Monday
7:00am
morning meditation
wake up
slip on your headphones
cue the morning meditation on your phone
close your eyes
press play
8:00am
breakfast
Quinoa-oatmeal medley.
9:00am
waterfall hike
Objectives:
incubate your ideas by taking a break from thinking
mind-wander by focusing on a non-related activity
increase creative potential with physical movement
spending time in nature to catalyze ideas
Advice:
don't think or talk about work or your project
focus on enjoying the present moment
1:00pm
lunch
Bean and potato flautas.
2:00pm
work session
Objective: conduct interviews.
Advice:
Be present: you can use your questions and notes as an aide but it’s far more important to be present and listening in conversation
Set expectations: people have a natural tendency to try and tell you what they think you want to hear. So try and help the subject get over that tendency. You can describe why you're there, how long it'll take and let them know that there are no right answers.
Active listening: Don't be afraid of the silence that comes after asking a question. Don't feed them answers/never suggest an answer. Let them use their own words.
Be curious: They are in charge and they are the expert on their life. You are just there to learn and absorb. If they use words or terminology incorrectly, don't correct them, because you'll turn them off and they'll be less open.
Now take out your notebook and take notes as you conduct interviews.
6:30pm
Dinner
Marinated grilled vegetables with chimichurri and rosemary quinoa. Dessert is poached pear with fruit sorbet and berries.
8:00pm
fireside chat
Objective: help each other expand our horizons.
Nominate one person from the group to facilitate the chat. The facilitator has three responsibilities:
ensure everyone has a turn at getting input from others
ensure each person has their turn and takes no more than a 15 minutes
ensure everyone follows the advice below
Advice:
don't judge other's ideas
the wilder the ideas the better
build on the ideas of others
stay on the topic
one conversation at a time
go for quantity
Key questions for discussion:
what one thing did you aim to achieve today?
what one thing excited you the most about the work you did today?
what one challenge became evident today?
what one revelation or breakthrough did you have today?
what one thing could we help brainstorm to make your project amazing?
10:00 pm
sleep meditation
ready for bed
slip on your headphones
cue the sleep meditation on your phone
close your eyes
turn out the lights
press play