299 - Maximillian Piras

Maximillian Piras is based in New York City and is currently the Senior Product Designer at Headliner.

He is also building MetaRamen, a ramen recommendation app built on the blockchain.

Twitter → https://twitter.com/MaximillianNYC

Inside Maximillian's Workspace

Setup:

• MacBook Pro 13-inch, M1, 2020
• Apple 27-inch Thunderbolt Display
• Apple Magic Trackpad & Keyboard
• OHTO Maruta Mechanical Pencil
• Sketchbook (any)
• Roast n’ Post coffee mug
• CB2 Peekaboo Acrylic Desk
  

Tools:

• Browser: Arc
• Design: Figma (& Sketch for legacy projects)
• Development: Visual Studio Code
• Data Analysis: Mixpanel & Google Analytics
• Visuals: Adobe Suite & Spline

What is your favorite item in your workspace?

My acrylic desk, I love how it’s there when I need it but otherwise feels invisible. It also keeps me organized because there is so little room for anything superfluous. I'm forced to put things back in their place so the desk becomes clear again (literally).

How do you spark creativity?

I start drawing in my sketchbook because there are no wrong answers. If I draw something stupid I can always erase it. This freedom helps me overcome procrastination. It also lets me explore concepts from all angles before going digital, which still feels a lot more rigid. Most of my best ideas start in my sketchbook, it's always step one.

How do you manage work-life balance?

I’m blessed & cursed by loving what I do, so I'm not great at keeping work from bleeding into other aspects of my life. Although one trick that has helped is timing myself. Measuring how many hours I put in lets me manage a balance. Once I’ve hit all my deadlines & put in a reasonable amount of hours, I can unplug guilt-free.

What do you think is the main benefit of remote work?

It definitely improves my physical & mental health. I love blasting music while I work & I take exercise breaks to stay in shape. It also helps my focus. It was much harder to stay in a flow state when I worked in an open office. Now I can turn my music up & silence my notifications to get some deep work done.