These days, it can feel an awful lot like the ground beneath us (and our democracy) is cracking.
Threats to human rights, the planet, and the future we dream of howl like wolves outside the door.
And the pace of information is relentless. Designed to exhaust us, make us feel helpless, and keep us from fighting back.
But we are not powerless.
We can resist. We can take care of ourselves and each other. We can remember our shared humanity. And we can keep our eyes on a future worth fighting for.
I had intended to have a section of the February edition of Resourcing the Revolution dedicated to resources I’ve gathered over the past couple of weeks. But the amount of hopeful writing, sobering revelations, and actionable guides got… well… a little out of hand.
So, instead, this post is a living repository of voices — writers, thinkers, and revolutionaries — offering wisdom, strategy, and perspective.
I’ll keep updating the list of resources as I find more (which I’m sure will happen often).
Let’s start with the mid-month missive I wrote for newsletter subscribers at the beginning of February:
There are times along our journey when we stop and think… What. The. Actual. Fuck.
The past four weeks have seen a torrent of change. Like the crashing of a thousand waves, all at once. Hardly time to take a breath, much less gather yourself before the next one comes crashing down.
And (I believe) this is all on purpose.
The magnitude of change happening in front of our eyes has been designed to overwhelm us. To cause us to withdraw. To stick our heads in the sand. To fear. To spiral in anxiety. To sow division and chaos.
With a firehose of information headed our way every minute of every day, and from every possible direction, it’s important to choose our sources of information carefully (as well as how much you allow into your sphere).
Remember, we can’t do anything if we get so overwhelmed that we shut down. Pay attention, but in ways you can manage long-term. Burned out and in shock… that’s not going to inspire anyone else to join the fight.
As Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
When choosing your news sources, look for both factuality in reporting and tendencies toward bias. (And follow the money; who is profiting from you believing what they’re “selling”?
There are two big names in understanding media bias:
There are several places I check regularly, as well as some of the writers I’ve included in the list below:
WTF Just Happened Today calls itself Political News for Normal People. It’s a breakdown of just that: what happened, links to news sources, and “notables” if you want to dig deeper.
Letters from an American is a Substack written by Heather Cox Richardson, a professor of American History. I’ve been told that mostly progressives have been sharing her work, but I personally don’t see much bias.
The Alt National Park Service page on Facebook. I’ve been following them since 2016, and now that things have gone seriously sideways, they have been a line on what’s really happening inside certain US Government agencies.
We (the People) Dissent is a bulletin board, a collection of information and announcements on upcoming protests, boycotts, call campaigns, and strikes. Their pledge — to keep it simple and provide a variety of ways to engage.
Here’s an interesting take about what’s flawed in the mainstream American media’s coverage of this new administration:
“I’ve long believed that the American media would be more clear-eyed about the rise and return of [47] if it was happening overseas in a foreign country, where we’re used to foreign correspondents writing with more incisive authority.“
And before we get into the heady section of this post, a thread of good news (for Democracy).
Now let’s get into the four other categories of resources, starting with resistance.
Defy and Resist
We analyzed the literature of protest and spoke to a range of people, including foreign dissidents and opposition leaders, movement strategists, domestic activists, and scholars of nonviolent movements. We asked them for their advice, in the nascent weeks of [this] Administration, for those who want to oppose these dramatic changes but harbor considerable fear for their jobs, their freedom, their way of life, or all three.
There are some proven lessons, operational and spiritual, to be learned from those who have challenged repressive regimes—a provisional guide for finding courage in [47]’s age of authoritarian fear.”
Right now, in 2025, everything feels chaotic. Disorganized. Like there are a million things to do, There are protests, petitions, news articles, social media rants—we are calling, sending postcards, emailing representatives but nothing is actually moving the needle. Worse than that, no clear leaders, no singular force is pulling us all together. It’s all a swirl of sound and fury that that signify nothing. Or so it seems.
Take heart—this isn’t a sign of failure, it’s a sign of where we are in the process. We’re still in the early stage of this movement, and at the start, every social movement feels like this—scattered, frustrating, impossible.
But here’s the thing: momentum is building. And it might help to see how.”
This is the entire point of Operation Flooding The Zone. As these new elites syphon funds to their own late-stage collapse coffers, they need us – the masses – to be tied up in distracted, overwhelmed knots. They need us to miss the *actually substantial* orchestrations amid the scatter-gun Shit. And they need us to give up, tune out, disassociate and to go…consume.”
It may feel like a lot of our Democratic legislators are being quiet and not doing much. But AOC has some words for you:
If you’re looking for some great databases of the ongoing resistance (as well as some other useful resources) here’s a thread on Bluesky of where to start:
Jason Kottke has a writeup of a few other writers talking about “The Information Overwhelm,” a tactic often referred to as flooding the zone with shit:
Let’s be clear: the narrative that Americans are sitting idly by, doing nothing in the face of injustice, is a lie. The government and corporate media have a vested interest in making you believe that protests aren’t happening, that mobilization isn’t occurring, that we have all simply accepted the state of things. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. […] The fact that you don’t see it on mainstream news isn’t proof of inaction—it’s proof of suppression.
