Applying UX to my everyday life

User interview? Virtual catch-up session with my friend? Both?

There are some things that once you see it, you can’t ever unsee it. Things like the Monopoly man’s lack of a monocle, or the fact that Curious George didn’t have a tail — if you know, you know!!! For me, I’m starting to gradually see (and apply) UX in my life no matter where I am.

Here’s a look into the madness:

1. Feature prioritization to identify the key features of each week

Networking, job applications, side projects/freelance, leveling up skills, writing pieces for Medium, fixing up my portfolio. You name it, it was on my list of things to do. I went super gung-ho and attempted to do it all each week. However, after two weeks of “doing the most,” I started to feel burnt out.

What was the best way to balance productivity and mental sanity? I turned to feature prioritization to practice my skill in identifying proper trade-offs. What was the thing I needed most for the week, and what can be pushed back in my roadmap? I did my own self reflection on what was important to me.

Identifying what is most important in the “Must” and “Should” categories

2. Journey mapping to explain an experience

You ever find yourself explaining one situation to multiple people? Is it just me? As I’ve created journey maps for my clients, I started to realize how helpful this visual is when telling a story — it captures the phases, emotions, and opportunities for improvement in each scenario.

Below is a journey map of my first month on the job search.

The road to burnout is not a fun one!

3. User research to generate my personal brand

One of the toughest parts of crafting your personal brand is the existential dread that comes with self reflection. (Again, is it just me?). Why not take an opportunity to utilize your network and conduct user research to help out?

I did some research on how I am perceived as a person and as a coworker by sending out a text message to my network, asking what three words they would use to describe me. I collected that data in a spreadsheet and found common trends to identify which words best represented me.

Personal favorite — “bougie”

Designers — is this happening to you? What other UX processes are you adding to your day-to-day? I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for stopping by 🤠. Feel free to reach out and connect! You can find me on LinkedIn or check out my work on my website.