Hasta La Ideas

Just last weekend, I put my daughter, 10, on an airplane in Boston which was bound for Philadelphia. Neither her mother nor I traveled with her. My heart went with her, however, as the butterflies in my stomach had forced it out of my chest.

What kept me from succumbing to my nerves entirely was thorough preparation. There wasn’t a lot to do, but attending to every detail ahead of time helped ensure a successful experience for my daughter and for me. Here’s how I prepped my 10-year-old to fly as an unaccompanied minor for the first time.

1. Give the traveler a thorough briefing. This goes without saying, but don’t over look it. Talk about what will happen, yes, but don’t stop once you’re at the airport. Allow the child to be an active participant. Go over the boarding pass and explain the gate, departure time, boarding procedure, etc. Point out members of the crew and what their uniforms looks like. Greet the gate agents. Have her listen to announcements. In other words, help her be a traveler, not a child taking orders from mom or dad. This training can be done each time you fly with your children, even before they go on their own.
2. Try not to freak out. I cannot overstate this enough. If you’re calm, there is a great chance your child will be calm, too.
3. Pre-pay for on-board Wi-Fi. If your child will be traveling with a connected device (iPod, phone, iPad, etc.) you can probably pre-pay for on-board Wi-Fi online. Visit the airline’s website for information on this. It saves your child the hassle of trying to do it (my Grace would not have figured it out), and a flight attendant will gladly get her up and running. I wrote my account’s username and password on an index card that my daughter could show an attendant, who gladly got her connected.
4. Decide well in advance if she will check baggage. Based on your child’s physical size, checked baggage may be beneficial. Walking to and from gates, even when accompanied by an airline representative or parent, can be a challenge with a lot of stuff. A simple, manageable backpack should be all your child has to worry about inside the terminals. The person meeting your child at the destination can help her retrieve her luggage.
5. Provide DIY entertainment for the flight. Depending on the age of your traveler, the plane’s entertainment system might be difficult to operate. I prepared a small bag full of her favorite things, like those insufferable teeny-bopper magazines and a couple episodes of her favorite TV shows on the iPad mini.
6. Snacks. Forget the overpriced, unhealthy airport food. I placed a few of her favorite, most portable choices into that same carry-on bag. Skip drinks, though.
7. Book flights that depart early in the day. Morning flights statistically are less likely to be cancelled or delayed.
8. Easily identify medical concerns. Pin a print-out of any medical/dietary concerns on your child’s shirt if the child is younger or have instructions in his/her carry-on bag. Point both out the gate agent.
9. Give your kid a few bucks. Chances are she won’t need it, but I felt better giving Grace a five before leaving her.
10. Grab some great apps. Grace has a few favorite games, but I also put FlightTrack Pro on her iPad. It lets her track her flight’s progress in real time and has one-tap, pre-written text messages like “I’ve taken off” and “I’ve arrived,” which make communication easy for everyone involved. Some airlines even have baggage tracking apps and/or websites so you can be sure your child’s bags are on the same flight.
11. Confirm your airline’s policies for unaccompanied minors. My daughter flew on US Airways, which required me to call ahead of time and confirm specific information about the adult dropping her off as well as the adult picking her up. Also, confirm that the gate agent is aware of this information. Plan some extra time into your day as you will not be allowed to leave the gate area until Jr’s plane is physically in the air. If there’s a taxi delay on the runway, you’ll be delayed, too, even though you’re not the one flying.

Our careful preparation helped our daughter’s unaccompanied flights go off without a hitch and the planning was a big part of that. Lastly, let me tell you this: nothing feels better than that phone call from the destination that says, “Safe and sound.”

And for the record, I still had a little trouble with not freaking out.

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Someone on the Unclutterer team is an avid tennis fan (that would be me) and though she isn’t a player herself, she does enjoy watching well fought battles on the court, especially when one of the players is Roger Federer. Unfortunately, Federer was ousted a few days ago in the quaterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open. Since he went into that event as the defending champion, there was high expectations for him to perform well. As the result was less than desired, Federer offered some insights on how he planned to deal with this setback — a lesson that even non-tennis players would do well to pay close attention to.

Look for things that worked

In his post-match interview, Federer reflected on the things that went well during the tournament. Though he acknowledged that he would have liked to have played differently, he also talked about specific things he did well (like fighting from behind to ultimately win one of his matches and serving well). 

When faced with a disappointing situation, finding things you’re proud of is probably not the easiest thing to do. But, give a try anyway. Doing this may help you feel better and lift any negative feelings you may have. Take some time to think about (and perhaps write down) the specific things that worked in your favor. Remember what you need to continue doing when faced with similar situations and build your confidence.

Focus on long-term plans

Federer often talks about his plans over the long-term when he loses a match (stay on tour for several years, stay healthy, win tournaments), and that was a consistent message in his last presser. That’s not to say that he ignores short-term improvements (like how to better deal with balls sent high to his backhand), but he realizes that he can’t get so consumed by the emotions of a disappointing perfomance that he loses sight of his ultimate plans.

Looking at the big picture and your long-term goals will give you the chance to channel your disappointment in a constructive way. By keeping your eye on the ultimate prize, you take your mind off how you’re currently feeling so you can forge ahead and make strategic adjustments to your plans. Remember that your goals give structure to your planning and remind you why you embarked on the journey in the first place. 