Corporate media, social platforms, and government entities suppress footage, de-rank protest videos, and minimize coverage of demonstrations. They want to make it seem like resistance is futile, like no one is fighting back. This is psychological warfare. If you believe that you are alone, you are less likely to take action. If the world believes Americans are complacent, they are less likely to stand in solidarity with us. This is a deliberate tactic to make us feel isolated and powerless.
History has shown us that when the people rise, change is inevitable.“
The fascists like to call people who care about others ‘snowflakes,’ but I know that you know what happens when enough snowflakes come together. Creating a storm, becoming an avalanche, these things are not easy. Like JFK said, you do it because it is hard. Become a snowflake, join with others, and relentlessly resist.”
If the U.S. ever found itself in a situation where an invading force—or, say, a homegrown authoritarian regime—managed to get its hands on the government, what would we do? If every federal agency, every institution that keeps this country running, suddenly fell under hostile control, what would resistance look like? France already gave us the playbook. Let’s take some notes.”
Our enemy is apathy, cynicism, and fatalism; the pernicious, authoritarian-friendly belief that we are merely victims of world events rather than active participants in a global struggle for freedom and justice. Every time one of us—a family member, a community organizer, a representative, a senator—takes a step forward in this fight, a thousand pairs of eyes watch and learn. Courage is contagious.”
My definition of defiance is ‘to act according to your true values when there is pressure to do so otherwise.’ We say integrity, benevolence, and compassion are important, yet we don’t always act like they are. We can be compliant in ways that impinge on those values. We want to consider: Does the situation go against our values? That’s the key question. If it does, if it’s something that you would not feel comfortable with, then that is the moment to defy.”
“Perhaps the most effective tool in responding to misogyny is the strategic question. These questions serve a dual purpose: they shift the conversational power dynamic and force reflection from the person making inappropriate comments.”
Democracy is in grave peril, but it is not dead. Fascists depend on convincing us to give our power away and fall in line, that the fight is over and we lost. And while we must be clear-eyed about the threat, we must not do the fascists’ work for them by giving them powers they do not have.”
People are doing things. You will meet those people when you start doing things. […]
There is no magical way out. We are reaping what has been sown by many, many years of inattention to the eroding foundations of our democracy and we must face it.”
At the end of the day, when the dust settles, the actions that good people take or don’t take determine the outcome. While that may not seem reassuring or comforting, it’s powerful stuff. There is still time to steer the future in the right direction.
You are the future and you can create a just, equitable world if you are willing to do your part – and that is the only reassurance I can give you.”
Here’s how to be really annoying, according to the CIA:
A declassified World War II-era government guide to “simple sabotage” is currently one of the most popular open source books on the internet. The book, called ‘Simple Sabotage Field Manual,’ was declassified in 2008 by the CIA and ‘describes ways to train normal people to be purposefully annoying telephone operators, dysfunctional train conductors, befuddling middle managers, blundering factory workers, unruly movie theater patrons, and so on. In other words, teaching people to do their jobs badly.'”
Will Americans recognize what is happening, or will they be sufficiently distracted, pacified, or misled by their billionaire overlords into inaction. Social-media platforms have one purpose, which is to keep people attached to their devices. It does not matter to them if what they are showing people is real or factual; what matters is that no one stops scrolling.
The goal is to keep Americans in that cage. The purpose of this cage is to make companies a profit, but we are now entering an era when the government is pressuring them to keep Americans docile, obedient, controlled, and, in some cases, hopeless, ‘spinning on an endless hamster wheel of reactive anger,’ as the journalist Janus Rose put it.”
Only two institutions stop leaders like these, the military and the people. […] These are foreign to American political instincts. We have never needed to dig for this tool. But that is about to change. We need to greatly expand our resistance toolkit, and quickly, before [47] dismantles everything our 248-year experiment in multiracial democracy has built.”
No group of people is entirely to blame for what’s happening, and no group of people is totally without responsibility for what’s happening. But every group, and every individual, has a part to play in making things better now. […] Starting with the Founders and moving through all the chapters of American history, the souls of all the greats who have been among us are calling out to us now: You’re on. Don’t fuck this up.”
I wrote this for people who, like me, have spent much of the past few weeks hoping that somebody else would do something bolder in this political movement. We are downtrodden because we’re full of rage and heartbreak, but the polls tell us that our neighbors don’t share those feelings. We realize we’re seeing something that so many aren’t, but we’re not sure how to bridge the gap. We have wished (appropriately) for bravery from our media, from elected Democrats, from public officials in general. However fair those wishes are, they come with a risk: that we miss the opportunity to be the lonely voice for justice in our own community, the person who makes it a little easier for a second and third and fourth lonely voice to start perking up by our side.”
