“Good, fast, and cheap—you only get two.”
This dusty paradigm gets plucked from the landfill of business clichés any time someone has to balance the tension between quality, time, and budget. Like all clichés it obscures the truth.
Being cheap is not an option. Not for you, dear writer.
Cheap refers to cash money budgeted for the work, but in content design or any creative profession, the cost is personal too.
Cheap is when you are spread so thin that your output is relegated to verb noun edits and eliminating exclamation points
Cheap is when you are asked to write a band-aid for clunky functionality
Cheap is when you are asked to work your “word magic” at the last minute
Cheap is when someone pressures you ignore localization, accessibility, or inclusive language because “it takes too long”
Cheap is about not paying your work respect, and therefore not paying you respect. It forces you to compromise on quality. It asks you to be a cheaper version of you: a pseudo-self.
What if you could be good, be fast, and be rich? You don’t have to pick two.
Rich is time to think, focus, and make space for impact
Rich is having the context you need to make your next decision
Rich is feeling energized by your work and being curious
Rich is feeling included and supported by your teammates
What you are willing to accept becomes your new boundary. When you cheerfully write content band-aids you validate them as a design solution. Cheap happens when you let it happen.
Saying no is hard, but it’s easier than feeling your spark fade daily as you do time-twisting aerobics to cover impossible deadlines. Work is an exchange of your time and skill for money. It’s not a free-for-all on your wellbeing. You are a human and you shouldn’t be “peanut-buttered” into a burnout sandwich.
Start small with boundaries, then keep going. An easy one is to decide how many designers you will partner with before you feel pulled apart. Now subtract one for good measure. Your number (mine is 3) is now a Cheap Line you will not cross.
Taking a stand against cheap work means you’re also paving a smoother path for the writer who comes after you. When you deny a cheap existence, you choose the opposite.
You choose to be rich.