Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Josh's Perfect Week/Itemize the Elements


Tuesday and a really pokey start to the day - it's after 10 and I'm only now settling down to my computer. Last night at Petterino's was jam-packed and full of fabulous singers. The entire cast of the new I Love Lucy show that just opened was there and they each sang a tune for us. Then the fabulous Nan Mason who once owned the town as a top-billed Cabaret performer was there, looking and sounding fabulous. There were a bunch of sweet young things - teens who were in Chicago auditioning for various music schools - this is the week where all the major music schools hold auditions in Chicago. My voice coach, Mark Burnell, is always hired by Carnegie Mellon and he accompanies probably 100 actress/actor wannabees over the course of the week. A few of them got wind of Cabaret night at Petterino's and showed up.

Jerry accompanied me. I had met him earlier at a building on Ontario to give him my opinion on a loft he is considering buying - he wanted my input. Beautiful space - large for a single guy - something like 2600 sq. ft. but really great for entertaining - now he just has to make a hundred new friends so that he can use the space properly (he's a recent transplant from New Jersey). So we kicked the tires so to speak - turning on burners, filling the gigantic jacuzzi tub, listened to see if the noise from the Ontario on-ramp was off-putting, tried out the modern furniture that is also for sale. He liked it - think he's going to make an offer today.  Afterwards I ended up inviting him to join me at Petterino's - he enjoyed himself immensely and was crazy about my friends (and my singing in French!).

Tonight, quiet night at home and that's OK - it's scripted - "Tuesday - Quiet Night At Home". Are you laughing at me that I actually script the week?  It's something I'm doing more and more and while it may seem un-spontaneous it seems to be the only way I can ensure I'm getting life balance. I'm a fan of architecting one's week.

So much so that, when Josh came over last Thursday and admitted he was struggling, we got out a piece of paper and entitled it "Josh's Perfect Week." The thought behind this is that, of course, not every week (maybe not any week) is going to be perfect but with forethought he can have a truly gratifying week/life that includes all the elements required for happiness.  I interviewed him - asked him questions like:


  • Where does your family fit into your perfect week - do you need face time with them or just a few good phone calls?
  • What about friends? Who and how often?
  • Talk to me about food - what are your food goals? Do you need a refrigerator stocked with healthy food or would that make your nervous (things going bad)? 
  • Romance - does your perfect week include having a date?
  • Infrastructure - how important is it to you that your environment be neat, laundry done, car cleaned, bills paid - how often do you need to attend to this kind of stuff and what day of the week could be earmarked for infrastructure?
  • Creativity - what are you doing to exercise your creative muscle. (Turns out Josh's creativity is expressed on the computer which is fine and dandy but there's the whole "too much screen face time" thing going on. I'm thinking of buying him a few glass-blowing lessons.
  • Spending - retail therapy. Is this something that factors into your perfect week?
  • Time with work peers. Josh has taken to working from home most days and his work relationships are weakening. He identified he needs more face time with the people on his team, even if it seems a non-productive use of his time.
  • Josh's perfect week would include some time with animals even though his beloved dog is staying in the country with his sister and mom. Time for a new pet? Or maybe the need could be satisfied by volunteering at the animal shelter. (Note to self: get the name of the shelter daughter Catherine volunteers at).
  • Exercise - what kind and how often?
  • Reading time. Important
  • Sleep - seven hours. In bed by midnight - waking naturally without an alarm (Josh has the luxury of making his own work hours for the most part).
  • Group activities - intellectual stimulation - something he identified as being an important element in a perfect week. Thinking he will find something on meetup.com or start his own group.
  • Limiting:
    • alcohol
    • isolation
    • screen time

Next, we listed out the days of the week and sketched in what each day should look like, i.e. Sunday, errands and infrastructure, Monday - working from home and then meetup in the evening, Tuesday and Wednesday - go into the office and then quiet nights at home, Thursday - work at home and then hang with a friend in the evening, Friday or Saturday - date and the other night an adventure designed to get Josh out of his comfort zone. Etc.

So much fun to help other people solve problems! So much more fun than solving your own, right? Challenge today could be making that same list - itemizing the elements that should be included in your own perfect week that includes the right balance and elements that will make you feel invigorated, healthy, responsible, loved, creative, mentally challenged and connected.

Peace,
Sarah

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