Along with the 5 Calls App I mentioned in the linked Mid-Month Missive, there are also other call scripts floating around.
Here’s one that will help you contact your representatives and senators and tell them to vote against ANY government funding bill until the administrative coup is ended.
Take Care of You (and Yours)
Back in the good ‘ole days when I was no stranger to marching and civil disobedience, I wrote the following guide to self-care for activists:
Let’s face it: being involved in days of large-scale action doesn’t exactly lend itself to an environment that is beneficial or conducive to self care. In fact, it’s often exactly the opposite. Long days, most often outdoors, with a stressful lead up… that often end up with us crashing afterward. We push ourselves so hard getting to the finish line that our bodies often collapse right after, leading to sickness and general exhaustion.
But what if there was a way to alleviate some of this stress, and make our participation in days of action a little bit easier on our bodies, and a little bit more fun in the process?”
We are very clearly in a lot of emergencies right now. They demand action. But action demands thought and thoughtfulness: who are we, what are our values, our goals, our allies, our possibilities, and our powers? What can we learn from those who’ve faced similar crises, what’s distinct about this one, and what equipment is at hand? […] Sometimes even in an emergency, or rather especially in an emergency, meditation as gathering ourselves and deepening our understanding is exactly what we need to do.”
The changes of this time require of us our grief, for all things must change and should rightly be mourned. It might even be that the grief is what opens us, what rouses us from our slumber into a charged state. In mourning we can also begin to incorporate into our waking awareness the truth that our reality is but a segment or aspect of a much greater reality, a reality that is always speaking to us in a language that our bodies can understand, for it is a felt experience. And if we do not give the paradigm of the day authority over our own experience, and allow the Mystery to blossom within us, something wild happens.
The world that is now crowning in our collective Imaginal realm, the world that will become in this next age, the Age of Repair, this world can begin to take root in the here and the now. We can begin the work of bringing it forth.”
Dr. Stephen Porges, who developed Polyvagal Theory, explains that when we’re in a chronic state of fight-or-flight, we start seeing everything as a threat — even things that aren’t. Our bodies stop distinguishing between an actual crisis and a perceived one. We can’t think straight. We make impulsive choices. We either shut down completely or live in a constant state of simmering panic. And yet, despite everything, we have to keep moving. We have to find a way to stay present, to stay engaged, to stay here.”
Hatred and outrage make me sick. They steals my creativity. They exhaust me which is part of the ruling party’s plan — grind me down so I feel powerless and give up. Hatred erodes everything I hold sacred. It changes me into someone I don’t want to be. […] Join me in refusing to let hate corrode our hearts. To warp our brains with fear, fear that others try to profit off. Let’s refuse to reduce ourselves to being less than human, and everybody else as well.”
This can mean not trying to go full tilt at a speed that was comfortable for your younger self — or maybe just your ideal self. This means being very realistic about where your body is and where your creative practice is. This means literally slowing down […] and also slowing down our expectations.”
I’m not sticking my head in the sand, but I have increased somatic practices to mitigate the dysregulation that’s been creeping in. I can’t afford to let my health suffer more than it is and I don’t want to be driven to paralysis or overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, which will lead to degrading my sense of hope that a better world is possible.
There are small, simple things that we can do repeatedly everyday to help build capacity within our body’s nervous systems. I say this while also acknowledging that some people are dealing with more than others on physical, practical, and material levels, and that no bodies are built for this. What I’m offering is something small and accessible to all that can help to resist the deregulation we are being made to feel.”
Five Ways to Create a Calming Political Environment: Resisting authoritarianism requires endurance, but most people opposing [this administration] aren’t doing enough to protect their own resilience. While we can’t manage everything, we can be intentional about the factors that shape our emotional resilience. In doing so, we won’t just feel better—we’ll build a stronger, more effective movement.”
What do we know about fear? The first predictable characteristic is that fear always begets more fear. First, what you fear can easily be associated with other similar but different things. If you are afraid of the dynamics of one conspiracy theory you can easily fall prey to others until that is your reality, everything is going to kill you. If you know this you can easily set traps for people and make them more and more afraid and the more they are afraid the more you can control their behavior.
Second, that it is catching from others like a virus. This is the motive behind mob behavior. Notice that every one of them is afraid of annihilation one way or another. That is always lurking behind the human experience. The cure for the fear of annihilation is to finally get annihilated and find out that it didn’t hurt, it didn’t actually work, and that you are perfectly fine without the burden of an ego that is constantly threatening you. This is where the Taoist sage laughs long and hard.
Fear then is not necessary to human survival at all. What is necessary is to be mindful, discerning, and prudent in the situation.”
