Beci Orpin
Interview by Madeleine Dore
Beci Orpin does her best work when she is busy.
With a creative career spanning more than twenty years, the Melbourne designer, artist, and illustrator has left her colourful fingerprint on countless projects, from books and homewares, to regular art exhibitions, and collaborations with celebrated brands.
While she reflects on the busyness of her day to day and how it has laid the foundations for her impressive career, she hesitates to prescribe to the cult of busyness, and instead sees the important of sleep, downtime, and developing close relationships with friends and family.
What Beci teaches us is that instead of being busy as a means of escape or a form of pride, our time should be filled wherever possible with the things we enjoy in order to flourish.
In this interview, we talk about how she gets so much done, personal projects, the precarious nature of freelancing, money, emailing, family, criticism and resilience.
Beci Orpin: designer, artist, and illustrator
““Sometimes I do take on a lot, but I’m so aware of what I’m capable of now, so I definitely know if there’s a really big time coming up, what that will involve for me and the things that I need to do to get me through.””
Shownotes
01:26
Busyness – It’s easy to pack our schedules with so many things to do that it actually becomes a block. It’s hard to fit in the things that we love and that have meaning, and it doesn’t leave any personal time for doing absolutely nothing. Find the balance between learning and absorbing, and taking action.
03:16
This weeks’ guest – Beci Orpin is a designer, artist, and illustrator who has worked on countless projects while collaborating with many celebrated brands. She’s driven when she has a busy schedule to keep to, but also understands the importance of downtime, rest, and doing the things that we enjoy.
06:14
Know your limits – With experience, you’ll learn how much work you can take on, what kind of deadlines you can work towards, and what types of projects you can take on. Be aware of this, and don’t take on too much. Plan your time so you can use small increments of time, and use your busyness as momentum to keep going.
09:42
Give yourself a break – While it’s good to keep busy and keep pushing forwards, remember to give yourself some time off to relax. You need respite in order to recover and to prepare yourself for the next busy period, whether that’s a sporadic half-day or making sure that you have full weekends off.
11:06
Downtime – When work is having a slow period, try to accomplish some of the tasks and projects that you usually push aside because you don’t have the time for them. Whether it’s a smaller work project or something personal, use this time to explore and experiment new ideas and new ways of thinking.
14:14
Take opportunities – Sometimes you might not know what you want to focus on or what direction you want to head in, so don’t be afraid to try different things out so you can learn new skills and meet new people. Use these skills and connections to guide you to where you want to be.
18:50
Risk-taking – When you’re a freelancer, you often have to take risks to push your business forwards and to create bigger opportunities. Rather than rushing into them, it’s important to think them through and weight out all aspects of the situation. Be practical and make sure that you’re taking measured risks in case they don’t work out.
20:58
Don’t compare yourself – Comparing yourself to others is usually counterproductive and can be a hindrance. Instead, try to be happy for others successes and, instead, take the time that you’re using to feel jealous and envious and put it back into your own work and use it to drive you forwards.
24:11
Typical routine – Beci likes to wake up and start her short commute to the office fairly early, where she likes to check her emails first thing in the morning and then has to-do lists written so she can prioritise what works needs to be done and when. After finishing work at five, her evenings and weekends are quite laidback and don’t tend to stick to a routine.
29:43
Downtime – It’s important to have a close group of friends, both physically and emotionally, that you can connect with and who inspire you. Whether it’s having people over or going out to a restaurant, it’s beneficial to have a good social life that allows you to turn off from work once in a while.
33:03
Coping mechanisms – Whether it’s professionally or personally, grief and loss are very difficult to deal with. Beci created a grief awards system, where you can mark off both real and humorous accomplishments in a day to help feel that you’ve achieved something. If necessary, give yourself plenty of time to heal after a loss.
36:01
Trauma – The world has gone through many traumatic events this year, and many creatives may be left feeling insignificant and futile because they’re not directly helping anybody, but bringing joy, beauty, and creativity into somebody’s life can go a long way during a difficult time.
40:17
Inner critic – Doing a creative job can mean that you’re putting yourself out there for the world to see, meaning that you need to be careful with what you make public. This can also mean that your audience might be vocal, both in a positive and a negative way.
42:23
The time is now – During this time of uncertainty, now is the time to be resourceful, to create new things, or to reset. Now is the time to be productive or to reflect. Use this time to your advantage, regardless of what that is for you.
Findings
Instagram and website - Beci Orpin
Grief Awards Chart - by Beci Orpin
Take Heart Take Action - by Beci Orpin
Beci Orpin and Raph Rasid - read the archive
Comparison and redefining success - article
How to Avoid Work by William J. Reilly