(photo credit the eggplant)

It's Monday morning. You've been up all night with the baby, and you had a problem with your car earlier in the day. Now, you're supposed to be pitching a new project to the boss and his peers, and you haven't really prepared much at all. You believe you know what you're talking about, but you haven't scripted the presentation. What to do?

On a site with "planner" in its title, it's pretty sacreligious to talk about improv, the art of "just showing up," but I think the talents and skills one acquires by studying improv relate directly to how we do what we do. In building your improv talents, you learn that something is lost in over-preparing, and that there are benefits to be realized from being directly in the moment and thinking on your feet.

In her groundbreaking work, Improv Wisdom : Don't Prepare, Just Show Up, Patricia Ryan Madson ties the skills she learned and taught in Drama class at Stanford for over 40 years, and applies them to our daily lives. Here are some of the maxims the book espouses, and how one might apply them in a day:

• Say Yes- This is the first rule of improv, and it's incredibly powerful. Imagine going through an entire day without saying no to ideas, proposals, or interactions. Saying yes means keeping one's self open to the possibilities. Too often, we fall into the trap of using reductionist thinking, limiting factors, and breaking things down. (Heck, my last post was about exactly that). Try saying YES for a change, and seeing where it takes you.
• Don't Prepare- Overplanning can be an issue, too. Merlin Mann's most recent podcast, The Perfect Apostrophe tells a hilarious story where Merlin had a deal with O'Reilly media to put out a book on life hacks. He spent over three days creatively procrastinating, and never did write the book. There's a lot to be given to the person who plans well, but have you tried the opposite in limited settings? Try not preparing for a presentation or a meeting or a writing session. See what happens when you throw the plan out the window for a day. What adventures does this open up for you?
• Start Anywhere- I am obsessed with this maxim. The idea that by just digging in and doing SOMETHING is better than waiting until you have the plan to beat all plans is basically the heart of this maxim. Improvisational actors practice starting scenes "in media res," in the middle of the action. It's a great way to work on writing projects, as well as a great way to approach the business tasks that fill up our days.

I won't go through every other point in the book. These should suffice as a way to cue you into how improvisational acting can be a platform for living. I will, however, finish by saying that the book goes on to talk about taking care of each other, practicing those random acts of kindness that bumper stickers talk about, and gives us a fairly good picture of how to use the maxims in the book in your daily life.

The book again is Improv Wisdom : Don't Prepare, Just Show Up.

Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up author: Patricia Ryan Madson asin: 1400081882