Time and time again we hear the question “how can I get my partner to help with the mental load?”
It’s probably not news to women and mothers that they shoulder the majority of the burden of doing all the things and thinking at home.
There’s a truckload of evidence out there that supports this, and that it’s negatively affecting their mental health.
We also know that most women spend at least 6 hours a week doing life admin, as revealed in this national survey.
And yes, in an ideal world all the adults (and capable children, teens, young adults) would all contribute to the running of the household but that’s not the reality for many households.
Yet despite all the awareness and research, we at Eggy still hear so many women say that they’re still carrying the bulk of the mental load.
And that they wish their partner would help more.
And that they can’t even get their partner to download an app.
And what are some ways that they can get their partner to help more and take on more?
An example of what one Eggy Legends has told us.
Well, it’s Psychology 101 that if you want to engage someone in any activity, you have to tap into something that is engaging for them, yeah?
So what if we said to you that we could incorporate your partner’s interests into life admin?
What if we could get them to buy-in through something that they like?
Like through their favourite footy team?
An Eggy space is where it’s at. Here’s an example…
So, I love the Brisbane Broncos.
As a Queensland kid growing up in the 80s and 90s, I grew up cheering for ‘my team’.
The Broncos have held a special place in my heart (as do many footy teams for many blokes) for ages.
And now, as an adult, I love keeping up to date with what’s happening with the Broncos.
But even more, I love watching their games on TV, at home on the couch with my kids cheering them on and yelling at the TV too.
Watching footy with the kids - it's not always this subdued.
(My wife is either having some “quiet time” watching Netflix in bed or she’s asleep by the time the footy comes on. Also, she’s not a huge footy fan, so that’s why it’s usually me and the kids. They’ll do anything to stay up late.)
I love the Broncos so much that I’ve created a space for them in Eggy.
It lives right alongside all the other spaces I have in my Eggy App.
My spaces look a little like this:
Personal
Family
Work
Friends
Broncos
Why have a Broncos space?
Because it’s an important part of my life.
So it’s important for me to know when their games are on.
But I don’t want to Google it every time I want to know when they’ve got a game on.
I just want that info in my calendar.
And there’s other relevant Broncos info I’d like to have at hand.
Like links to purchase tickets, or merch or to find out about team info.
And if this info is organised into categories for me, it makes it easier to find.
And I want to find this info on my time, and on my terms.
Not in a ‘Google it and get smacked with a trillion other results and ads’ way.
Nor do I want to go searching for it in a ‘open social media and get sucked into the scrolling vortex’ way.
The Brisbane Broncos space in Eggy.
You (and your partner) can join the Brisbane Broncos space in Eggy here.
As a founder/business owner and dad to three young kids, I want to cut out as much ‘noise’ in my life as possible.
I want to be the best leader I can be for my team at work.
And I want to be present for my kids as much as I can while they’re still talking to me and not yet thinking that I’m a big loser idiot who knows nothing about the world.
So if getting a notification from Eggy that there’s a Brisbane Broncos game on tonight lives right alongside my reminder notification to pay my car rego and right beside my reminder that it’s the last day of school term today, then that’s how I’ll roll.
And that’s how many other blokes or partners who aren’t doing their share of the heavy lifting at home could roll too.
If you want your partner to share in the mental load of life admin, tell us now.
What space can we build?
What’s their favourite sporting team?
Is there another club or community group we could build for them or for you?
We (and all of the Eggy Legends out there) have built lots of spaces already which you could join.
For example, we’ve also got a Queensland Firebirds space in Eggy for all the netball lovers and plenty more.
And we’ve got a Brisbane Broncos NRLW space in Eggy too.
What space would you like to access in Eggy?
Or if you want to share the mental load, what space would your partner like in Eggy?
It could just be the way to get them more engaged in the household life admin.
- Kirk Reynoldson, founder, dad, die-hard Broncos fan