Rom is a software designer — not the person who writes the code but the person who designs the interface (the stuff you see on the screen). He learned a new design process at a recent job, and the first step was to come up with design pillars.
The pillars are created out of evaluating the user’s needs, analyzing the market, and understanding the company’s goals. Then the design team comes up with a set of words or phrases. These are the overarching concepts that will inform and infuse — and hold up — the entire design. They are the benchmarks to which they continually refer to see if they are on the right track.
So, like the geeks we are, we came up with our Family’s Pillars.
We came up with them because we continually feel overwhelmed and understaffed (ha!) in our family life. There is so much our hearts yearn for but we get bogged down and start reacting to all the little stuff. We forget to see the sky above us and to let the stars guide us.
Our Pillars:
Like all good geeks, we printed out our pillars and hung them up around the house. Rom and I say them to each other every once in a while. Like when the kids are jumping up and down on their chairs and singing while we’re trying to talk to each other and eat dinner, and they’re laughing and we’re getting upset… We remember, Oh yeah, and then we say it out loud, “Life is delightful.” And then we see our kids, who are being kids and enjoying life, and then we laugh too.
We try to remember them “in the moment,” but also use them as general organizing principles, too. For example, right after we came up with the list, we started walking in the woods again every week (Naturally), rearranged our house (Structure brings ease), and created a seasonal table to display favorite and found objects (Beautiful touches).
I’ll be writing in detail about one pillar a day this week, so stay tuned!
I know your geeky self is glued to your chair!