I had behaved exactly as they expected a leftie intellectual to behave, thus missing an opportunity to invite any new or even exciting ways of thinking about issues they already engage with. Rather than surprising them, I had confirmed everything they thought they already knew. I had done everyone at the table a disservice—me, a journalist who has made it her job to have difficult conversations. […]
We are all going to be confronted with incredibly difficult conversations with people we disagree with to such an extent their existence feels like a threat to our safety—and in many cases it is. Aside from casting a vote, we can do nothing … to address the systemic inequalities that generated such a vast ideological divide beside how we choose to have these conversations.
And converse we must. Remember the wisdom of David Graeber who said the moment we think we cannot talk to another human being is the moment we have decided they are no longer human. Language makes us human; we enact violence on that we consider to be less than.”
Listen. It’s gonna be a weird bad day. It’s just the first of the weird bad days.
And if we’re being honest, it’s not even the first of them, it’s just another in a long line of weird bad days where the weird part and the bad part are spiking simultaneously, like an outbreak of a particular kind of illness. It’s not just turbulence on a flight, it’s a turbulent flight, from start to finish, snout to tail.
But we can get through it, we can land the plane.
This country is a mess, it’s always been a mess, always will be a mess, but it’s our mess. We’re with it, in it, and have often helped to make it, and that’s not defeatist, that’s not apathetic, it’s just realist to see that we’re a fucking goofy nation that has stumbled and staggered up and down some big hills and into some mucky fucking ditches. Just try to remember we need to climb the hills to see the beautiful views, you know? And first we gotta get up and out of the damn ditch. Beyond that? I think at the end of the day the people we’re with, that we surround ourselves with — that matters.”
Thing is, it just doesn’t work like that. People individually are messy and we’re not pebbles on a train track able to derail the entire train just be existing as a pebble. Things are fucking shitty out there and it’s okay to feel like they’re impossibly, overwhelmingly shitty and it’s further okay to say how things feel impossibly, overwhelmingly shitty. You don’t need to correct someone’s feelings, because feelings aren’t facts.”
If the ruling class has learned anything from history, it is that as long as they can divide the poor, they will stay rich. They pit rural workers against urban workers, white against Black against Latino, women against men, immigrants against native-born, all while they consolidate wealth and power at historic levels. Both major parties in the US are doing this, and the only winners are the wealthy elites.”
What I’m writing about here is the hazy idea of collapse. It’s come into my intellectual consciousness (and algorithm) slowly over the last few years, and more intensely recently. But before that was a feeling that came much earlier, and it’s one that may sound very familiar to you.
It’s a nagging sense that has hung over modern life since 2020, or 2016, or 2008, or 2001 — pick your start date — that things are not working anymore. And that waiting for them to get better after the next Most Important Election of Our Lives, or another war to end, or a new economic recovery cycle doesn’t seem to be having the desired effects. […]
Seeing the world change so quickly in such a short amount of time in 2020 jolted something awake in me. Collapse, though I may not have called it that at the time, felt breathtakingly close. It no longer made sense to me to pursue the same version of success I had up to that point. Even though I was covering the travel industry critically and aggressively, the entire premise of friction-free, carbon-intensive travel started to feel like a relic. No matter where I worked or who published my work, I wasn’t sure I would ever be allowed to fully articulate what I believed the problem was.
The good news is that the work of doing this is not some kind of grim disaster preparedness. It can actually be very joyful. Indeed in writing about connection, care and how to build a village over the last year, I realized I’ve been writing about collapse already.
So what does that look like? It’s worth pointing out that in Bendell’s definition I shared above, he does not say collapse is the end to sustenance, shelter, security, pleasure, identity, and meaning — just that it’s an end to our “normal modes” of acquiring all those things.
So start thinking today about how you can attain some of those things elsewhere, from non-monetary or transactional means.
Indeed if you lean into collapse awareness, you might be surprised how those small steps I listed above start to expand and morph. How you suddenly have more energy to engage in the kinds of things you didn’t before — even the incrementalist politics of There. How you care about different things. How it feels much lighter than you expected.”
SNARF stands for Stakes/Novelty/Anger/Retention/Fear. SNARF is the kind of content that evolves when a platform asks an AI to maximize usage. Content creators need to please the AI algorithms or they become irrelevant. Millions of creators make SNARF content to stay in the feed and earn a living.
We are all familiar with this kind of content, especially those of us who are chronically online. Content creators exaggerate stakes to make their content urgent and existential. They manufacture novelty and spin their content as unprecedented and unique. They manipulate anger to drive engagement via outrage. They hack retention by withholding information and promising a payoff at the end of a video. And they provoke fear to make people focus with urgency on their content. Every piece of content faces ruthless Darwinian competition so only SNARF has the ability to be successful, even if it is inaccurate, hateful, fake, ethically dubious, and intellectually suspect. […]
Unlike the platforms, we care about internet content and know that it moves culture and the world forward. We have an opportunity to fight back against SNARF and bring some joy and fun back to the internet.”
