Should I specialize or generalize?
‘Should I specialize or generalize?’ is a question I have had in mind for a while which I didn’t know how to answer until one day I received a phone call. That call changed my view of things — of me actually. Here is how it started:
The encounter
‘Do you do graphic design?’ She called to ask me. ‘Yes, I do basic graphic design’, I answered.
She sent me a sample of what she wanted done. That was when I realized she didn’t understand what I meant by the word, ‘basic’.
But I had already given her my word and was meant to deliver that same day. What will the son of man do? I can’t pull this off using Canva. And what I know of photoshop is image editing.
YouTube. Yes. YouTube. Quick. ‘How to design a birthday card using photoshop’, I typed into the search bar. The tutorial was less than ten minutes. It was simple — or so, it seemed.
I opened photoshop on the laptop I was with at that time and spent several frantic minutes trying to add color to the background — just the background.
‘This was how the guy did it, isn’t it? He clicked on this…this opened…and then, he clicked on this. Why is the color not appearing?’ I lamented.
As a result, I went back to the video, watched some seconds of a few others; it was the same process for most of them.
What then is wrong with my photoshop? I asked myself. When I checked the battery power remaining on the laptop, it was about one hour. That won’t do. No, it won’t. Not in the state I was in. And not with my level of ‘expertise’.
I resorted to Canva. And just like I had guessed; I could not pull off the wanted design with it. Probably because I was using the free version. Who knows?
I had to then, you know, make that call. You know what I mean. I had to swallow my saliva and finish my sentence with ‘sorry for the inconvenience’.
The turnaround
This made me decide to do something. And that is to specialize instead of trying to generalize.
I am a writer and I have been doing this seriously and unseriously for more than five years now. I began to generalize after I picked up different things along the way. Things such as French, photography, blogging, running Facebook and Instagram ads, still and motion graphics design, and a bunch of other things I don’t have a professional name for yet.
I picked up some of these things for the sake of being versatile and some, just for the sake of making money. Now, things are different. I finally have an answer to the question of whether to specialize or generalize. Now, I’m not going to drop everything I have a basic knowledge of. No, I won’t. Rather, I’m going to develop them but won’t parade myself as a specialist in them. I know them for me.
As for writing, yes, that one; I will specialize in it. Compared to the other skills I have, it’s something I am better at. It is my belief I write well. And I won’t let you lie to me. I write for me — and for others. I write for fun as well as for money. What else do I write for? For applause? Nah. To teach? I can’t help it. To let off steam? Often. And my writing can take different forms such as web copy, film script, Ad copy, Tv commercial script, articles, poetry, etc.
You see, even in the writing I have chosen to specialize in, I still have to generalize as you can see that I write different things and for different media.
From now on…
So, henceforth, I’m going to ‘behave’ like a writer (actually, I’ve started). Writing will no longer be a hobby alone. It will be a part of my daily routine — even if it’s just for fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes? Not practicable, right? I know. It’s a lie, actually; one I have begun telling myself in order to trick myself into writing. And so far, it has been working — and working well.
‘Fifteen minutes’, I tell myself, ‘just fifteen minutes’. But guess what; before I get to that time, my creativity has changed gear. You know what I mean? And I won’t be able to slam on the ‘brake’ by the time it’s fifteen minutes. I just continue with my ride on Google Docs, WriterDuet, Notepad or whatever means I’m using to write and end up stopping after a little over thirty minutes feeling…phew! Fulfilled!
To sum up, the answer to whether I should specialize or generalize is found in this: I will specialize in writing but generalize as a writer. And I think you should consider doing the same as far as your area of expertise is concerned.
Shalom.
