Expectations

You may find it shocking that Nick and I aren’t always on the same page when it comes to productivity… and basically anything else you can think of.

Throughout the day, at our prospective jobs, we would individually be thinking about the things we wanted to get done when we got home that evening (this goes for weekend as well). And subconsciously, we would both assume that our spouse had the exact same goals. But each and every afternoon after work, we would have a bit of a quarrel. Not to mention, I learned quickly that the man-boy doesn’t like to be volunteered to  help with a project (so I try and make it appear as though it’s his idea, or else compliment his manish skills and bulging biceps). Anywho we devised this system that forces us to discuss the things we want to accomplish, and therefore, plan our time accordingly!

We sit down with a pen and paper and take turns spouting off our ‘expectations’ for the evening, in no particular order. It usually looks something like this:

Can you tell who is who?!?! This system has worked out marvelously. Many items are things that we can (or have to) do together… but many things are solo projects that we can do simultaneously. ‘Baby, why don’t you research furnace installation while I tidy up the kitchen and start dinner!’ It allows us to coordinate our time to be most productive, which maximizes time for relaxing and backrubs!!

And while we’re on the subject of backrubs, after only being married for a short time, I learned that my loving husband needs lots of notice before giving a backrub. Weird right? If that means I need to shoot him an email mid-morning, stating that I would appreciate a massage that eve, he’s far more likely to oblige. And if that’s all it takes… I can handle it.  🙂