My book Changing the World Without Losing Your Mind was based on the fundamental premise that it was possible to make the world a better place – to be a changemaker – while also thriving personally. While it did talk about how to deal with crises and setbacks, at its core it was about being pro-active, or being on your front foot. (My new book, When in Doubt, Ask for More, presents some of the same ideas in a simplified format but is based on the same basic premise.)
Of course, there are times when the main task at hand is not to change the world but to manage its chaos and prevent things from getting worse, while also minimizing ones experience of personal trauma and pain. In other words, there are times when a changemaker is on his or her back foot. It seems to me that we are living through one of those times right now.
I thought I would take a moment to share ten practices and insights – some gleaned years ago, others only hours old – that I have been applying successfully since our world turned upside down so recently. Hopefully, they will be helpful to others, whether involved in nonprofits or not. I’d welcome hearing about your own tips, techniques, and survival strategies. Here are mine:
1. Use this time to undertake some of the “important but not urgent” tasks that I have been putting off for months if not years. (I also try to appreciate that unlike me, many others have much less time on their hands than I do because of increased leadership and/or family responsibilities and stresses.) I don’t prioritize these types of tasks -- such as organizing my computer files or my photos, or auditing my website for dated or wrong information -- based solely on what is most important. Rather, I emphasize what I will most enjoy doing or most enjoy having accomplished.
2. Curate my consumption of news carefully so that I remain a reasonably well-informed citizen without falling into the trap of experiencing unnecessary stress, much less panic. I read as much of the New York Times and Washington Post as I can in an hour, and then selectively go deeper into those fine papers as well as magazines and online news sources. I limit myself to around 15 minutes of television news per day.
3. Attend to my family members who are in crisis now (two in particular) as best I can while grappling with feelings of helplessness due to travel restrictions. Yet, I also take time to remind myself about (and celebrate) all my friends and family members who are not in crisis, but in relatively stable conditions when considering the state of the world today.
4. Build up my skills in areas that will help me both now and in the future – such mastering (or at least becoming a fledgling intermediate at) online collaboration tools or learning how to cook new dishes -- and then celebrate whatever progress I make.
5. Reach out to friends and family whom I have lost touch with, and be responsive when others do the same to me. Renewing lapsed relationships can be soulful and fun!
6. Try creative ways to use technology to do familiar things in new ways. Examples: having a “virtual happy hour” with a couple we adore and attending a “virtual house concert” organized by struggling musician friends and sending them tips via PayPal while encouraging others to tune in (and often being surprised and delighted by how many people accept those invitations and who they turn out to be).
7. Selectively go about some of my normal work more or less as if there was no crisis. In quite a few cases, others whom I must collaborate with are more than happy to take part. An example: organizing a webinar on planned giving for 11 nonprofits doing humanitarian work in India that was originally scheduled for early April and is (as of now) going forward and a youth essay competition on philanthropy that seems even more relevant now given how many students are home from school.
8. Exercise every day, sleep an extra hour each night on average, linger over home-cooked meals with my wife, go for a walk in the park when the weather is decent, and generally slow down the pace of life.
9. Write down 10 things I am grateful for each and every day – something I had always wanted to do but struggled to make time for more than every third day or so.
10. Enjoy some of the few positives of this lifestyle. For example, that I now spend no time or money on transit to/from work, in-person meetings, or the classrooms I teach in. And then reflect on what the lessons may be from this temporary disruption for living a more impactful and enjoyable life once things return to normal.