New player, don't know how to use the stuff I've got

[Gandelf]

For example, I have construction boosts. Do I get to choose when to use them? If so, how? Also, how do I upgrade my builders' hut? It keeps telling me there's an upgrade available. And I would like to upgrade my residences a little more, but it says I have to research it--without telling me WHAT I have to research!

 

[samidodamage]

Construction or Builder boosts are from neighborly visits. When other players 'help' your builders hut, the next time you build/upgrade a building, it will take 10% less time than if you didn't have the boost. Upgrading your builders hut adds another builder, but it is only available as a diamond(premium) upgrade. IMO it is a good use of your diamonds to upgrade the builders. Another good use is upgrading the Magic Academy, the other building that can only be upgraded with diamonds.
The research tree has technology that you must activate to be able to either build or upgrade certain buildings. The first one for residences will be 'Advanced Residences' in the next to last column of research in chapter 1. If you have already activated that one and upgraded as far as allowed, you will have to wait until early chapter 3 to get the next residence upgrade tech 'Superior Residences'.
It would do you good to spend some time on the player maintained site Elven Gems of Knowledge. There's a wealth of info there. I'm providing a link that will send you into the 'Getting Started' section there but I skipped over the really basic stuff (starting an account/picking a race) and plop you in at map explorations. Once you're on that site and have gotten through the rest of Getting Started, I'd advise looking in the Basic Strategy section and going from there.
This game is a marathon, not a sprint. You'll be balancing space/population/culture/supplies/goods throughout the game. There will be points where you'll need more space to upgrade for more population so you can upgrade workshops to make more supplies. Then you'll need more pop for factory upgrades. Becoming familiar with the general strategies needed will improve your experience. Here's the link:
https://www.gamersgemsofknowledge.com/apprentice-4
**And keep asking questions! There are lots of folks here who enjoy helping new players learn the ropes.

 

[Gandelf]

So does this mean that whatever your next construction project is, it will take 10% less time? (This is quite important. Don't really want to "waste" my boosts on projects that take less than 5 minutes.)

 

[Gandelf]

I'm quite happy for the game to be a marathon not a sprint. I also realise that if it takes me the rest of my life to finish ___, it won't really matter; likewise if I make a mistake, it won't destroy my life.

 

[DeletedUser23318]

So does this mean that whatever your next construction project is, it will take 10% less time? (This is quite important. Don't really want to "waste" my boosts on projects that take less than 5 minutes.)

So long as someone has helped your builders hut yes, there is a maximum of how many times it can be helped by a neighbor (1 per builder)

 

[Ashrem]

To be clear, that's one per builder at a time. As soon as you use one, people can help the builder again to add another boost. Each neighbour can help you once per day. If you put a "B" or "BH" (for Builder Hut) near the beginning of your city name, people are more likely to help the builder than something else (if it is easy to find)

 

[DeletedUser2207]

So does this mean that whatever your next construction project is, it will take 10% less time? (This is quite important. Don't really want to "waste" my boosts on projects that take less than 5 minutes.)

The builder boost doesn't apply towards very short build times - I believe the cutoff point is 5 minutes. (6 minutes uses the boost for sure; 1:30 minutes for sure doesn't). But yes, it's best to try to time things so your longer builds get the boost rather than the shorter ones