Manage your schedule well

One of Federer’s main goals is to stay injury free, which means he needs to be very particluar about which events he plays. As he mentioned a few days ago, a packed schedule will simply increase the opportunities for injuries to happen and decrease available time for training and recovery. In preparation for the clay court season, he will spend more time training aggressively before his next event in May.

What does this mean for you? If your schedule is always full and there are no straegically placed breaks (or time for refining your plans), you’ll quickly find yourself running on empty and not performing at your best. Before saying “yes,” to the next project that comes your way or adding more voluntary items to your task list, be certain that you will have the time to complete them. And, you should also consider whether or not any new opportunities align with your long-term plans.

Surround yourself with a good team

For a long while, Federer played without a coach but now he has added a coach to his team with positve results. In fact, Federer has acheived success (like reclaiming the number-one ranking and winnning Wimbledon in 2012) that is not typcial for most 31-year old tennis players. I suspect having a coach has also helped him to manage the sting of losses in a more constructive way.

Whether you have large goals or incremental changes you’d like to make, you may need help. Working with a planning partner, coach, or colleague can help you see different perspectives, refine your direction, and maintain a positive attitude. Carefully select someone whose personality and workstyle complement yours, and set up regularly scheduled meetings to assess your progress.

Setbacks are inevitable and happen to everyone, even popular tennis players like Roger Federer. And, like Federer, you can take specific action steps to manage them well. Begin by tuning out negative talk (from yourself and others) and incorporate some of the suggested strategies so you can stay focused on your larger goals.

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Dezeen News: a British and American proposal for a new district built around manmade waterways has been selected as part of a masterplan to double the size of Moscow in the next few decades.

An international jury selected the entry submitted by Capital Cities Planning Group, which comprises London-based landscape architects Gillespies, London and Edinburgh-based urban designers John Thompson & Partners and international engineering consultants Buro Happold.

The expansion project is part of the Russian government’s plans to double the size of Moscow, already a city of 11 million people, in order to attract business and build the capital’s global reputation.

The winning proposal, called ‘City in the Forest’, is arranged around a series of lakes designed by Gillespies. The development would house 1.7 million people and provide 800,000 jobs, mostly in government, education and business sectors.

John Thompson, chair of John Thompson & Partners, said the winning proposal offered “a model for the further expansion of Moscow through the creation of a properly serviced, zero-carbon, transit-orientated urban hierarchy set within a forest and lakeside landscape.”

In April we reported that international firm OMA had scored highest in the first round of the competition to oversee Moscow’s expansion.

Above image shows map of the proposed city expansion

We’ve previously featured two bridges designed by engineers Buro Happold – a bridge over the River Soar in Leicester and the as-yet-unbuilt Metro West bridge in the Liffey Valley near Dublin.

See all our stories about Russia »

Here’s the full press release:

Moscow Expansion Winning Team Announced
Capital Cities Planning Group (CCPG), an Anglo-American team including Gillespies, John Thompson & Partners and Buro Happold, has won a prestigious competition to plan the future expansion of the City of Moscow.

The international jury headed by Deputy Mayor Marat Khusnullin awarded two prizes; one to CCPG led by Urban Design Associates of the USA for the design and planning of the new Federal District, and the second to Antoine Grumbach & Jean-Michel Wilmotte of Paris for the overall planning of Moscow.

CCPG’s winning proposal calls for a new ‘City in the Forest’ for 1.7 million people, providing 800,000 new jobs with a focus around the ‘Triple Helix of Government, Education and Business’. The new layout reconfigures the 155 km2 earmarked for the district and looks to create an integrated, properly-planned urban hierarchy served by a transit-orientated movement system.

The winning design by CCPG featured a new mixed-use capital district configured around a series of lakes designed by the UK Landscape Design Practice Gillespies. Brian Evans, partner in charge of Gillespies Glasgow Office, who led the British side of the team said: “We are all knocked out by this recognition for our work on the world stage. It seems that our design to use the natural topography of the site to create a series of lakes as the setting for the new Federal District was one of the key factors in the jury’s mind when they appraised the different proposals”.

John Thompson, Chair of John Thompson & Partners & Honorary President of the Academy of Urbanism, said: “We are delighted that our team has won the competition for the design of the new Federal District, bringing together international best practice to create a model for the further expansion of Moscow through the creation of a properly serviced, zero-carbon, transit orientated urban hierarchy set within a forest and lakeside landscape.”

Earlier this year the Russian Federal Government announced that it was doubling the territory of Moscow to enable it to grow into a competitive 21st century world capital. In February 2012, Sergey Sobyanin, the Mayor of Moscow announced an international competition and selected 10 teams from around the world to prepare plans for the Moscow Region, for the City overall and for the planning and design of a new federal capital for the ministries of the federal government.

The Government of Moscow set up a 6 month, 3-stage process with all the teams working and reporting to the Moscow Government on a monthly basis. The finished work of all the teams is currently on show at a public exhibition in Gorky Park.

The post Moscow set to double in size with
new masterplan for city expansion appeared first on Dezeen.