Habits to adopt for the academic year
It’s that time of the year again where students are returning back to an influx of University emails and it’s already too much to handle. Prior to the start of the new academic year, we wanted to give you some advice on habits that you could adopt before all hell breaks loose and you forget what it feels like to have a routine.
With 3 years of experience studying architecture under our belts and a ton of reflection on our journeys so far, here are some habits we think would be useful to form, in the calm before the storm of submissions, stress and insanity :).
Sleep hygiene
One thing we advocate here on ArchiDabble is the importance of a good night's sleep. Whilst on countless occasions you'll hear about the sleepless architecture students who pulled god knows how many all-nighters in a row, we’ve tried to make a conscious effort to avoid falling into the trap of normalising inadequate sleeping patterns.
It’s about time we realise that all-nighters are not necessary as an architecture student, contrary to popular belief as they supposedly equate to getting more work done and thus getting better grades (they don’t). Or at least raise the discussion and try to make an effort to keep up a consistent sleeping pattern to lessen the obvious bags under our eyes.
One of the best ways to implement a good sleeping routine is to start early on. Before the academic year begins and you are filled with multiple deadlines in the semester, get yourself used to switching off at a desired bedtime and continuing with your work the next morning. Whilst having a specific bedtime that allows you to get 7-10 hours of sleep every night might sound childish, it lets your body fall into a natural sleep rhythm. Your body will begin to recognise when to get sleepy, how long to sleep for and you might even wake up before your alarm, feeling energised and well rested. And even though we're sure you’ve heard this countless times, maybe you’ve even failed at it before, it definitely is doable, and we’re the living proof of it. Whilst we may not have perfected this routine of resting, we’re definitely trying.
To ensure quality sleep, stray away from digital screens and take advantage of still being able to go outside, considering you still have the opportunity to do so without work on your mind before the year is in full swing. Quality sleep is just as important as how many hours in bed you spend; 6 hours of proper sleep is better than 9 hours of broken sleep. Either way, this opportunity will inevitably be stripped away from your hands once the academic year begins, so start now. *internal screaming*
Ultimately, you’ll only see benefits come from this: increased productivity during the daytime, feeling fully rested and being able to work consistently for a longer period of time, all of which will be shown in your work too. The important habits to form in regards to sleep hygiene is getting enough sleep, getting consistent sleep and getting quality sleep.
Asking for help
This is a major game changer in architecture school and probably in other degrees too. Once you realise there is nothing scary about asking for help, you will be able to collaborate easily with your tutors and fellow peers that’ll lead to a great progression in skill set. Do not be afraid of being judged for asking questions, just ask someone for help when necessary because at the end of the day, you have nothing to lose and knowledge to gain. See it as a fast track to finding the solutions to your problems… for free. When we phrase it like that, we even question ourselves for all the times we didn’t go up to someone and ask for their help knowing they probably had the answers.
Isolating yourself from the people around you not only puts you in a secluded bubble of panic, but it also makes it harder for the people around you to help considering you haven’t shared with anyone what you have been struggling with all this time. All the tutors around you have all been in the same boat, they have a good idea of what it feels like so console with them in order to work it out together. By the end of an amazing tutorial session, you’ll question why you hadn’t done it earlier. Ask your classmates for help as they might have the answers you need and what you know could help them out, it's not shameful to ask for help.
However, having said this, our past experiences also show that you can encounter the odd unhelpful tutorial every once in a while but don’t get too hung up on it. There are always other people you can ask or you just caught that person on a bad day. It happens to all of us :,). Just take everything you hear with a pinch of salt and consider it objectively and critically.
Grow a Thick Skin
This one applies to all the degrees out there which have you present your work in front of professionals on multiple occasions. Criticism will be arriving at your door with next-day delivery soon so prepare for it. We have mentioned some points in the past on how to handle criticism which we’ll be highlighting again here.
