What makes tomorrow exciting?

Sometimes I think about the first time I looked forward to going to work the next day.

I was in college, studying marketing and working part-time for a youth program at a large church. I designed flyers, made videos, the usual creative stuff. Then we decided to re-do the website.

I had dabbled in some rudimentary coding in high school so I offered to branch out and give it a shot, saving us some money instead of hiring an agency.

As I got to work, I found myself in that perfect blend of challenge and skill that encourages flow states. The website felt achievable — but just barely — given my skill set. I loved the melding of the technical and the creative.

One Sunday night, I realized I was actually excited to get back to work on it the next day.

The site eventually launched. Was it successful? No idea — I hadn’t yet learned to tie creative work to business goals. But the project was a personal success. It showed me the kind of work I should pursue.

I’ve yet to find another line of work that produces that enjoyable flow state as much as building digital products. It’s not just designing. It’s not just coding. It’s the mix: the rush of seeing intention turn into reality, line by line, pixel by pixel.

This week, I had a similar experience building a UI I’d never tackled before. Technical problems. Design problems. Time flew by. I found myself looking forward to work the next day.

Find the work that makes tomorrow exciting.