Due to Auckland going into Level 3 last week, AUT campuses have been closed and all classes are delivered online for the time being. On Tuesday we talked about how we could adapt to learning and working from home. I actually found this really helpful. Last semester felt a bit like “carry on as best as you can” but there was no discussion on how to carry on. A lot of the information given out by the university was quite general and hard to adapt to the circumstances of a Spatial Design student. Discussing how to manage and adapt in the context of our project really helped in clearing my head and stopped it from feeling like a dead end or swimming against a current.
I read the document Working With What You’ve Got and found there were quite a few ideas and methods on continuing to work creatively when faced with such circumstances. Below are some of the methods suggested that I thought could be helpful in ensuring I keep momentum while working from home.
ABBY CUNNANE (Writer /Curator)
- “Figure out your best time of day for thinking/ working/learning, and then put aside that time for working on the thing you value most. (Two hours is heaps!)”
- “I try to have a solid break from computer time after this, just to refresh and think more laterally than staring a screen allows?”
IAN JERVIS (Painter)
- “…here’s the chance to have fun, break a habit, chance your arm. Ditch the guidebook and choose a path less taken. Invent an other way. Explore, experiment. Play the flaneur; take a walk on the wild side. Make do and make good. Surprise yourself… be an artist.”
NGAHUIA HARRISON (Artist)
- “…step away from a way of making I sometimes felt trapped by. When we are used to a certain way of making or maybe we think we are expected to make in a certain way – it can be both your comfort and your discomfort zone.”
KRISTIE SMART (Spatial Designer)
- “Instead I took my unique circumstances and turned them into a body of work. I have actually dug this up this morning so could show you guys this afternoon on the zoom chat. Basically not being able to read and sketch on the train like I usually would lent me to do a social experiment where I basically just people watched and documented it how I could. I guess applying it to our current situation, this is a time no other university student may ever experience again in our lifetime. Is there a way they can fold this into their current thinking/project to make it even richer and capture this moment in time.”
– This made me realise how helpful it can be to look at this situation as an opportunity, not a barrier.
OLIVIA WEBB (Artist / Musician)
- “Take time to understand your resources and limitations (and how they might have changed recently).”
- “…it’s important to be disciplined with your time and as best you can and to take control of your timetable. Identify the time of day that you work best (or that works best for you), and mark this time out as ‘practice/making time’. Schedule it in your diary and keep this time sacred – don’t shift or negotiate it for anything! In my experience, a shorter period of time (a humble hour or two) is an easier commitment to keep. And if it’s going really well at the end of that time, you can decide to keep working.”
- “A practice pro tip I learned recently is to leave something unfinished at the end of each day. This is then the first thing you start with the following day, meaning you start your day by finishing yesterday’s thing. This is a really brilliant way to carry your momentum through from day to day in order to get your brain/heart/body/soul back into your work each day.”
- “…daily exercise (yoga), have breaks, eat regular meals, keep some sort of sleep routine.”
JOE JOWITT (Artist)
- “I think the best approach is to initially set the bar quite low: I elected to do one drawing a day. It could be a scribble, or something basic. Starting is often the hardest thing, so if you just need to do something small, it is less daunting…”
We were then asked to make an inventory of everything we had available to use.
MATERIALS
- A2 sheets of paper
- Acrylic paints
- Water colours
- Coloured pencils
- Water colour pencils
- Black fine liners
- Phone camera
- Printer paper
- Graphite pencils
- Cellotape
- Masking tape
- Plastic film
- Glue stick
- Super glue
- Double sided tape
- Compass
- Craft knife
- Polaroid film
- Last semesters models
METHODS/PROCESSES
- Painting
- Pen Drawings
- Pencil drawings
- Photography
- Video Footage
- Digital image manipulation
SPACE
- Desk
- Bed
- Couch
- Kitchen bench
- Dining table
- Picnic table
- Outdoor table
- Floor
- Trampoline
AND WHERE THEY MIGHT BE FOUND:
- Bedroom
- Kitchen
- Front deck
- Patio
- Front garden
TIME:
For this section of my inventory, I decided to make an organised schedule. When working from home, I struggle to focus and make good progress on my work; I figured that structuring my time might help me to stay focused and on track.
