We hate failing. Here’s why: 

1. Our team is full of perfectionist, achiever, do-everything-right-the-first-time types. (We promise we’re super fun!)
2. We’re human. 

So in the spirit of preaching to ourselves, hear us when we say this: It is ok to fail. 

Because failing means you tried something hard. You took a risk. You stepped out in wobbly confidence (or maybe even complete fear) and went for it. Go you. 

The only way we get better and learn is if we attempt to do things that are beyond our current wheelhouse. We can’t be innovative, incredible leaders if we keep on doing the same old thing all the time. Plus, where’s the fun in that? 

The key is learning from mistakes and applying those lessons learned to the future. It’s letting errors be teachers, and expanding our skillset, one big swing at a time. 

Failing isn’t fun. But it’s okay. And it makes us better. 

So get out there and try something. You never know what might happen. 

One of our greatest work hacks recently has been practicing the art of asynchronous communication.

Sounds fancy, right?

Here’s what it means in practice:

You don’t need to reply to someone’s email as soon as they email you.

Our inboxes (and Slack channels and, heck, even our text messages) can be pull sources instead of push sources. Yes, really. You can decide when to look at them, when to engage with them, and when to respond to them. Turn off the endless dinging. It will change your life.

There are caveats, of course. Respect your coworkers, set expectations, be a good teammate, etc. (No one is saying delete your inbox altogether…)

But do what you need to do to create space to work. Because those endless emails and notifications (don’t even get us started on meetings…) are messing up your flow. They are preventing you from being productive. They are keeping you from doing your actual job.

Especially for people with creative roles (hello, writers and designers) or people who need to invest a lot of thought (hi to you too, strategists!), chunks of uninterrupted time matter. And asynchronous communication is a secret weapon to getting you the time you need.

Self care. It’s one of those buzz words that gets a lot of play, and conceptually is a great idea, but looks a little cloudy in practice.

Is it face masks and naps in the middle of the day? (Side note: petition to bring back naps for adults?) Bubble baths and bowls of chocolate chips? Maybe.

But for those of us who lean toward workaholism and have to-do lists a mile long, self care is more than Instagram posts, and it’s certainly not prescriptive.

Self care means showing up for yourself. It means taking care of yourself.

Physically, mentally, relationally, and, yes, even when it comes to work.

We are not machines. And in this pandemic world where work is literally always an arm’s length away, we are having to fight more than ever for margin, breaks, sanity, and care. We are learning to build ourselves into our schedules.

For us, that means walking or running outside, doing things with our hands (no screens allowed), reading real paper books, and fully logging off for a few hours each evening.

Your routines might be different, but the goal is the same: Show up for yourself. Take care of yourself. It’s the most important thing on your to-do list today.

For those of us that spend the majority of our time in front of screens (hello, everyone!), it can be hard to remember what all this work is for. The email-building and campaign-writing and virtual-event-planning and crisis-navigating can feel all-consuming.

But here’s the deal: Somewhere, upstream or downstream from you, there are people whose lives are being changed because of your work.

There are kids who are learning new skills or families getting food to eat or moms having a safe place to land or grandpas scheduling long-awaited surgeries. There are people who don’t feel so alone anymore; people who have opportunities for the first time ever; people who will make it to tomorrow because of the work you are doing today.

Don’t forget about them.

Remember what all of this hustling and grinding and exhaustion is for — and figure out a way to remind yourself regularly. Because that impact? That’s what makes the long days worth it.

If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that the standard “this is the way we do things” playbook has gone out the window. Need evidence? Look no further than every parent, teacher, and school administrator in the country.

We are in uncharted territory and we’re all making things up as we go. (Yes, really. All of us.)

And while this upheaval has caused infinite challenges, it has also opened up a very important door: We finally have space to listen to ourselves.

How do you want to spend your time? What do you miss most? Where do you want to live? (Anyone else feel like everyone they know is moving?!) What do you actually enjoy?

Acting on these questions is still wildly difficult (hello, moving across country, saying no to great opportunities, saying yes to tough assignments, etc.), but the hardest part is already done. The status quo structure has been shattered.

Now it’s up to us to rebuild our communities, our work, our organizations, and, most importantly, our lives — and make them the way we want them to be, instead of the way they’ve always been.

You get to do what’s best for you.

What’s it going to be?