Time as Insurance

Working with my pals at Red Element Studios on a video a few years ago, I remember them describing the project's timeline as "luxurious."

Luxurious! Are creatives so accustomed to unfavorable timelines that it is an indulgence to set aside an appropriate amount of time to make something that will be seen by thousands of people? (Don't answer that.)

My best work has come when I've budgeted generously for time alongside money. The creative process is best served with breathing room to discover that not every idea is a winner, and not every path is worth pursuing. It takes time to show in-progress work to a skeptic and incorporate their feedback, and it takes time to throw away something that felt right last week but is falling flat now.

In that sense, we can view time as a great insurance policy, protecting us against a just-okay finished product that was rushed. We often hear speed touted as a virtue, and it sure can be, but "Do you want it Monday, or do you want it done right?” as they say.

As for the video we made, it was universally praised when we released it, and it holds up today. A big reason for that is that we reverse-engineered a timeline that accommodated the inevitable detours and false starts and ensured a high-quality product delivered right when the school needed it.

We all want to put our best foot forward, and allocating enough time for the process is a proven method for better work. We can stop treating time as a luxury and start budgeting for it as insurance, the kind of coverage that protects the work and our brands.