Learn to not treat projects as ones that you own. What we mean by that is to stop using phrases such as “my project”, “my proposal”, “my building”, etc. Yes, you designed it but 99% of the time the project is aimed at someone else - the client. The more you detach yourself from the project, the less likely you are to be affected deeply by the criticism you are receiving. Also, do not feel the need to respond or defend your design. Sometimes it’s just a subjective matter of preference and you can’t make everyone happy with your design choices. Take constructive criticism seriously, not comments about why you chose a specific colour for the window frames. And when you have made a deliberate design choice, have a conversation about it with your critics and not an argument. This will help give you an idea of what it’s like in practice too.
In all honesty, the phrase ‘confidence is key’ goes a long way. It’s hard to convince someone to understand that you have made a smart design choice when you sound like you doubt yourself. Muster up your courage and have some belief in yourself. Yes, you might just be a second-year architecture student but you’ve put in the effort to do some research that your tutor might be hearing about for the first time. Don’t forget that no one, not even your tutors, knows your project as good as you.
Critically observation and judgement
There’s so much to learn from the built environment around you. The more you study architecture, the more you start to understand the design decisions that went into the construction of buildings you encounter. As you move through architecture school, you’ll gain the skill of being able to critically judge architectural elements like structural decisions, facade details, spatial arrangements and so on.
Some practical things you can do to foster the development of critical thinking include carrying a sketchbook or camera around with you everywhere so you’re always ready to capture moments or elements that catch your eye. Reading architecture theory and comparing how this relates to the environment around you can also help you to form your own critical opinions of architecture.
Challenge yourself to always form an opinion and question what you see around you. Are the spaces around you well designed? Why/why not? How has a particular design transformed the surrounding space, lifestyles and communities? What would you do differently?
When it comes down to your own projects, you’ll be adept at viewing your work (and others’ work) from different perspectives and understanding the additional value your design brings to a site that you may not have been aware of previously.
Building an efficient workstation
One of the easier habits you can adopt is in regards to your workspace at home. By minimising the amount of time it takes for you to set up your workspace for drawing and modelling, specifically with physical work, you’ll gain more time to do the actual work. Having this designated, ready space will help you to focus easier when you are sat there as it’ll prompt your mind into associating that space with work.
Self-reflection
Over the course of the year, you will be bombarded with deadlines, projects, assignments and essays that you’ll have to juggle as well as your personal commitments, social life and finances. It’s so important that you develop the habit of checking in on yourself to ensure you maintain your health, well-being and productivity.
First and foremost, make sure you’re coping well in terms of your physical well-being. Secondly, check that you’re mentally and emotionally coping with your studies alongside other priorities. Make adjustments to your routine as you see fit if something isn’t working out e.g. changing from late nights to early mornings if you can’t stay awake during daytime classes. Maybe your environment needs to change so you can focus better. Setting boundaries can be just as important as changing how you do things; make sure you try to achieve a study-life balance without overcommitting to too many things that aren’t a priority.
The same applies to your academic habits too. Architecture is a fast-paced, intense discipline. Objectively evaluating your work, your study habits, workflow, study environment, approach to learning etc. will help you become flexible in tackling various challenges, giving you the ability to adapt to new unexpected situations you’ll have to deal with.
University life encompasses so much more than just achieving good grades, so by becoming self-aware and keeping an open mind in terms of your student lifestyle, you’ll be able to navigate the academic year in one piece.
This week’s blog post discussed some habits that will prepare you for the new academic year. By no means are we suggesting that these habits are the only way to have an effective and efficient year. However, they could definitely foresee and aid disruptions in your behaviour and routine that you won’t notice in a state of stress and panic close to submissions. It's important to bear in mind that we are all different from one another so whilst some things will be effective for you, others might not be, which is normal.
As a reminder, ArchiDabble is back posting 3 times a week after a well-deserved break. Look out for our Instagram content on Mondays over at @archidabble ranging from software tips to RIBA breakdowns and much more. We also release monthly CAD packs and weekly blog posts on Fridays on www.archidabble.com
We are always open to collaborating with others so do not hesitate to reach out to the Dabble Team by using the ‘Contact’ page or by dropping us an email at dabbleenquiries@gmail.com
Last but not least, if you have some work that you are proud of and would love to share with the ArchiDabble community, always make sure to tag us on Instagram and use the hashtag #dabblefeature in order for us to repost it!
That’s all for this week. See you again on Monday with a new Instagram post :D
