This morning before heading in to the studio, I decided I would try to run an errand that I didn’t get to last night. I left a few minutes before my regular departure time to compensate for the additional driving. The problem, however, is that I allowed just the correct amount of time for a flawless trip—a trip that doesn’t take into account unforeseen circumstances like weird traffic patterns or construction. So, as luck/fate would have it, I did indeed encounter a few obstacles. Literal ones. The first was a block of road construction just getting underway, funneling traffic down to just one lane. A cop was directing traffic by hand which slowed things down a bit more. Second, because my journey placed me in a different part of town (a much more populated part of town) from where I normally get on the freeway near my house, there were many more people trying to squeeze onto the on-ramp. I would say that it took 4x as long just to get on the freeway this morning. This shift in timing to a later freeway departure made a huge difference in the time it took to get to the studio. A few minutes makes a big difference in how many cars are on the road during the morning commute hours. It took me twice as long to get to the studio this morning, and I ended up getting here a little late.
One of the lessons that can be taken away from this experience, and how it relates to design (and just life in general, I guess), is that it’s wise to leave enough time for unexpected things to occur during the process of making or doing. Don’t factor in a “just-right” amount of time to get things done, if you can help it. Instead, it’s best to build in a buffer that will allow you to respond and adapt to any obstacles that might be thrown your way or mistakes that are made. And, as often happens in life, these obstacles and mistakes are indeed often encountered. It might also allow you to explore a different path that reveals itself during the process—a path that you were not aware of previously.