A biocentric philosophy places all life at the same level as human life. This philosophy recognizes that we are all equal, all deserving of a place to live, to eat, to have shelter, and an ecosystem in which to thrive. Ecocentrism zooms out a bit and says the entire ecosystem is equal to the human biosphere and the ecosystem as a whole has a right to sovereignty and life.
While these shouldn’t be radical ideas, because we also depend on that same ecosystem to survive, they really are quite radical.”
I’ll leave you with a take about Senator Cory Booker’s historic filibuster from March 31 to April 1st from Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg:
“The point of Senator Booker’s filibuster is to be INSPIRED by this man to go find YOUR ROLE, not to wait for them to go save us now.”
The point of Senator Booker's filibuster is to be INSPIRED by this man to go find YOUR ROLE, not to wait for them to go save us now. That is not this assignment.Thread of places to go to get started. More coming out of LiST this Thursday.
As we’re becoming increasingly aware by the day, the fight for democracy, justice, and a livable future isn’t a sprint — it’s a marathon.
And the fact that you’re here, seeking knowledge, building resilience, and finding ways to take action, proves something powerful:
You haven’t given up. We haven’t given up. And we’re not alone.
This repository will keep growing, just like our collective power. Keep coming back when you need guidance, strength, or a reminder that resistance is not futile — it’s necessary.
Take what you need. Share what resonates. And most importantly, keep moving forward.
How often do you run into a brick wall as you follow the thread of an idea?
Get a spark and have it immediately snuffed out when your brain steps in to list all the reasons the idea won’t work?
Or otherwise feel like you’re failing as an entrepreneur because all your best ideas seem to be hiding behind a thick membrane you can’t quite get through?
And how often does everyone else respond, “Oh, you just need to get out of your head.”
Step away. Take a deep breath. Give yourself some space.
Disconnect…
But when you try to switch off and unplug, nothing really changes. You come back to the same place, with the same issues and frustrations. And you feel like the time away was wasted. You might as well have stayed and tried to power through.
It may sound totally counterintuitive, but what if I told you that you need to reconnect, before you can disconnect?
Get in to get out
It’s kind of like the old meme featuring a Golden Retriever. You probably remember the one — “Let me in. I need to go back out again.”
You need to get back into your body, to reconnect with your muscles and joints. To embody the physical vessel your brain resides in, so that you can start to tap into the full power of your mind.
As a constantly-connected always-on and hustling entrepreneur, chances are that you’ve stepped so far outside your body (and away from your mind) that you need to find your way back in.
Before you can disconnect and give yourself space to innovate in a meaningful way.
Understand the rules before you break them
Your body (and by connection, your mind) is a self-limiting device.
Lack of sleep, poor nutrition, stagnation — these can all cause your body to perform poorly. And the usual response to issues that arise might be to medicate them away, or to ignore them. To power through.
And when you disconnect in this way, it shorts out the bond to your internal wisdom.
When you isolate yourself from your self, that’s when you start to run up against the limits of your mind. You lose the ability to innovate. To make outside-the-box neural connections and see the answers that are hiding just on the other side of the membrane.
In the same way that you need to have an understanding of the rules of a system before you can start to manipulate it, you need to reconnect to the body in a meaningful way before you can step away and get the type of brain-space you need to access true innovation.
Gain behind-the-scenes access to your potential
That’s where practices like yoga and other mindfulness tools come in.
You give yourself a chance to reconnect with your body — so that you can disconnect in a meaningful way. You get up close and personal with the physical vessel so you can understand how and where it might be holding you back. And from a place of deep connection, you gain the space you need to break through.
This is one of the key tenants of the Yoga of Innovation, a 5-week series that I run here in Charlottesville. This idea of reconnection with the body is the focus for the first week, setting a foundation for the practices that came in later weeks — the practices that allow us to tap into a limitless part of the brain, where innovation becomes as instinctive as breathing.
If you’ve been feeling a bit stuck, or just want to learn some practices that will help you break through the barriers that hold your business back, stay tuned for the next class series.
The sun rises and sets. The moon waxes and wanes. The tides ebb and flow. The seasons change.
And as entrepreneurs and freelancers, we deal with the cycle of feast and famine — when the work is good, there’s usually more of it than you’d like to deal with. And when it’s lean, it’s like crickets took over the internet.
Chirp. Chirp.
But no matter what’s going on in your personal life, the world keeps turning. No matter the pile of stuff you need to deal with on your desk, or the looming “to do” list that’s threatening to crush you, the grass keeps growing.
When you’re in the feast cycle, it’s tempting to take on everything that comes your way. To burn the midnight oil. To go-go-go while the getting is good.
But as you slave away at that massive pile of work, the grass is still growing. And unless you have someone to mow it for you (hint: most of us don’t), it doesn’t just magically stay at the perfect manageable length all spring, summer, and fall.
