We all know we’re in a crisis. Especially if you’re in a leadership role, you know that you’re in for a very challenging ride, perhaps the most challenging of your lifetime. Days seem like weeks, weeks like months as circumstances shift at a dizzying pace.
But you’re here. You have a role to play in your team, your organization, your neighborhood, and your home. You will be tempted to jump to solving the 98 problems screaming for your attention. More than ever, we need you to get hold of yourself so that you can be of use to those around you. This is going to be a marathon, not a sprint. A winter, not a blizzard.
Here’s where to start: Create a personal game plan for the crisis. Your people need you to have your head on straight. That starts with making sure you have structures of self-care written into your calendar. Here are things to schedule in every day and week:
- A minimum amount of sleep (or at least rest, if you find sleep challenging right now). Everyone needs rest to be at their best.
- A minimum amount of time with loved ones, checking in on them no matter how much social distance you require. Everyone needs connection to maintain sanity.
- A minimum amount of healthy nourishment and exercise. Everyone needs nourishment to keep their strength.
- A minimum amount of beauty. Everyone needs their spirits uplifted.
- A minimum amount of stillness. Everyone needs reflection and centering to create the calm from which productive action flows. (My friend and colleague, Amy Hertz, is hosting an online practice session on how to calm your nervous system. Why not check it out?)
One last thing: maybe you should specify a maximum amount of scanning the internet for news of the continuing crisis. There’s a difference between being informed and being distracted.
