At Best of Both Worlds, we are all about finding time and space for the things that bring us joy. So we were delighted to welcome Eve Rodsky to the show this week to talk about her new book, Find Your Unicorn Space.
“Unicorn Space” is that magical place where you are truly enjoying what you’re doing for its own sake. It is creative, you see things to completion, and you share your joy with a community. Eve is on a mission to make sure that women (and other marginalized groups) have the same fulfillment in their leisure hours as others.
How do we find the time? Many listeners will recognize Eve from her previous book, Fair Play, a bestselling look at household division of labor. By turning tasks into a game, and giving people complete ownership over certain domains, everyone can feel more free and satisfied (in our interview, Eve answers the big question…what’s in it for men? The answer is quite a bit!)
Please give this fun episode a listen. Just a heads up that the interview portion contains some profanity (in case you normally listen to BOBW in a situation where that might be an issue). Our question section deals with the related topic of guilt, and how people can overcome it — we are all about dispatching with guilt when it is not necessary.
Here’s a listener question for you and Sarah: I’m going out on 16 weeks of maternity leave soon and my husband will be off of work also. Our first child is in full time pre-k, we moved six months ago so there’s not a ton to declutter/organize, neither of us can work while on leave without jeopardizing our benefits, we are prioritizing saving for some minor house projects later this year and we don’t sit still well. With our first, we both got bored enough that we went back to work a few weeks early. Help us be more interesting this time around!
@Anon – ooh, fascinating question! Let’s hope your little one doesn’t turn out to be really colicky and exhaust both of you. How to fill 16 weeks? Long walks perhaps. Long books. Some good cooking. A hobby you could start quickly?
If you and your husband are readers, perhaps you can have a book club together!
@Anon, that’s such a golden period to do so many things, based on your interests. If you like to write, you can try Journaling, or starting a blog. If you like reading, you can have a mini project like reading all books by a particular author, or tackle a difficult classic. If you like photography, you could plan to capture sunrise daily for the 16 weeks, or photograph your little ones and make a photo book. You could use the time to go through old photos and make them into photo books too. If you like gardening, you could spend some time there, and have the satisfaction of seeing a full cycle of sowing to harvesting of some quick growing veggies. Or watch all movies in a genre, take long walks, decorate your new home. You could use this time to reconnect with your friends, or make new connections in your new place.
Best wishes.
Great episode and I loved Eve’s energy. Re: listener question on guilt. I don’t feel a ton but I always find a persuasive argument is to ask yourself “What would you tell your daughter if she had this same feeling if/when she’s a mom?” I can 100% say any friend I’ve asked this to has said, I’d tell her to go to book club /choir practice/ insert unicorn space activity. So then the natural next step is to show your kids how important it is to have priorities in your life outside of being a parent.