{"id":770879,"date":"2025-01-20T07:28:34","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T07:28:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=770879"},"modified":"2025-01-20T09:28:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T09:28:54","slug":"last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking","title":{"rendered":"Last year\u2019s resolution was to buy no new clothes. This year, I\u2019m networking"},"content":{"rendered":"

January is here, and with it comes the perfect opportunity to reflect on the year just gone and look ahead to what\u2019s next. <\/span><\/p>\n

We architects thrive on cycles: concept to completion, review to reinvention. The start of a new year is a chance to look ahead to what\u2019s coming, but also to pat yourself on the back for what went right. Big or small, I hope you take a moment to celebrate your 2024 wins.<\/span><\/p>\n

This January, I\u2019m revelling in a bit of self-congratulation. For the first time ever, I managed to see my 2024 New Year\u2019s resolution through from start to finish. It may not sound like a big deal but, trust me, it was. Last January I made a promise to myself not to buy any new clothes or tech for the year. It wasn\u2019t easy. But, now that I\u2019ve done it, I\u2019ll be carrying this habit forward into 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s on the agenda for this year? I\u2019ve set two goals. Both reflect the mantra to grow personally and professionally and, importantly, both are about small, pragmatic and achievable steps, rather than big lofty ideas. I\u2019m sharing them here in the hope they might inspire you; or at the very least, keep me accountable.<\/span><\/p>\n

At our practice the big word for this year is \u2018Marketing\u2019, with a capital \u2018M\u2019. Like many others, we\u2019re not very good at shouting out about our work. Instead, we let past projects do the talking for us, which they often don\u2019t do very well or very loudly. <\/span><\/p>\n

As Kunle Barker wrote in the AJ last September, networking is key not only for opportunities and collaboration, but for creative innovation. So, inspired by Kunle, the plan is to eat the frog, as Mark Twain put it, and put networking at the top of the list of resolutions for 2025.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The catch with this is that most people in my network are, unsurprisingly, architects. Much as I love a good design debate (aka gossip), there is a risk of getting stuck in an echo chamber. So, following Kunle\u2019s advice, I\u2019ll be broadening my horizons and making a deliberate effort to connect with people outside my circle.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re an undercover introvert like myself, this feels like going against your better nature and, as a soon-to-be father of two, time is not something I have bags of. Still, I\u2019ll be committing to the goal and writing down a list of events that I\u2019ll be attending over the year and sticking to at least one a month.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second is a little more personal. I am a professional optimist. Take whatever bad situation you have and I\u2019ll find a silver lining. This mindset has served me well, particularly in the architectural world, where problems on site or shifting client briefs are the norm. <\/span><\/p>\n

The problem is that optimism has its downsides. It can lead to overpromising and mismanaging expectations.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, my plan is simple; a weekly calendar and project review. Each Friday, I\u2019ll carve out time to assess what\u2019s been achieved, what\u2019s outstanding, and what\u2019s realistic for the week ahead. It\u2019s not revolutionary but, for someone who tends to live by the motto \u2018it\u2019ll all be fine in the end\u2019, it\u2019s a step towards being more intentional and transparent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Resolutions are personal endeavours and, whether or not you choose to share them as I have, they have the power to ripple outwards. I\u2019ve chosen to make 2025 all about intentionality.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s shouting louder about our work as a practice or finding a better balance between optimism and practicality, they\u2019re small steps moving in the right direction.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Before you start on another yearly cycle, I\u2019d like to ask: what are you are resolving to do differently in 2025?<\/span><\/p>\n

Toko Andrews is an associate at Tunbridge Wells-based Kaner Olette Architects and associate lecturer at the University for the Creative Arts<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

January is here, and with it comes the perfect opportunity to reflect on the year just gone and look ahead to what\u2019s next. We architects thrive on cycles: concept to completion, review to reinvention. The start of a new year is a chance to look ahead to what\u2019s coming, but also to pat yourself on …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9844,"featured_media":770883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[745],"tags":[1343,100989],"yoast_head":"\nLast year\u2019s resolution was to buy no new clothes. This year, I\u2019m networking<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What are you are resolving to do differently in 2025? asks Toko Andrews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Last year\u2019s resolution was to buy no new clothes. This year, I\u2019m networking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What are you are resolving to do differently in 2025? asks Toko Andrews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-20T07:28:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-20T09:28:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/16144041\/shutterstock_2555178443-1024x683.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Toko Andrews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alan Gordon\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking\",\"name\":\"Last year\u2019s resolution was to buy no new clothes. This year, I\u2019m networking\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-20T07:28:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-20T09:28:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/c9b9ca3ca79c0132ddcdae56307b2ff2\"},\"description\":\"What are you are resolving to do differently in 2025? asks Toko Andrews\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Last year\u2019s resolution was to buy no new clothes. This year, I\u2019m networking\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\",\"description\":\"Architecture News & Buildings\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/c9b9ca3ca79c0132ddcdae56307b2ff2\",\"name\":\"Alan Gordon\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/acb6d4722137897ae84938b08c7fe8af\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1ad4697cefd84197ecf16504da76e735?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1ad4697cefd84197ecf16504da76e735?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Alan Gordon\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/alan-gordon-3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Last year\u2019s resolution was to buy no new clothes. This year, I\u2019m networking","description":"What are you are resolving to do differently in 2025? asks Toko Andrews","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Last year\u2019s resolution was to buy no new clothes. This year, I\u2019m networking","og_description":"What are you are resolving to do differently in 2025? asks Toko Andrews","og_url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking","og_site_name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","article_published_time":"2025-01-20T07:28:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-20T09:28:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/16144041\/shutterstock_2555178443-1024x683.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Toko Andrews","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alan Gordon","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking","name":"Last year\u2019s resolution was to buy no new clothes. This year, I\u2019m networking","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-01-20T07:28:34+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-20T09:28:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/c9b9ca3ca79c0132ddcdae56307b2ff2"},"description":"What are you are resolving to do differently in 2025? asks Toko Andrews","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/last-years-resolution-was-to-buy-no-new-clothes-this-year-im-networking#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Last year\u2019s resolution was to buy no new clothes. This year, I\u2019m networking"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/","name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","description":"Architecture News & Buildings","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/c9b9ca3ca79c0132ddcdae56307b2ff2","name":"Alan Gordon","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/acb6d4722137897ae84938b08c7fe8af","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1ad4697cefd84197ecf16504da76e735?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1ad4697cefd84197ecf16504da76e735?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Alan Gordon"},"url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/alan-gordon-3"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770879"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9844"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=770879"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":771174,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770879\/revisions\/771174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/770883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=770879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=770879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=770879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}