When the Well Runs Dry: Keeping Creative Energy in a Distributed Workplace

Working through a period of sustained global stress is a different kind of creative challenge. For teams shipping product under pressure, the mental overhead of daily life can bleed directly into the quality of the work. Alek Mackie, a Senior Illustrator at Shopify, recently shared how his team has navigated this tension during a major redesign of Shopify’s illustration system. His approach leans heavily on one idea: protecting the human connections that fuel creative output, even when deadlines are real and energy is scarce.

Here is what that looks like in practice.

Rethinking the Regulation Playbook

Mackie’s first suggestion is to make room for deliberate, low-stakes fun. He argues that a tool like Figma, typically associated with serious design workflows, is also an ideal venue for shared jokes and asynchronous pranks with remote colleagues. From leaving a full-screen image of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in a coworker’s file to placing a graphic that mimics a manager’s cursor in a shared doc, these small disruptions can break the monotony of a serious process and unlock creative leaps.

A better outlet, however, might be scheduled team activities. He stresses that a good session is:

  • Fast and easy. Under an hour, respecting that people have deliverables.
  • Free of serious goals. No outcomes, no objectives beyond participation.
  • Optional and casual. Honoring a teammate’s choice to sit out, watch, or leave early.
  • Consensual. Asking the team if they want to participate before booking anything.
  • Inclusive. Ensuring everyone who wants to join has equal opportunity and considering accessibility needs.

Mackie’s own team has run a biweekly, asynchronous "Creative Brain Time" drop-in with design prompts on Friday afternoons. They have also streamed an episode of Bob Ross’s Joy of Painting to follow along with an online MS Paint simulator, turning a nostalgic exercise into a shared ritual.

Making Time for Unscheduled Interaction

Remote work strips away the accidental conversations that once filled an office. To counter this, Mackie champions "jam sessions"—spontaneous multiplayer Figma work where colleagues either collaborate on the same file or work independently while chatting, replicating the feeling of sitting alongside each other in a physical space. These don’t need to be video calls; audio-only sessions, written comments, or simply having a "cursor buddy" for company all count toward the same goal of building low-pressure human connection.

For more structured connection, he argues for booking recurring, casual meetings. An hour a week to catch up, share a drink, or run a personal ritual is a valid investment in a healthy team. In the absence of in-person water cooler talk, these intentional check-ins carry the weight of social cohesion. However, Mackie also cautions against the shame that sometimes accompanies time without deliverables, stating that building a connected group is essential to producing strong work.

Confronting the Pressure to Look Polished

Part of the burnout, Mackie notes, comes from internal pressures to be as seamless as the interfaces we build. He suggests a simple reset: releasing the expectation of constant polish. Practically, this means presenting unfinished work for feedback earlier in the process, explaining its direction rather than polishing it for presentation. It also involves sharing chaotic, in-progress Figma files with a trusted colleague early on. He also includes a note on boundaries in this context: as a cis-gendered white man, he acknowledges his ease in sharing rough work comes with more safety than it does for many others, and reminds readers that respecting a colleague’s choice not to be vulnerable is a form of inclusion.

Productivity as a Human Outcome

Underpinning Mackie’s strategies is the belief that humans are fundamentally interdependent. Protecting wellbeing and connection directly benefits business outcomes. When people feel supported in sharing unpolished work and have opportunities to connect as people, the resulting creative output tends to improve—not through tighter process, but through a stronger culture. The strategy is less about finding more time and more about making deliberate space for the activities that keep a team functional.