Designing for the Long Game: Self-Care as Professional Rigor / Rachael Dietkus / Ep. #242

2025-12-04

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We often hear the "mantra" to move fast and break things...But what happens when the thing that breaks is you?For many service design professionals, this is the reality of their calendar: back-to-back meetings, a rush to deliver, and very little space to actually think. In many organizations, there is a culture that views this busyness as a badge of honor.But our guest in this episode, Rachael Dietkus, has quite a different -and healthier- approach.She has a rule written on a post-it note right next to her desk: "No meetings...

We often hear the "mantra" to move fast and break things...

But what happens when the thing that breaks is you?

For many service design professionals, this is the reality of their calendar: back-to-back meetings, a rush to deliver, and very little space to actually think.

In many organizations, there is a culture that views this busyness as a badge of honor.

But our guest in this episode, Rachael Dietkus, has quite a different -and healthier- approach.

She has a rule written on a post-it note right next to her desk: "No meetings before 10 AM".

This might sound like a luxury, doesn't it?

But Rachael, who's a licensed clinical social worker and designer, argues that rules like this are actually a professional necessity.

Rachael is the founder of Social Workers Who Design, where she is bridging the gap between the deep, ethical frameworks of social work and the often frantic pace of design.

This is an eye-opening episode where we explore why service design might be missing a "manual" that social workers have had for decades.

You'll hear about:

Why we need to move beyond just empathy to genuine care and compassion.
The importance of having a structured "safe space" to process your work (social workers spend at least 1 hour in supervision for every 40 hours of work!).
Why setting hard boundaries is actually a sign of competence and professionalism, not weakness.

So, if you sometimes feel the weight of the work is getting too much and you're looking for ways to create a healthier, more sustainable work environment, this conversation offers practical clues.

As we are almost wrapping up the year, it's an important reminder that reflection on our work isn't a nice to have, but a healthy habit we should all embrace.

Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact.

Be well,

~ Marc

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to Episode 242

04:00 Making Care an Integral Part of Practice

09:00 Recognizing Care (or the Lack Thereof) in Project Pacing

14:00 Difference Between 'Careless' and 'Care-full' Design

17:30 How Rachel's Path to Care Began

26:30 Human Rights and Social Work Foundation

38:45 What Design Can Learn from Social Work

46:15 Radical Act of Slowing Down