Monday 21 May 2012

Speaking from Experience//Content

Organisation booklet
Categories -
- Planning - to do lists, time management
- social/domestic/uni balance - balancing the 3 elements
- down time - you can't be working all the time, need to relax
- versatile - things on the course aren't in your hands, things change and need to be able to adapt to this. Also like this in industry.
- workload
- Motivation

- Planning.
Planning is the best way to organise your day to day routine. Making sure you have everything covered and are making the most of your day is the best way to get your work done. On a morning before you start work, you should make a list of everything you need to do within that day and then throughout the day you can tick these off. In doing this this will make you feel better as you are crossing things off and getting them done. Another thing you need to plan is your time, you need to be aware of making the most of your time in college. Just because you are in college doesn't mean you are actually doing any productive work. When in college and doing work , you should work for a period of time then have a small break, this break will clear your mind and then when you come back you will had fresh eyes on your work. All this will work in your favour and if you plan your time right and get the best out of your day and you will meet your deadlines.

- Social/Domestic/Uni.
Balancing your social, domestic and uni life is key to being organised. These three elements of you life should be in balance to make sure you cover everything. If out of the three elements you sway to one side more, then this will put everything out of order. You need your social life to keep in touch with your friends, have down time from you design work and to do things which you enjoy; your hobbies. Your domestic life is important to keep everything in order in your life. You need to have a tidy space to work in, meaning that you need to clean your room, bathroom kitchen etc. Waking up on a morning to mess and trying to find everything within your room for your day at uni would be impossible in a messy room. Uni life should be in balanced with everything. You need to have the time to do all your work and get everything done, but you can't work all the time; its not good for you, this wouldn't help your design work, intact t would make it worse because you are focussed on one thing and have the vision for this, taking breaks and time away from it, will mean you come back with fresh eyes each time and be able to see new ways of developing it. Make sure everything is in balance.

- Down Time.
Everyone has to have down time on an evening. You cannot be working all the time, this won't do you any good or your work any good. The idea of relaxing is to get you away from your work, for you to clear your mind and do something that you enjoy other than design work. Having this time away from your work, will mean when you next come to do it again, you will have fresh eyes, you'll see the work in a different way and come up with more ideas or ways to develop it further. Staring at it for hours on end, will just make it worse and make you worse, its not good for your health to do that. Giving yourself headaches from staring at a screen all the time is not good.

- Versatile.
On this course you have to be versatile, intact you have to be versatile in the industry of Graphic Design. Nothing is in your hands on the timetable/workload this is all set for you, so you need to be adaptable, things change day to day, people don't turn up etc so things will change. In industry if you have your own company you can't tell what work will come in, that the work will be, this is something you can't be in control of, so you have to run with it and take what you get. Being adaptable on Graphic Design course is essential, there are many different briefs, which ask you to do different aspects and use different media's etc.

- Workload.
You may have thought that college was hard work and that the projects you did pushed your abilities, but that is only the start. On this course you will be pushed even more. Don't be fouled by the first month or so, that is just to introduce you to the course, after this it starts to get harder and harder to start with. When this happens you will realise why this course is so well talked about and one of the best, because the teaching and workload gets you everything. At first it will seem like you are being given everything and that you can't manage to do it all, but persist at it, you will get used to it and it will become the norm for you. You will hear from other people on different Graphic Design courses and hear what theres is like, saying that they are only in a couple of days a week and get hardly any work, this will make you feel rubbish and make you think why am i hear, but think of it as a positive, you are paying exactly the same as them, but you are getting so much more work/tutor time meaning you are getting a better education. The resources are excellent here, the tutors are great, the workload is high and intense but get used to it, get yourself into a routine and will cope with it. Just wait for your grades, compare to others and you will realise why you are here. As having experience of my first year here i can say that i have thought everything above, but once i realised what i was actually getting being on this course, i changed my mind straight away and i feel privileged being on this course.

- Motivation.
Motivation isn't a big part of organisation, or some people wouldn't even relate it organisation. I would though, to be organised and to plan your day, everyday to get the most of the time you have, you have to be motivated to do it. If you get up on a morning and think you can't do it, then you won't, simple as. To get through this course and keep on top of the workload you need to motivated to do the work and to push your design work. Everyone has them days when you don't want to do anything, but that can't happen everyday or else you will get no where.Find designers, agencies, or even your work, that motivates you and gives you that inspiration to do your work. Take time on a morning to look through a design website or a designers' work you like, anything that will get you mind in the right mindset to get on and produce the work. When you feel that you have 'hit a brick wall' find work that relates to it, see how others have tackled the same situation, concept, or message and get your mind thinking in the right way. Whatever it is that motivates you, do it.

