#self management

This may be the most important book I’ve written because it teaches the skill underneath every other skill: learning to manage yourself and your responses.

Upon researching more about Emotional Intelligence, I learnt that it includes not only four domains but also twelve competencies. Among these, I believe my strength lies in Social Awareness, specifically Empathy. The two parts I relate to most are Emotional Empathy and Care.

Another example of me displaying Cognitive Empathy would be during our 2nd day of school, and we had our first Studio lesson. Everyone was still unfamiliar with one another. Wanting to help us bond, I suggested that we do the Cool Hunting together at Funan. Even without asking everyone if they were okay with that, I felt it would be a fun shared experience. It turned out to be a good decision, as it helped break the ice and made the class feel more connected.

In terms of Caring, I try to check in on my classmates whenever I can. When one classmate was absent for a week and no one knew why, I reached out to her to see if she was alright. She then opened up about what she was going through personally, and I felt grateful she trusted me enough to be vulnerable. Knowing what she was going through, I downloaded lesson resources and shared them with her so she wouldn’t fall behind.

I tend to devote so much time and energy into others that I neglect my own needs. When someone asks for help, I feel an immediate urge to step in, even if I’m overwhelmed. This makes me respond emotionally rather than taking a moment to think through a more balanced, logical approach. Hence, I am trying to find a healthier balance between caring for others while also caring about my well-being.

(280 words)

References:

Youtu.be, 2025, youtu.be/erfgEHHfFkU?si=61ycTRE18uLLPUCD.

As a designer, I often remind myself not to push too hard and to leave white space. These habits once seemed ordinary, almost subconscious. But during this week’s CTS-B class, I realised they were already fragments of an unwritten manifesto—values that had guided me long before I had the words to articulate them.

Before having a clear manifesto, my design thinking often drifted (Pic. 2). It felt like walking in the dark: the direction existed but was blurry; ideas appeared but slipped away. I used to believe a manifesto worked like a navigation map that told me exactly which path to follow. But while writing this reflection, I understood that a manifesto is more like a compass—guiding awareness rather than prescribing steps. This aligns with Bruce Mau’s belief that a manifesto should offer direction, not rules (Mau). It also echoes the idea that a manifesto clarifies purpose and helps designers realign their intentions when their thinking becomes uncertain (“Why Should a Designer or Architect Write a Manifesto?”).

This shift made Lupton’s statement deeply meaningful to me: “Designers must visualise thinking in order to understand it.” (Lupton 2011). When I wrote down my thoughts, organised them, and named my principles, I realised I was not creating new rules. I was finally seeing the values that had quietly shaped my decisions. Through this process, I understood that designers do more than create visuals—they design their way of thinking.

CTS-B strengthened this realisation. I learned that a manifesto is not a collection of idealistic quotes, but a designed framework of thought. It becomes a mirror that helps me reflect on why I make certain choices, and a discipline that keeps me intentional before creating. This connects to Kenya Hara’s idea that “the power of design is the power to awaken”(Hara 2007). A manifesto, therefore, becomes a mindset—a way of remaining aware as a designer. This echoes the core CTS-B principle: understand before you make. Because reflection alone is not enough—clarity begins internally, not visually.(Pic. 3)

Connecting these ideas to my other modules made them more concrete. In Studio, my Baybeats project taught me the consequences of acting too quickly before understanding. In Branding, CleanSpeech™ showed how design carries social impact. In Materiality, my Craft Zine revealed how memory, empathy, and awareness shape meaning. Writing my manifesto was not the beginning of my thinking—it was the moment I finally recognised the values I had been practicing all semester.

During our group activity, we created a collective CTS-B manifesto (Pic. 4). It was the first time I realised that a manifesto is not only about shared values but also shared discipline. Listening to my teammates present their principles helped me recognise blind spots in my own thinking—especially my tendency to jump into making before asking “why.” This echoes Sam Essenfeld’s reflection on how structured thinking and feedback help designers move beyond instinctive reactions (Essenfeld). The activity also highlighted how my personal priorities differ from the group’s focus on critique and reflection.

