Animation by Katrīna Sadovņikova

Until August 13, the submission of works continues for the creative excellence festival ADwards, organised by the Latvian Art Directors Club (LADC). Žanete Eglīte, the director of LADC, is not only responsible for organising the festival but also leads the LADC Advertising School and conducts research in the creative industries. In the Nice Touch section, Žanete gives advice on how to be more effective in completing the to-do list.

Nice Touch Editorial August 4, 2023

«Organising the festival, managing the LADC School, and writing a doctoral thesis can be challenging projects — there are dozens of details that could go wrong. In moments when I’m not sure where to start, procrastination creeps in, which, along with a tendency towards perfectionism, can be a dangerous path. Therefore, I use three nice touches to overcome these hurdles.

Firstly, tackle the tasks piece by piece — don’t fixate on the end result, but rather focus on small steps to accomplish one after another, thus getting closer to the goal bit by bit. Secondly, you can embrace positive procrastination. If there is a big task scheduled for the day, tackle several smaller tasks before it to avoid the temptation of tending to houseplants, excessive scrolling through Twitter, or going for a walk. At least part of the to-do list will be complete, and then the time will inevitably come to get to the big task. Thirdly, it’s essential to maintain joy and self-irony. Remember that only we know what we originally intended as compared to how it turned out in reality.»

This year, the motto of the ADwards creative excellence festival organised by LADC is Journey to the Centre of the Idea. Works for the competition can be submitted until August 13. Afterward, they will be judged by an international jury led by Juan García Escudero, the Chief Creative Officer of TBWA\España. The festival’s award ceremony will take place on September 15. For more information about the competition categories, all 15 jury members, and the competition rules, visit the ADwards website.