and stressed too easily

In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:

1. A listener named Dakota asks,

   I’m a UX designer, and I’m constantly looking for growth opportunities. I’m having trouble finding mentors to help challenge me, as every time my boss/senior designer leaves the company, I assume their work and we don’t backfill their spot or my old position.

   This leads me towards podcasts like this as I’m trying up-skill and to learn how to be a better team member and support other roles.

   I’d love your perspective on working with product/ux designers. What have the challenges been? What makes you love working with a designer? Have there been times where you’re both arguing for the best user experience, but fail to agree on what experience is best?

2. Hey guys!

   It seems like lately, I only work in two modes:

   1. Stressed and tired
   2. Bored and disengaged

   I often get to own large, urgent initiatives. I spend weeks or months on them. This work is fascinating! I end up being stressed, tired, and counting days until my next vacation.

   When they finish, I go back to regular tickets - ones that take a day or two, maybe a week to complete.

   And its great! For a few days. Then the boredom sets in. I pick through the tickets, trying to find something interesting. I finish a ticket and realize there are another 4 hours before the end of the day. I start to miss the rush of working on a complex puzzle, even though it’s terrible for my work/life balance.

   A month or two pass, and a new complex and urgent initiative comes in. The cycle continues.

   So my question is: Is this a common feeling? Are there ways to find a “easy-work/hard-work” balance? Do you have any advice on not overworking when urgent tasks come in, and not dying from boredom when there is no interesting work?