Mother Nature reminds us that you have to stop and take care of yourself. To cut your damn grass, before the neighbors start complaining. Before your yard becomes a jungle, your lawnmower can’t even begin to handle the mess, and your house gets swallowed up by the overgrowth.
But… Huh? You’re not a lawn!
I know, I know. Maybe it’s taking the metaphor a little too far, but there are some great lessons you can take away from the cyclical flow of Mother Nature.
So — let’s take a look at how to take this slightly offbeat example and apply it to your life and business (as well as your body and your health).
Fact: your internal grass is constantly growing. It needs consistent care and watering.
And by that, I mean that you need to get enough sleep, fuel your body properly, get some kind of movement in regularly, maybe even take the time to pause and reflect and connect with your community.
Self care, blah, blah, blah… It’s become a hot topic these days, to the point where you may feel like you’ll spew if you read yet another blog post telling you about the Top 5 Juice Detoxes or the Best Advanced Vinyasa Flows to Banish Stress Forever…
Except that as much as we may try to ignore the internal grass, it’s in there. Growing. Threatening to turn your body and mind into an impermeable jungle that can’t be tamed.
It’s like a friend of mine says:
“Eat, drink, and meditate properly. Because a sucky body makes you sucky at business.” – Rocky Kev
So as we head into the summer season, how are you taking care of your metaphorical lawn — and your not-at-all-metaphorical business?
You have a few choices:
1. The Untamed Wilderness
Let it grow wild. Who needs a well-kept lawn, or a functional body? A high-performing body and mind is for losers. Things you might hear yourself say if this is the type of lawn/self care you choose: “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” or “I’ll just cram this can of Pringles in my face while I finish up a couple more hours of work,” or “I can work out tomorrow… or next week.”
A lot of people choose this option. I’m not judging, because I’ve dabbled in this approach, but I believe that there’s a better way. My multiple forays into burnout also seem to be an indicator that this isn’t the most useful approach… Just sayin’.
2. The Neglected Yard
Proceed in fits and starts — let the grass get almost out of control, and then take a weed whacker to it because the lawn mower won’t work once it’s this deep. Promise you’ll do better the next time. After a few days, see that the yard needs to be mowed… but you really have to push to make your next deadline. Let the grass grow unchecked. Rinse, and repeat.
While this option is better than number one – and it’s usually where you end up as you’re transitioning away from your wild phase – there’s still room for improvement.
3. The Ideal Lawn
Make a plan, and give your lawn attention on a regular basis. Sometimes it’ll rain for a week and the grass will grow like crazy while there’s nothing you can do about it. In those instances, you wait until the grass dries enough to get back out there and get back on top of things. But the rest of the time, the yard will take less time to keep at a manageable level, and (bonus!) the people next door won’t want to banish you from the neighborhood.
This is the ideal that we can all strive for. It takes into account that life happens and things get busy. That no one is perfect. But by making a plan for integrating self care into your life, you’ll set a strong foundation that lets you bounce back from those times where things don’t go exactly as planned.
4. The Golf Course Wannabe
And then… there’s that crazy neighbor who is out at all hours on their riding mower, cutting the grass even when it’s completely unnecessary. They go completely over the top, and get manic about the single dandelion that tries to manifest in the middle of their perfectly manicured lawn. Best lawn in the neighborhood? Try best lawn in the world!
We all know that guy. Don’t be that guy. There’s a balance to everything, and it’s just as unhelpful when you let any one part of life smother the rest. Seriously — just don’t.
Now that we’ve looked at a cross section of different approaches, let’s also shed light on the fact that no matter how well you think you’re doing…
The Grass is Always Greener
While it can be tempting, don’t compare your life or business to anyone else. Especially not what you see on social media — the perfectly curated, balanced, and envy-creating narrative that only shows the good, and glosses over anything less than perfect. Even those people who claim to be transparent aren’t showing 100% of what’s going on behind the scenes, for good reason.
Like most things in life, whatever approach you take will ebb and flow. The ideal balance of self care will shift depending on what’s going on in your life.
During the busy times, you may find that your meditation practice turns into 10 minutes a day instead of 20 — or you make it to the gym a couple of times, instead of working out every day. But when you’ve got some downtime, maybe those are the days of 30 minute meditations and long walks with your dog.
Wherever you are in the cycle, cut yourself some slack. Nobody is perfect, and no one’s lawn is, either. Not even the crazy neighbor who thinks that their perfect lawn can compete with the greens at Pebble Beach or Augusta…
What’s important is to be aware and consistent. To make progress toward your goals. And to not burn out – or drive yourself crazy – in the process. Sounds like an approach that’s helpful in life, and in business, huh?
What kind of approach do you take to taking care of yourself? Is there a way you can shift toward a more sustainable balance, or are you taking good care of your internal grass? Let me know in the comments!
It’s the refrain of the busy entrepreneur. Too many things to do. Not enough time to get it all done.
You start your day with grand aspirations. Yes, there are 25 tasks you need to do before the end of the day, but you’ll get them all done.
