The best advice I think I've gotten in my career

Next to my desk is a yellowing sheet of paper that I treasure. On it are 3 rules that I live by in my career, and I thought I'd share them:

1. Say NO
2. Keep standards reasonable
3. Take time out for thinking

These rules were written down on this paper during a conversation with a colleague, Pete Amico, who was brilliant enough to see through my frazzled state and offer me such sage advice. Pete left the company years ago, but the rules are still up on my wall where I look at them frequently.

Say No.
Here's the thing. I tend to be one of those people who really wants to help. So, I say yes. The problem is, it isn't really possible to do everything. In order to be at my best, it is important for me to make choices and say no to things I could do, and even things that I really should do. Saying yes to everything means that I have way too much going on to handle well, which brings us to rule 2.

Keep standards reasonable
I have high standards for myself. I tend to hold all of the work that I do to this high standard. That's great when I can pull it off, but not when I am trying to juggle multiple things. It isn't possible to do "great" on everything. I have to prioritize what is absolutely critical to do really well, and what will work if I just do okay. To do that, I need to follow rule 3.

Take time out for thinking
When there is a ton of stuff on my plate (because of my tendency to say yes) and I need to put in a lot of time to do it right (because of my tendency to hold myself to unreasonably high standards), I find myself with no time for thinking. Thinking, though, is critical to produce high quality work and to figure out what my priorities are.

So, the three rules are rules that I need to live by. Maybe they'll help you too.

(ps. consider applying these rules to designing products too... )