(noun)

- the quality of being dedicated (ie: devoting time, effort, or oneself to a particular task or purpose) or committed to a task or purpose

Ahhhh, dedication.

When I think about dedication, I think about my personal commitments to the important things in my life. Some of the things I'm dedicated to, I don't talk about with the general public.

(Although, that's probably a lie - as you can tell, I'm an open book!)

What I'm trying to say is that sometimes, dedication runs behind the scenes...which is a perfect transition to learning about dedication in architectural terms.

When we talk about dedication in architectural terms, it's within the electrical scope of a project which is, for the large part, unseen. The easiest example is a light switch - each time you toggle the light on, it sends a dedicated signal through wires or remote to that particular fixture or zone. While we see the light(s) illuminate, what we don't see is the path or connection that makes that happen.

Another way we talk about dedication is with equipment power outlets. This generally means that the outlet only serves one piece of equipment, nothing else, and is often a requirement of the product manufacturer. It's very likely that you have dedicated outlets for each of your large pieces of equipment in your kitchen and/or laundry rooms. This is an important scope coordination during a project because if a client swaps out a piece of equipment, we need to update the electrical requirements to ensure the dedicated outlet is designed correctly. Again, largely behind the scenes.

Do you see where I'm going with this...?

What each of us is dedicated to in our lives is very personal. Sometimes it can be easy to see (ie: a partner, family, job), but sometimes our dedications are hidden behind the scenes. Both are ok!

What I want to nudge you towards is experimenting with what it means to create physical space dedicated to your dedications. 
 

(It's certainly day 11...losing my language over here, folks! )

Let me show you what I mean.

As you may know by now, I am also a musician. I have been a singer for the majority of my life and a few years back I started gigging in jazz clubs here in New York City. When I first began performing more regularly, I had a full-time, corporate architectural gig. I needed a dedicated space to be able to come home and connect to my music.

Living in a studio apartment didn't allow for a music room so I got creative. There was one blank wall that I hadn't utilized yet and I decided to try an experiment. You can see it below:

As you can tell, it's not formal or fancy. A simple piece of wood balancing on a side table allowing my keyboard to rest comfortably. My amp tucked nicely on the lower shelf of the table and my stool to the left of that. Since this is my music space, I'm housing my sheet music and books in the record table to the right along with some actual vinyl for the turntable above. Everything is within reach which removes barriers to creating. But what I want you to take notice of is the white dry/erase decal on the wall. This, my friends, is how I define my dedicated space.

Yep, it's two, 24x36 decals stuck to the wall. That's it. And that's enough.

When I'm creating music or a set list for an upcoming gig, I scribble all over that dry/erase. It's there to capture my creativity and give it space to breathe and take form. I know that when I am facing and focused on that space, I'm dedicated to the task at hand, making music. And it doesn't matter that it's simply a portion of the wall. It's my space for my music and it works just fine.

Now...welcome to my "office"! As you can see above, it is another simple wall with dry/erase decals. Once I tested them out for my music space, I realized that they serve a larger purpose for me than simply defining an area. Drawing on the wall allows my brain to expand and make connections easier because I can see my thoughts at a large scale in front of me. This in turn fuels my mission for continuously expanding how I see the world. And so when I created my office space, I knew I had to integrate them.

Having a space that supports expansion is important to me because my main dedication/commitment is helping others expand how they see the world in order to take care of themselves, their environment, and their communities better.   

If I had a formal office with a door and fancy work surface, I would still define my space with the dry/erase panels because they remind me of what I'm dedicated to in my day-to-day. The very simple solution actually carries a pretty strong connection...behind the scenes, of course!

What small move would support your dedication in a behind-the-scenes kind of way?

JOURNAL PROMPTS

• How do you think of dedication or dedicating yourself to something? Is there something current in your life that you are committed to or are you in between commitments?

• Is dedication a behind-the-scenes commitment for you? Or do you express your dedication?

• What supports your continued dedication? Is it a space or person/team? A social or personal cause or mission? Simply remind yourself...it's nice to be reminded sometimes.

• If you feel comfortable, how can you express your dedication in your personal space? Does it excite or scare you to do so?

• What would be possible if you supported your dedication/commitments through your physical space? Does it free anything up for you?

This wraps Day 11...thank you for taking time to explore spacemaking from a place of dedication!

If you feel inspired to share any takeaways, examples in your own home, or questions that came up for you, please access any Spatial Medium social media account. Please be sure to add #12daysofspacemaking and tag @spatialmedium so I can see what you post.