Today is going to be the day. You can feel it.
Then suddenly it’s noon. And you’ve only checked off one task. Either something urgent came up and you had to put a fire out — or you got distracted and went down the rabbit hole.
And it’s all downhill from there. By the end of the day you’re exhausted, frustrated, and not much has changed on your to do list.
So you decide to call it a day, push all those tasks until tomorrow… and swear that tomorrow will be different.
Lather. Rinse. And repeat.
But what if there was a different way?
What if you took an honest look at your priorities and schedule and created a work flow that set you up for success?
Turns out, it’s possible.
Here are the steps you can take to get your priorities back under control.
Step 1: Don’t Let Time Slip Away
To figure out your best schedule, it’s good to know how you’re actually using your time.
Not just how you think you use your time in an ideal world. How you really spend the hours during your day.
Here’s your challenge: take one or two days this week (ideally on days that are the closest to a “normal” schedule for you) and write down everything you do during those days. Break it down by hour, and possibly even into 15 minute chunks.
Accidentally get sucked into scrolling through your Facebook or Instagram feed for an hour? Write that shit down.
Intend to write for 2 hours, but end up spending an hour searching for that piece of paper where you wrote down your idea, 45 minutes “researching” your topic, and 15 minutes actually writing? Write that shit down.
Spend an hour doing uninterrupted work on one of your projects? Woohoo! Write that shit down!
Once your eyes have been opened to how you’re spending your time, it’s easier to make changes. Remember, admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery.
Now that you’ve got a grasp on how you’re spending your time, you’ll move on to how you want to spend your days.
Step 2: Live Your Life on Purpose
This step is all about figuring out what sets you on fire. It’s about a combination of the things that you love doing and your bigger purpose.
One fun exercise you can do is to envision your perfect day. In an ideal world, how would you spend your morning? Where would you eat lunch? What would you do during the afternoon? How much would you work, and how much time would you allow for having fun? Who would you spend it with?
Then take a look at what lights you up. Have there been days in your past where you couldn’t wait to wake up and spring out of bed? What had you so excited? What kind of impact do you want to have on the world? What legacy do you want to leave behind?
Having a guiding purpose that’s larger than you can be just what you need to keep moving forward. Call it motivation, inspiration, purpose — it’s easier to stay on track when you have a clear idea of why you’re doing what you’re doing.
You now know how your days usually go and how you’d like to spend your time. Next let’s look at how to figure out what stays and what goes.
Step 3: Make a List & Check it Twice
Take all the tasks you do during your normal week and write them out into one long list. Add in the tasks you’d like to be doing from step 2. And then take a couple of minutes to think about any other tasks that you do on a fairly regular basis. Write them all down.
Now comes the fun part. 😉 Take that list, and divide it up into categories — this works differently for different people, so choose what works best for you. You might choose to use something like the Eisenhower Decision Matrix, or your own set of categories (things to outsource, things you love doing, everyday things that have to get done, things I’m not sure about, etc).
However you categorize your list, make sure that it doesn’t leave you with 1,000 things that are all “important” — you want to cut out the stuff that’s not important so that you can focus on the list of things that actually move your projects forward!
Once you have your list categorized, delete the tasks that aren’t important. You can put the list aside and come back to look at it later, but for now imagine that those tasks are no longer yours to deal with.
Feels pretty good, doesn’t it?
Now that you have a list of the things that you want and need to be doing, it’s time to put it into a schedule that works for you.
Step 4: Schedule Yourself Sane
Take your pared-down list of tasks, and start to work them into a schedule.
It’s helpful to create a visual calendar. Using something like Google Calendar or Excel, create chunks of time that line up with the bigger categories of tasks. For example, you might have chunks of time for paid client work or your day job, chunks for side projects, chunks for exercise, chunks for chores and things around the house that you have to get done, etc.
I’d recommend putting the important, non-negotiable things into the calendar first. Things that are paying your bills? Schedule that time first. Exercise or mindfulness to keep you healthy? Schedule that time first. Whatever is important and helps you move toward that purpose you figured out in step 2? Schedule it first!
Now step back and admire your creation:
Priorities that line up with where you want to go? Check.
A schedule that will help you get there? Check.
Now, if you’re thinking, “that’s all great in theory, but it sounds complicated. And don’t most people make big changes like this only to have them slip away after a few weeks? Um, New Years Resolutions much?”
And you’d have a point.
Together is Better
I see so many entrepreneurs struggling with actually getting shit done. They work really hard, but so often they either don’t really know where they’re headed, or they let small and ultimately unimportant things derail them.
And I get it. It can feel really good to be “busy” — because then it feels like you’re accomplishing something. It feels like you’re moving forward.
But really. In the long run, would you rather spend your life being busy and not getting anything important done… or buckling down and making progress? Think back to your bigger purpose from step 2. Wouldn’t it feel so amazing to see that bigger purpose realized?
