Hi all. Have you ever been in such a dynamic environment that you can’t keep up? My CEO is also an art director who keeps shooting the ideas and changes which are quite often hard to process, because his ideas moves way faster than we can even test it out and work on it. Feels quite exhausting.
How would you manage? Any advice?
I am a packaging designer and the only one in the department at the moment, it’s also my first office job in EU in start up like company. We are lacking structure for sure, but even then, requests are keep coming and the pressure of keep things mooving is not going away either.
Sounds intense
A few ideas maybe you can’t implement all of them but this is where I would start.
Communicate and set boundaries, try schedule regular check-ins with the CEO to align on priorities.
You should feel comfortable saying things like:
“I want to ensure I deliver the best results. Can we focus on the top 3 priorities for the week?”
This might help slow down the constant stream of new ideas and focuses priorities.
Document and clarify requests, create a simple system (like a task tracker or like a Trello board) to document every request. It could include:
The request
Deadline
Dependencies
Status (e.g., “In Progress,” “Blocked”)
This not only organises the chaos but gives a tool to push back if overloaded.
Be honest about capacity. You should feel comfortable saying something like:
“To implement this properly, I’ll need more time to test it. Shall I push back this other task, or should I deliver this one at a simpler level?”
This puts the onus on the CEO to prioritise and shows critical thinking about quality.
Create a simple workflow. Build a repeatable process for tasks, even if it’s basic. For example:
Briefing
Drafting
Feedback/Revision
Final delivery
This will help feel less overwhelmed when requests pile up.
Ask for help or resources, if the workload is consistently unmanageable, pitch the idea of hiring a junior designer, freelancer, or even interns to share the load.
Take care of yourself. Take proper breaks. Log off at a reasonable time.
Find a way to recharge outside work.
It’s hard to be creative when she’s completely burned out.
I would begin searching for another job because it’s unlikely he will change.
Similarly, several years ago, I was hired as the creative director of an outdoor recreation media start-up. We started out producing a magazine, and then the CEO decided he also wanted to become an outdoor gear e-commerce company and an outdoor book and map publisher. He also decided we needed to produce radio and television programs.
It was constant chaos with so many new ideas and directions that few of his ideas got done well. We couldn’t focus on anything. We would come to work each week wondering how the company had switched directions over the weekend. After three years, he had burned through many millions of dollars with little to show for any of it. The venture capitalist finally stopped financing the money pit and shut down the company.
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Did anyone try to organise the ideas or push back?
Reminds of a job I had as a typesetter I took on the role as a redundancy forced me back into the job market. After about 2 years I was coming to the end of the official task I was hired to do. And I got whiff of a printout for the price they were being charged for the bi-monthly magazine they produced so I offered to take on the design internally and save my job.
I took it on and it was successful, then everything started coming back in-house for me to design on my own.
I did this for 7 years, and after 7 years of trying to orgainse 7 different departments, from publications, accounts, education, events, professional services, members - having taken on many different hats, typesetter, designer, video editor, photographer, website updater, email campaign manager.
I couldn’t keep up by myself and was completely burnt out.
I never asked for help or another designer and I always regretted that I didn’t reach out for help and expand the department beyond my own expertise.
Between the CEO and a different Director for each department, and then managers for each department who’d step on their first born to get ahead in the company it was pretty eventful job.
But my biggest regret wasn’t the workload - it was not reaching out and getting help I needed.
Live and learn.
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Thanks for sharing your experience. It seems that chaos is very typical start up environment, even when they grow into something bigger.
After one and a half year working at this company I’ve seen people come to the same conclusion as you, it’s not going to change, and leave the job. I do feel a bit less rational/analytical in this case…I see the evidence of them not changing the approach and values (overworking is paised and appreciated) but still try to adapt and bend the rules maybe.
Something to consider, for sure, also because the pay is below average…
Those are pretty solid list of solutions thank you!
I did try some of them already.
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For the structure of the workflow, I think they see any suggested change as limitations and a bottle neck for growth, and knowing that that is a priority for the company I am not sure how to argue with that. Does that sound familiar to you? How would you defend if you would?
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I also asked for more people for the department, and was told that they’re looking for someone.
But at the same time I was asked to give a product team a design masterclass so they could make the labels on their own, because often they have to wait for me (people who are not even close to design, theyare food and nutrition specialists or managers).
What do you think?
Thanks for sharing this!
7 years, that’s wild…So did you leave the job in the end because of the burn out?
There is a brand advisor that was hired for 3 months and given also few chalanges for this short period of time. He’s a great at his job and for the first time I felt thhat someone was on my side in this war, fighting the battles with me or sometimes for me 
I definitely picked up some useful things from him and hope that things he was trying to implement for this time are gonna stay with us.