“Slack” isn’t just an app! As a more general concept, “slack” points to the flexibilities and buffers that keep systems running smoothly—or not. You can think of households as mini ecosystems, with flows of resources, areas of abundance, and areas of tension or scarcity. This systems lens can be a valuable resource for making life decisions and weathering unexpected situations.
Check out our extensive worksheet with prompts to explore:
- The household system(s) that you’re part of
- Categories for surviving and thriving
- Areas of slack and tension
- Areas of need and resource
- Brainstorming ideas for shifting slack around, increasing capacities, and creating more resilience
Further reading: “Creating some slack: A household is a miniature ecosystem with inputs, outputs and flows: thinking like this can make life a whole lot better”