From the
Desk of ...

One project created at this desk that I’m most proud of ...

Has to be the garment line. I created the physical products and sketches in Italy, but the line really came to life when I was back in the States and able to bring it all together cohesively from the comfort of my own desk.

My calendar is my north star.

But not in an obsessive kind of way. I keep meetings and appointments on there, and I'll block off time if there is anything that requires any sort of protected window. I tried the whole 'schedule everything' thing and it never seemed to actually unfold that way, so now I stick with the old-fashioned way for my to-do list. It feels more important if I am writing it down with pen and paper.

I design by hand—it always
starts there.

It's just easier for me, and candidly I'm not very good with all the fancy programs out there. It also feels more personal, and I can communicate the vision better from head to hand. From there, it goes digital. We make everything by hand, so it wouldn't feel right for the design process to be any other way.

I’ve tried a handful of
productivity tools.

I installed an email prioritizing/sorting plug-in recently, and that was a big time fail for me. I think I am finding myself on the other side of that wave these days. There's an app for everything, and I have a tough time keeping it all straight and learning how to use or integrate something new every other week. I'm actually on a mission to reduce the app count personally and across the business.

I spend a lot of time talking about this with friends and other entrepreneurs.

For me, it's kind of second nature to be able to bounce between the two at any given moment. If I catch a flow-state in either side, I try to ride that as long as I can—whether it be hours or days. Because once that's gone, you can't get it back, so it's important to me to take advantage of that opportunity. I'm an early riser, so I try to spend the first three or fours hours of my day on something creative before the world starts interrupting that process. It's easier for me to do the business stuff on a more stop-and-go cadence because there's usually an end goal. Creative tends to be a bit more open-ended.

I eat at
my desk.

But I'm not opposed to lunch away from the desk or anything like that. I tend to obsess over time efficiency, so I find it less stressful for my working style and schedule. I usually treat it as a 30-minute window to knock out my daily reading.

Do you work the same
schedule most days?

Absolutely not, but I do try to keep it directionally consistent since I dig a solid routine. It depends on the time of year, the various projects going on, and where I or the team is physically located that day. The hours are always the same—I usually start at 6 am and go until around 6 pm before I take a gym and dinner break. I'll pick it back up around eight and go until whenever I lose steam, which is usually around 10 or 11. That schedule stays mostly true for when I'm working in Italy also.

Mornings and evenings is when the world tends to quiet down.

It's the only tangible trick for focusing that has ever really worked for me. I am getting pulled in various directions during the workday, so that protected time has become critical for my focus work.

I will toss on some background music in the morning—usually something mindless without vocals. It also gives me some inspiration for music to record for an ad or campaign from time to time. Lately I have been listening to a lot of old-school blues for an upcoming concept we're working on, so I've been bending those rules a bit.

Am I a big believe in “inbox zero”?

Yes. My brain is just wired that way. I'll come clean though—very recently this has started to slip for the first time in my life, and this question was very helpful motivation in knocking that back down to zero!

I don’t ever “switch off”, but maybe that’s okay.

I am always 'on', as they say. I have a tough time delineating between work and play. Admittedly, sometimes it really can get obsessive. But it feels fairly natural most of the time. It's just kinda part of who I am, and my job is a reflection of that at any given moment, so I just sort of treat it as all the same 'life'. I will kick back and throw on a Bucks game or movie in the background before I call it a night—but even then I'll take note of a design or a shot that I find interesting.

One element that’s contributed greatly to my growth is ...

Staying open-minded and dynamic, which really just comes down to curiosity and a willingness to learn. We tend to put people and things in nice little boxes based on their current occupation or situation. It's easy to frame. But we all know that only paints a partial picture. I've had a lot of interactions where people will discredit my design work solely due to my background, or vice versa. Why can't we be good at more than one thing or learn something new? Being able to get over that hump has probably contributed the most to my own growth, both personally and professionally.

This setup is a lot different than my first desk.

My first job out of college was as an investment banking analyst. I did the whole 100-hour a week thing in a cubicle under fluorescent lighting. Back then I didn't care much about my desk, as long as it had enough space to take a nap under, I was good (what a letdown when Wall Street wasn't anything like the movies!). The view is much better now. The ocean helps keep me calm.

Back then I did learn how to really push myself and understand my own limits, both physically and mentally. Obsessing at any given hour over the smallest details, understanding where you're at and how you're feeling in that moment, and how that is all going to affect the broader outcome. That just comes with relentless repetition, and I look back on those days with gratitude that I put myself through that experience early in my career.