Hasta La Ideas

No matter how much planning, preparation, and winnowing of your schedule you do, there are still times when responsibilities can wreak havoc on your to-do list. Whether at work or at home, there will be days or weeks when a lot of things just have to get done. How you face and perceive these challenges, though, will determine your stress and anxiety levels throughout this process.

1. Maintain perspective. Now is the time to remind yourself of the big picture and of the temporary nature of this stress. Why are you taking on these responsibilities? What is the goal of all your hard work? Looking at the end result reinforces the temporary nature of your current condition.
2. Don’t lose sight of the details. Be sure every vital to-do item is written on your list and methodically work your way through these items. If an important action is not on your list, you’ll worry about it unnecessarily. Also, remember the KISS principle and get the most important work done first.
3. Embrace some of the stress. A little bit of stress (what is known as short-term, fight-or-flight stress) can be a good thing, especially if it helps to push you through your work. Use any stress you’re feeling to your advantage to give you a boost of energy to get many items checked off your list.
4. Take breaks. Research shows that you’ll be more productive if you alternate between mindful and mindless work. You’re more likely to finish all of the items on your list if you take a short break for mindless work for at least five or 10 minutes every hour.
5. Manage expectations. Regularly check in with the people who are waiting on the completion of your to-do items. The more they know about where you are in the process, the better they can anticipate and plan their to-do lists. How often and how detailed your updates need to be will be determined by the type of responsibilities you have.
6. Don’t extend the stress. Now is not the time to take on a new project. Schedule appointments to talk about new opportunities for a few days or weeks down the line. You don’t have to say, “no,” you just need to say, “not right now.”
7. Celebrate. When you’re finished with your massive to-do list, or at least the extremely weighty parts of it, take time to celebrate. You don’t need to go on a vacation (although, vacations are nice), but a reward of some kind is definitely in order. I’m quite fond of a walk to the ice cream shop.

In the U.S., owning a trailer—or as they say in the U.K. a caravan—has an unfortunate association with low-income living, hurricane magnets and Arizona retirees. Brits Chris Haddon and Jane Field are attempting to change all that by celebrating the greatness of the retro caravan with their nascent website, book (“An Inspirational Guide to Retro-Style Caravans”) and blog, My Cool Caravan.

The caravans, as styled by Field and captured by Australian photographer Hilary Walker, are clean, compact and with an appealing vintage feel. As shown in the gallery and on their blog, caravan owners come in all ages and from all walks of life—from young couples who want a quick getaway to older people who have been “caravanning” for their entire lives. “We sought out caravans that had soul and charm,” said co-author Haddon. “We also wanted to make sure that our readers could take ideas to use in their own caravans.”

The book is divided into sections according to styles, such as “old retro” and “trailer park treasures.” An extensive resource for anyone who owns or wants to own a retro caravan, the website includes helpful tips about logistics such as insurance and cleaning.

For tips on where to find a usable trailer and how to decorate and restore it, as well as a photo gallery and list of events, visit My Cool Caravan’s website. The book My Cool Caravan sells from Amazon or Powell’s. For more of Hilary Walker’s work, visit her website.

This apartment full of holes in Amsterdam was designed by Dutch interior architects i29. (more…)

Late last summer, everyone from Kenneth Turan to Martin Scorsese were beating the war drums and yelling at the top of their lungs over the Los Angeles County Museum of Art‘s decision to cut their celebrated-but-costly and ill-attended film program. So upset was everyone that it even led to this expose on how much the museum’s director, Michael Govan, was getting paid (though every paper seemed to be digging along those lines around that same time). But then the donors stepped in, Scorsese and Govan kissed and made up, and everything seemed safe and sound. Only, well, it isn’t. The LA Times is reporting that the LACMA’s film program is once again in trouble (maybe). People still aren’t showing up to see their films and the donors that propped things up last year might not make it a regular thing. Although they still have financing for another full year, after that, we’ll see if the fires start burning again as cuts are suggested. Here’s a bit:

Courting donors for the film endowment is, [museum president Melody Kanschat] said, “taking a tremendous amount of effort. Between the development staff and Michael’s time, we’re spending a tremendous amount of time” on it. Asked how long the museum would persevere with weekend screenings if attendance doesn’t soar and no endowment materializes, Kanschat said, “there isn’t a definite time when you say ‘pull the plug,’ but like any other well-run business, we have to look at how much effort goes into keeping a program alive.”

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