– What is the secret of designing?

– How do architects avoid the writers equivalent of writers block?

– What do you need to do to design?

The answers are easy: to design well you need to be doing a lot of it. I’ve written previously on the research that’s been undertaken on perfecting skills; apparently it takes a minimum of 10,000 hours to get good at something. So what are you waiting for, star whittling down the hours.

Next question, what do you need to do therefore to actually design…

I was reading the Sunday Times at the weekend (the Style section, no laughing please) and there was a small piece about the detective author Raymond Chandler who says the secret of writing is just sitting down and doing it. That means sitting down for a minimum of four hours with the intention of writing, no cheque writing, no reading magazines, tweeting or blogging – just trying to write. And being an architect is just the same, just sit down and force yourself to do it, it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t come straightaway-it’s the act of sitting and saying that you’re going to do it that makes it happen.

It reminds me of a quote from a well known actress (for the record it’s Nicole Kidman ahem) who at the start of every film was petrified that the ‘part’ wasn’t going to come but she said that it always comes from somewhere. I suggest that it’s the same idea, it’s the very act of forcing yourself to do so something that makes it happen.

My guess is that this theory translates into every sphere and job and in the words of the ad: “Just Do It!”

So what are you waiting for?…