Experiment No. 14: Beta Tester Check-In

The Basics

We’re Trying to Solve: Unequal division of labor
Target Audience: The whole household
Ages: 3 and up
Category: Assessment and check-in tools
Estimated Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty Level: Easy

The writer E.M. Forster once asked: “How can I know what I think until I see what I say?”

Have you noticed that almost every BLLx Experiment ends with a reminder to reflect and assess what you tried? That’s because the research is clear: Reflection and assessment are key not only to goal-setting but to actually achieving those goals,  especially when those goals are collective and involve more than one person to shape and fully implement. Writing down that reflection is even more helpful! Putting our goals and our understanding of our progress toward them into words helps to provide the clarity you need to direct your energy and collaborate in productive ways.

A new year is underway. This is a good time to take advantage of the “fresh start theory,” the idea that the beginning of the year, the month, or the week, can create powerful incentives for taking big-picture perspectives of our lives and changing behavior. Now is a good time for your own household to take a few minutes to find out what you think about how you’re sharing the load so far, by seeing what you have to say about it. 

Directions

1. First, gather the family around the computer so you can go through these questions together. Sit down with your partners in sharing the load and open up this 15-minute check-in we’ve put together. 
2. Go through each question together, and discuss your answers until you can agree on a general answer to each one. Make sure everyone agrees with the answer being submitted, even if one person is doing the typing for the whole household. If there are disagreements, don’t run from them. Work through them! Can all of your answers be true or do you need to agree on a single understanding? What does it mean that you have different conclusions about where things stand in your household or how BLLx has gone? 
3. Submit the assessment and find your answer receipt in your inbox. Forward the receipt to everyone in the household or print it and post it somewhere you can see it. This assessment can become a starting point for every future conversation you have about the division of labor this year! Use it as your road map. AND, you’re contributing to our knowledge of what works and what doesn’t for this complicated process, by helping us design these BLLx experiments to have the most impact.

Connect With the Better Life Lab

Are you going to try this week’s experiment? Do you have a story about how you and your own family solved a problem with the work at home? Is there a specific challenge you’ve been trying to tackle? Can this experiment be improved? Please let us know via this form, at bllx@newamerica.org, or in our Facebook group for BLLx Beta Testers.

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