MONDAY
7:45-8:00
Wake Up
8:00-9:00
Get Ready + Morning Chores
9:00-9:15
Write To Do List + Organise Work Space
9:15-11:15
Work on To Do List
11:15-11:45
Break
11:45-13:30
Work on To Do List
13:30-14:30
Lunch Break
14:30-15:00
Walk Dog
15:00-16:15
Work on To Do List
16:15-16:30
Break
16:30-17:45
Work on To Do List
17:45-20:30
Dinner + Break with Family
20:30-21:30
Finish To Do List
21:30-22:00
Get ready for bed
22:00-23:15
Down time
TUESDAY
7:45-8:00
Wake Up
8:00-9:00
Get Ready + Morning Chores
9:00-9:15
Write To Do List + Organise Work Space
9:15-10:00
Write Blog Post
10:00-11:30
Studio Class
11:30-12:00
Break
12:00-13:30
Work On To Do List
13:30-14:30
Lunch Break
14:30-15:00
Walk Dog
15:00-17:00
Work On To Do List
17:00-17:30
Break
17:30-19:30
Work On To Do List
19:30-21:30
Dinner + Break with Family
21:30-22:00
Get ready for bed
22:00-23:15
Down time
WEDNESDAY
7:45-8:00
Wake Up
8:00-9:00
Get Ready + Morning Chores
9:00-9:15
Write To Do List + Organise Work Space
9:15-11:00
Work on To Do List
11:00-11:30
Break
11:30-13:30
Work on To Do List
13:30-14:30
Lunch Break
14:30-15:00
Walk Dog
15:00-17:00
Work on To Do List
17:00-17:30
Break
17:30-19:30
Work on To Do List
19:30-21:30
Dinner + Break with Family
21:30-22:00
Get ready for bed
22:00-23:15
Down time
THURSDAY
7:45-8:00
Wake Up
8:00-9:00
Get Ready + Morning Chores
9:00-9:15
Write To Do List + Organise Work Space
9:15-10:00
Write Blog Post
10:00-11:30
Studio Class
11:30-12:00
Walk Dog
12:00-13:00
Work on To Do List
13:00-14:00
Lunch Break
14:00-16:00
Minor Class
16:00-16:30
Break
6:30-17:00
Work on To Do List
17:00-17:15
Get ready and leave for work
17:30-20:30
Work
20:30-22:00
Dinner + Break with Family
22:00-22:30
Get ready for bed
22:30-23:30
Down time
FRIDAY
7:45-8:00
Wake Up
8:00-9:00
Get Ready + Morning Chores
9:00-9:15
Write To Do List + Organise Work Space
9:15-11:00
Work on To Do List
11:00-11:30
Break
11:30-13:30
Work on To Do List
13:30-14:30
Lunch Break
14:30-15:00
Walk Dog
15:00-17:00
Work on To Do List
17:00-17:15
Get ready and leave for work
17:30-20:30
Work
20:30-22:00
Dinner + Break with Family
22:00-22:30
Get ready for bed
22:30-23:30
Down time
SATURDAY
8:00-8:15
Wake Up
8:15-9:15
Get Ready + Morning Chores
9:15-9:30
Write To Do List
9:30-10:45
House Cleaning
10:45-11:15
Walk Dog
11:15-12:00
House Cleaning
12:00-13:30
Work on To Do List
13:30-14:30
Lunch Break
14:30-15:30
Work on To Do List
15:30-17:00
Free Time
17:00-17:15
Get ready + Leave for Work
17:30-20:30
Work
20:30-22:00
Dinner + Break with Family
22:00-22:30
Get ready for bed
22:30-23:30
Down time
SUNDAY
8:00-8:15
Wake Up
8:15-9:15
Get Ready + Morning Chores
9:15-9:30
Write To Do List
9:30-10:45
Work on To Do List
10:45-11:15
Break
11:15-12:30
Work on To Do List
12:30-13:00
Walk Dog
13:00-14:00
Lunch Break
14:00-19:30
Free time
19:30-21:30
Dinner + Break with Family
21:30-22:00
Get Ready for Bed
22:00-23:15
Down Time
Although this has structured my time, I understand that it can be flexible in terms of the amount of work I need to do each day. I think that this will hopefully help me focus my time thoughtfully and encourage me to stay on top of my work.
Spatial Design by Ciara 