If I were to revise the group manifesto, I would add a principle that became essential in my Studio project: “Understand yourself before creating.” Throughout the semester, I realised that when I am unclear about my own intentions or emotional state, even strong visuals become unfocused. Only when I align with myself first can my work gain clarity and direction.

After the activity, I began drafting my own manifesto (Pic. 5), which emphasises clarity, intention, empathy, and responsibility—ideas that had been quietly forming throughout the semester. Ultimately, writing my personal manifesto felt less like creating something new and more like finally recognising the values I had already been practicing. It has become a compass for my future Studio work, branding projects, and broader design practice.

Reference List

Lupton, Ellen. Graphic Design Thinking: Beyond Brainstorming. Princeton Architectural Press, 2011.

Hara, Kenya. Designing Design. Lars Müller Publishers, 2007.

Mau, Bruce. Advice to the Young. YouTube, uploaded by Louisiana Channel, 6 Jan. 2014,www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJiobXKuIjI.

“Why Should a Designer or Architect Write a Manifesto?”Design Manifestos, ArchAdemia,https://www.archademia.com/blog/how-to-write-a-design-manifesto. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.

Essenfeld, Sam. “The Keys to It All: My Design Manifesto.” Bootcamp, Medium, 1 May 2023, medium.com/design-bootcamp/the-keys-to-it-all-my-design-manifesto-dddb9f3b948f.

Self-management was a weakness I have struggled to control, often caused by the mix of over ambition and overthinking. I would then feel overwhelmed by my own thoughts and start having self-doubt.

Psychological distress among youth are often observed from the contribution of social isolation, school closure, and increased family pressure which emphasises on how youths with mental health- related problems are able to cope with their stress while carrying out daily activities to manage their well-being(Gaudreau H., Radziszewski S.,[...], and Tremblay P. H., 2023). In this reflection, I will be sharing the importance of self-management, even in youths who are still growing up. 

To overcome this, I have guided my thoughts with questions to filter and narrow down certain ideas that I can work with realistically and on time. This way I can remain sensible with ideas on what I can focus on, developing further by connecting them with small alterations during my progress. An example that relates to over ambition is when my group and I acted out a scenario during a class activity, where a student kept interrupting her classmates to give her ideas, mostly negatively, and not giving other people a chance to speak. There we managed to portray the student’s frustration when her classmates called her out for being selfish. 

After the class activity and researching, I learnt how self-management is important to control to prevent escalating situations and to create a convenient environment for not only ourselves but also for others. It is also important to learn to keep calm regardless of tough situations to not trigger ‘fight or flight’ moments.

(268 words)

References:

Gaudreau H., Radziszewski S.,[...], and Tremblay P. H., ‘Self-Management Strategies in Youth With Difficulties Related to Anxiety or Depression: What Helps Them Feel Better’. Journal of Adolescent Research, Volume 40, Issue 1, March 3, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1177/07435584231154840 

Tree E., ‘Felicia Chiao’s illustrated characters visualise the looming presence of our intimate anxieties’. It’s Nice That, 10 June 2024, https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/felicia-chiao-illustration-project-100624 

We believe that wise counseling centers on Jesus Christ—His sinless life, death on the cross, burial, resurrection, present reign, and promised return. Through the Gospel, God reveals the depths of sin, the scope of suffering, and the breadth, length, height, and depth of grace. Wise counseling gets to the heart of personal and interpersonal problems by bringing to bear the truth, mercy, and power of Christ’s grace (John 1:14). There is no true restoration of the soul and there are no truly God-honoring relationships without understanding the desperate condition we are in without Christ and apart from experiencing the joy of progressive deliverance from that condition through God’s mercies. We point people to a person, Jesus our Redeemer, and not to a program, theory, or experience. We place our trust in the transforming power of the Redeemer as the only hope to change people’s hearts, not in any human system of change. People need a personal and dynamic relationship with Jesus, not a system of self-salvation, self-management, or self-actualization (John 14:6). Wise counselors seek to lead struggling, hurting, sinning, and confused people to the hope, resources, strength, and life that are available only in Christ.