Designer Booklets
- Morning - waking up and getting into college
- Planning day - to do lists etc
- Workload - how much to do, how much get done
- Leaving college/working at home - time leave, what work do at home
- Socialise and relax - what do on an evening/ when does to dealing.
- results.

Lazy Designer.
- Morning.
A lazy designer is one to not use a alarm clock. After spending the following evening/ night drinking they are in no state for waking up on time for college. When they do finally wake up its way past the start of college at 9:30. Some people would then get up, get ready and go to college as quick as possible, but the lazy designer would think 'I've missed the morning, might as well go in for after dinner'. So they turn over and go back to sleep. After eventually getting up leaving them half an hour to get in on time, they jump in the shower, grab their bag and run to college, to get in for 1 o'clock.

- Planning day.
As you have arrived half way through the day, you only have half the amount to get your done. So you decide to sit down and look at what you have to do. After opening bag you realise you have left everything at home, in the mad rush to get here on time. So you can't actually plan what to do because you have nothing with you. Instead you go on your laptop and make it look like you are 'doing work'.

- Workload.
Seen as though everything you need is now left at home and all you have is your laptop. You decide to use the day to blog or try to think of things you need to do. As everyone in your group has just had dinner they are ready for an afternoon of work. You start to feel hungry and thirsty, so decide to go and get some food, on the way you find some others that are going outside for a fag. After doing all this is has taken up nearly an hour. Now you finally decide to sit down and work. After a couple of hours you can't do anything else because you left everything at home in the first place.

- Leaving College
You decide to leave college at 3 because you have nothing with you and plan to go and work at home instead. You get back home and sit down to do work, now you have everything there you can plan do it the rest of the afternoon, to make up on time. After about half an hour, your flatmates start to come home and make noise, making it hard for you to concentrate. Music is blaring from upstairs and you can hear everyone in your kitchen. You decide to get a drink and go say hi to everyone, this leads to you being in there all afternoon talking and socialising with everyone, in which you have decided to go out again tonight.

- Socialising/ relax
Since being home and doing about an hour of work, you have gone and forgot about it and started to drink instead, getting ready for the night ahead of you. After cooking tea with everyone in the kitchen, having a brief break in-between which you blogged for half an hour, making you feel slightly better about not doing any work and going out instead. You drink more with your flatmates and head to town. Not planning on returning till early hours of the morning!

-Results.
social life high, uni life a small amount, domestic nothing.
You are living the high life with your friends, going out nearly every night, socialising all the time which is okay, that is part of the university experience, but you have forgotten you are doing a degree at the same time, on a course which has high workload and is intense. Carrying on like this will result in you not having the work done, not to a good standard and probably all done a couple of days before the hand in, which you have had to stay up all night to get it finished. Your work will no way be near the standard it needs to be and if you keep this attitude towards to the course you will probably get kicked off.

quote -

Average Designer
- Morning.
A average designer is aware of college and realises that they need to be there to get the work done. They set an alarm to get up in time and have a shower before college, to get for half 9. Getting up at 8 is adequate. They don't have breakfast because they haven't left enough time, or slightly slept over. Getting into college at 9:28 just on time and there to sign in.

- Planning day.
To start with you would sit down and plan out your day. By organising what you have to do you can plan what you will complete that day. To make sure you remember these and know when you completed them, you make a to do list. This helps you complete the work and also acts as motivation, the more you tick off the closer you know you are to finishing for the day. You don't t like to leave things on it to do, because that will have to go on for the next day.

- Workload.
After planning your day, you sit down and get on with the work. You sit down with you friends and start to work, as everyone is talking around you, you don't get as much down as you wanted to it. Now with it coming up to dinner time you decide to go and get something from the sandwich shop, going with your friends you have to queue in the shops to get your food. As everyone wants different food you go to about 3 shops and then have a fag on the way back. Getting back to work for 1 o'clock. In the afternoon you decide to get on with work, getting your head down and ignore things around you.
- Leaving college.
After getting work done in the afternoon and completing most of the things on your to do list, you decide to go home at around 4. Thinking that you will get back home, have some food and get on with more work to finish everything on to do list. When you get back all your flatmates are in, you go and join them and socialise and then cook some tea, making it around 7 o'clock. You finally go and finish off the work you need to do, realising you have more to do than you thought, you end up spending the rest of your night doing the work to finish, so you to do list is done.

