This week, we are thankful for…awesome doctors. Three cheers for the medical personal who keep us healthy, make us better and help us navigate painful or scary situations. Doctors (and nurses!) have been absolute heroes over the past two years (and, let’s be real, they were heroes long before the pandemic, too!)—and they still show up to work with a steady hand, an optimistic smile, and a caring demeanor. We’re so grateful!
We are early morning people.
Yes, it’s annoying. We know.
We start every day at 6:00 a.m. with a two-hour work session at a local coffee shop. And while we are also big believers in changing things up and working from new places (something we do regularly—in the afternoons), there is something magic about our morning routine.
The monotony of a predictable day gives us the same freedom as wearing the same outfit (yes, we had an unofficial—and largely accidental—work uniform for a while) for eating the same meal every day for lunch. It’s one less box on the list of things to decide—and one more way to reduce decision fatigue.
That early-morning work session doesn’t change. It’s the routine we can rely on. And while the rest of our day is unpredictable, having that two hours of uninterrupted work time on the books means we always know how our day is going to start.
What routines could you set in place to give your day more structure and your brain more freedom?
Writer Kendra Adachi (also known as The Lazy Genius on all the socials) swears by a concept she calls “decide once” as a method to save energy and effort. And at a high level, it’s the same principle as our coffee shop routine.
You get to choose. But once you decide, stick with it.
The routine helps. It lends structure and simplicity to days that are all too often chaotic. It gives us a daily touchpoint, regardless of what else fills our calendars.
So choose a routine. Or simply start with one daily action. Decide once. And stick with it. You might just be amazed at the magic that happens.
(And let us know what you choose! We’d love to hear about it!)
Ok team—calendar check.
Today is October 14. Which means it is officially time for Q4 to be (heavily) on your brain. If you’ve been reading with us for a while, you know what happens during the last three months of the year: we go full cheerleading mode over here. Because we get it. We’ve been in your shoes. And we know exactly how much of a joy (hot mess?) this season can be.
The most wonderful time of the year and all that, right?
To kick off the fun, we’ve pulled together two lists for you. (Side note: who doesn’t love a good list?! And second side note: listicles make great landing pages. Just saying.)
First, our “oh-crap-did-I-forget-to-do-that-super-important-thing” list.
These are the questions you should be considering right now in order to be prepared for a successful end-of-year fundraising season:
Don’t put these off. Avoid a fire drill and set yourself up for success by dealing with these questions now.
And now for our second list.
This is the “keep-yourself-sane” list. It’s the reminders we post above our computers to maintain our humanity in the midst of our work. (We’d love to know what you would add!)
This list is WAY more important than the first one. Because even in Q4 (especially in Q4), you a person first and an employee second. Even if your work is super important (especially if your work is super important), you need to take care of yourself.
So here we go, friends. It’s go time. And we are here to cheer you on.
This week, we are thankful for…music. Most days, we have a steady soundtrack keeping us company as we work. Depending on our mood, we blast pop-y pump-up jams, relaxing acoustic covers, or very loud, aggressive rap. (We’ve also been known to listen to…a lot…of Broadway cast recordings.) Music makes the day brighter—and makes our day a little bit more fun. What are you listening to right now? Reply to this email letting us know your go-to song to listen to while you work, and we’ll build (and share!) a collaborative playlist!
On Monday, our world stopped.
Sure, we were still alive. And working. And going about our business. But the steady hum of Instagram and Facebook (an admittedly loud LOUD hum for us social media managers and internet-addicted folks) suddenly went silent—and we found ourselves stuck.
How do we communicate when our communication channels go down? And, more importantly, how much are we relying on platforms and lists that we don’t actually own?
Because that was the alarming part, right? What if Facebook didn’t come back? All of those followers, gone. All of that community-building, wiped.
It’s why things like email lists (or mailing lists or carrier pigeon lists) are so essential. You need information that is yours—not Facebook’s. You need information that is platform-independent.
And if you’re anything like us, you’re not doing this well yet.
You rely on Facebook Messenger to communicate. Or you DM people on Instagram to reach out to new leads. Or you search LinkedIn for connections.
Want to take it a step further?
What if you had to call someone right now, but you couldn’t use your phone’s contact list? Do you have a single phone number memorized? Or at least stored in multiple places?
(I could call my elementary school best friend’s parents’ landline…which is a super helpful resource, as you can imagine!)
We love social media. And we use it a lot. But we also know that it’s all fleeting—so we need to be careful and smart. Own your lists. Build diversity in your platforms. And most importantly, cultivate actual, real connections—so that even if the data disappears, the relationship lives on.