Working with Revit more and more frequently, I am discovering some way of making the program work better or faster or more smoothly and I am trying to incorporate this into everyones workflow. So I thought I'll put these ideas out there for others to use - or even better comment on.

So here's number 1:

KISS !

Avoid creating unnecessary relationships between elements.

The lock-icon you get when aligning elements or placing dimensions is one example. I am not saying not to use the lock, but once you have achieved what you wanted, unlock the elements. This giver Revit one less thing to worry about and recalculate when you change things.

Ataching walls to floors above is another. We have adopted a strategy where we have an extra layer at the height of the underside of the floor and we attach our walls to that. So, for example, a wall on the level first floor does not go up the the level second floor, but rather to the level ceiling first floor. That way Revit does not have to recalculate the connection with the floor above when either the wall or the floor moves.

On the other hand, the keyword above is unnecessary. Relationships can be very handy when drafting and make work go a lot faster. So I guess the old saying comes true once more: do as much as necessary but as little as possible.