- Socialise&relax.
 You had time to socialise when you first got home, but spending all the evening with you flatmates, meant you had do your work the rat of the night, whilst everyone else was together having fun, with a couple of drinks.
- Results.
uni and social equal. no domestic.
Your balance of social and uni life are equal, this is a good start. You still need to work on the priorities of your day and maybe doing things in a better order. If you had done your work when you first got home, you could of spent the evening with your flatmates. You are getting the work done that is needed, but only to the acceptable standard. You aren't really pushing your work or doing anything extra which could get you the higher grades.

quote - design is about doing.


Excellent Designer
- Morning.
A excellent designer will get up bright and early, having time to have a shower get ready and have some breakfast leisurely. Maybe even get up in time to do some work before they go to college. They would set off college, leaving them plenty of time to have a good leisurely walk there, arriving at least half an hour before they were to start the day.

- Planning day.
As you have arrived nice and early, you have plenty of time to plan you day. You use to do lists to write down everything you want to do today, check your emails, look at the calendar to see what you have on and maybe even go get a coffee before you have to start. Leaving some time to have a quick browse of the internet, looking at design work relevant to your practice. This relaxed manor, leads you to a great start to the day, you aren't stressed, you have a clear mind that it motivated by design work you have looked at to inspire you for the workload you intend to complete today. After being prepared and hydrated you can start the day.

- Workload.
After this relaxed start to the day, you can begin your work, because you have already got your mind thinking in the right way, you set straight onto the work. Getting stuck into it, you start to tick the things off you list, motivating you even more because you know you are getting through it all. Part way through the morning you have a quick 10-15 minute break, to grab a drink and something to eat, which will keep you going for the rest of morning, also giving your mind a period to switch off. Coming back with fresh eyes, you again sit down and work head down for the rest of the morning. Knowing that the shops around the college get busy at 12 for dinner, you decide to go abit earlier to miss all queues all save time. You eat your dinner with your friends and have some time to browse the internet and again look at some more design work. Now you have refuelled yourself, you again sit back down to work. You may take some time to go to the library to get relevant book or stock, or you may have to fins some information from someone about something you are producing, this is all within your plan though. It gets to around 3/4ish and a lot of people have started to wander off home, but you have decided to stay behind longer and get more done. Staying later at college when it quietens down, means you have no distractions, you have all the available resources and you can get on with your work making the most of your time.

- Leaving College.
You leave college at around half 7, giving you plenty of time to walk home and get back to have some tea when you get in. When you get in home, all your flatmates are sat around the kitchen, you can join them and cook your tea whilst chatting and catching up on things. Everyone in your flat is talking about how much work they have to do, but you have none because you stayed late.

- Socialise & relax.
After staying at college later and completing all your work, you have now come home and have no worries about doing any work. You have the night to yourself, you can do anything you want. Baring in mind you may have domestic chores to do, you take half an hour or so to get these done and out of the way. Joining the rest of your flat, you spend the night socialising with them and letting your hair down, having some fun. You can go out round town, go to the pub, stay in and drink, watch films etc. Atleast you have the choice to do these. You go to bed, all relaxed, with a clear mind, ready for the next day.

-Results.
Uni, social and domestic all equal.
Every aspect of your life is covered and is equal. There may be some days in which this isn't always the case, but the majority are. You now have the best world of everything, you get all your work done and because you are spending more time on it, you can experiment and push things to a higher level, coming up with creative solutions and making the best of time for your design work, which shows in your grades. Yet you still have the social life, with your flatmates, friends who ever. You are getting that downtime, away from your work and college and letting yourself forgot about it, which helps. Each day you go back to your work with a clear mind and vision of what you want to complete and can improve on it because you have the time, the space to and the time off. Leaving time aside to do your domestic things; clean your room etc means you are healthy, you know where all your stuff is and just have your life under control. Keep it this way!

quote - nothing is perfect, there is always room for improvement



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