This is a time for organization, for accomplishing tasks we put off for a rainy day, and for creating possibilities for the future. During this period of recommended self-isolation, take time to consider options and use this period constructively.
- Make progress on your projects. Try another design option. It’s not a normal workday but it might be a chance to think laterally about a project. Are you considering issues of privacy, loneliness, resilience? Put it into your work.
- Do the everyday stuff you keep putting off. Catch up on correspondence. Update schedules. Empty your inbox. Do this in small chunks of time so that it isn’t overwhelming; it will soon be done.
- Clean up your workspace. We all have outdated brochures, samples, materials, paperwork. Take what you can to recycling and chuck out the rest. Make a list of products you want to learn more about and see if there are CEUs online. Which leads to….
- Catch up on continuing education. There are 1000s of courses that count toward AIA, GBCI, and state licensure. Check out a subject you haven’t considered before: Equity by Design or Resilience and Adaptation. Do it now instead of waiting for December. We may be really busy in December.
- Do a drawing a day during the quarantine – it’s why we became architects, right? It might be a fond memory of a place you wish you were right now, a still life of the sad vegetables you got at the grocery store, or the wine bottles you emptied last night. It doesn’t matter. Just draw.
- Explore an abandoned building or site in your area. Imagine what it could become. Make a list of people who might contribute their expertise – call them your “dream team.” And then call them for real. We need good ideas right now.
- Reach out to your clients and find out how they are doing. Ask them about the impacts to their business. Don’t send out that email to everyone in your address book, personalize it. Drop them a postcard or make a call. There might be something you can do to help or learn useful strategies for your next project. While we are on the subject….
- Be a resource for others. Architects have had a role in keeping people safe from disease throughout the ages. Access to light and proper ventilation, materials that are easily cleaned and don’t harbor germs, correct humidity, spaces for hygiene… all of these are things we understand. Make sure you know the science behind this outbreak and share solutions for sanitizing and separation with others.
- Polish your portfolio. Prepare project sheets, organize your standard forms, add to your website. Improve your social media skills and post regularly. Fine tune your graphics and update resumes. Photograph your projects while there are few people around.
- Don’t be too hard on yourself or your staff if you don’t accomplish much. It’s a strange period and we all need to stay healthy: relax, eat well, and focus on a healthy mind and body. Take care of your families, your neighbors, yourself. Health, safety, and welfare – we will have a chance to exercise these skills again soon.
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