15/08/2023
This HBR article is a great resource - not necessarily on getting better organised (as you know we don't really believe that is the answer in addressing our mental load), but in thinking through things in a more structured way, so we can be more intentional on how we spend our time, attention and with that, our cognitive capacity.
"...in general, we can break down parenting into four different types of work, based on how strategic the work is and how much it requires direct parental involvement:
Pastoral care: the intellectual and emotional engagement with your children
Decision making: deciding what is best for your children, problem solving, and navigating trade-offs
Logistics: transporting children, asking them to do their homework, following through on decision making, and organizing activities
Household support: all the tasks required for running the household, such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, and errands"
We had not seen this categorisation before, but we do think it help us in how we think about where and how we spend our time.
The latter two, are the tricky ones. They have the potential to mushroom, and when out of control to completely take over our lives, leaving very little time for the first two. And research tells us, they are still quite unequally split within families. On the other side, research also tells us that if we outsource, simplify, or even choose to strategically drop a ball once in a while within those two categories, the impact is low on the wellbeing of our families.
The first two categories is where the goodness lies, and making sure we are aligned on how we think about them is so important.
Check out the article - some great tips and ideas in there.
https://hbr.org/2021/04/how-working-parents-can-strategically-prioritize-their-time?utm_medium=email&utm_source=circ_other&utm_campaign=subbenemail_actsubsnotbest_digitalcontent&hideIntromercial=true&tpcc=subbenemail&deliveryName=DM288192