I believe that you can get there. It just takes a willingness to do the things that matter. To step outside your comfort zone and get honest.
Want to become one of those entrepreneurs who actually gets shit done? I believe that the first step is setting priorities and a schedule that works for you.
FOMO, No’Mo: The Busy Entrepreneur’s Guide to Getting Shit Done, is live to the world starting today. The 2-week email course will help you kick FOMO to the curb (FOMO = fear of missing out, a key reason we get stuck in the “busy” trap because we want to do all the things) and prioritize the things that really matter in your business and life.
For the time being, it’s only available as a bonus for attendees of the Simple Living Summit. But the good news is that the Summit is free, and it starts tomorrow! My interview goes live on Friday — Wuyen and I chat about the best ways to relieve stress, the individuality of what’s “best” for each of us, and how yoga fits in to a simple lifestyle.
Make your mark on the world. Sign up for the Summit, and get in line to access FOMO, No’Mo: The Busy Entrepreneur’s Guide to Getting Shit Done.
There’s always something standing in the way of what you want to accomplish.
For most of us, it’s an excuse:
“I don’t have enough time!”
Or…
“I have too many things on my to do list. I can’t possibly add anything else.”
Does any of this sound familiar?
If so, keep reading.
Why you’re always unbalanced
I’ve spent the past few years examining what it takes to live a balanced life.
Sometimes I feel like I almost get there.
But often, something knocks me back off track and I feel like I have to start all over again.
And while things like getting the right kind of exercise, improving your sleep, eating well, taking time for mindfulness, and surrounding yourself with a supportive community are all equally important to creating balance in your life, there’s one aspect at the root of everything else:
Setting priorities.
And I don’t mean just making a huge list of all the things you have to do and then randomly assigning them a spot in your schedule (or on your already overloaded to do list).
If you’re like most people, you aren’t sure how to figure out what’s really important.
When you look at trying to cut down your task list, it’s often so overwhelming that you just want to give up.
There’s got to be a better way!
I’ve been a little MIA on the blog this month, but there’s a good reason why.
I’ve been busy behind the scenes working on a fix to this priorities issue.
It’s a short, 2-week email course that will help you if you struggle with FOMO (fear of missing out), entrepreneurial ADD, and general overwhelm. It’s designed to help you set clear priorities and eliminate any busywork that’s holding you back.
Rather than another tired productivity “hack” designed to help you find more time (can you hear my eyes rolling?), it will allow you to focus on the things that really matter — the priorities that will move your world changing work forward.
Set yourself up for success
The course material is being tested by an awesome group of beta testers over the next few weeks, and will be ready for prime time by the beginning of 2017.
Until then, take a good hard look at your to do list and your priorities, and see if they’re working for you.
If not, don’t lose hope. A solution is on the way.
I’ll let you know when it’s ready!
Do you have trouble setting priorities? Does your to do list feel like it might crush you under its weight? Let me know what you’ve been struggling with in the comments!
Think that overwork and burnout is a new phenomenon? Something that only came about with the dawn of personal computing and an ever-quickening pace of life?
Turns out, not so much.
Back in 1966 Thomas Merton wrote the following, in Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander:
There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence to which the idealist most easily succumbs: activism and overwork.
The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence.
The frenzy of our activism neutralizes our work for peace. It destroys our own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of our own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.”
My guess is that if you look hard enough, you’ll find examples of humans pushing the edges of our physical and mental capabilities from the earliest days of our existence.
What changed since those early days of human overachieving?
Looking at Merton’s quote, the word that stands out is “modern”.
We have reached a point in human evolution where the tools we’ve created allow us to do more, better, faster… but we as a society haven’t learned where our boundaries are. We haven’t caught up to our technology.
We’ve reached a place where we can actually choose to do less — without fear of death or physical harm. But yet a psychological need to stay ahead of the curve – to not become irrelevant – has caused us to fear that choice.
Some questions to ponder:
What if it was time to let go of your need to do more, more, more?
What if you could focus, pick the things that are truly important, and let the rest go?
What if, instead of burning the candle at both ends and rushing your life away, you could slow down and actually (oh, I don’t know) enjoy the ride?
Tame your to-do list
Here’s my challenge for you this week: take a look at the crazy list of things you have on your to-do list, and get rid of at least one of them. Not in a “kick the can down the road” way, but in a “let it go forever” way.
I know there’s something on that list you’ve been dreading or putting off forever. Let it go. Done. No more guilt hanging over your head because you haven’t done it yet, or you feel like you should.
Now take a deep breath, and see how you feel. Lighter? Less guilty?
Good.
Let’s start to take back this one precious life we’ve been given, and dedicate it to things that bring us joy.
No more guilt-ridden to do lists. No more causing yourself violence by committing yourself to too many projects.
Simplify. Find the things that bring you energy and enjoyment.
As Howard Thurman said, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”