Today’s Morning Buzz is brought to you by Danielle Rogers, Community Marketing Manager for the City of Newton – connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.
What I’m Listening To: folklore by Taylor Swift
What I’m Reading: The Public Servants’ Survival Guide by Brenda Viola
What I’m Watching: The Marvel Cinematic Universe in chronological order.
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I’m taking part in the month-long #ELGL20: Local Gov Oktoberfest. And two things hit me hard this morning during the Gemütlichkeit session. First, like others, I’ve been on the edge of a “burnout cliff” for much of the last three months. And as stated during by Sereniah Breland – “we burn out because we forget why we do this work.” Sit with that for a second and let it sink in.
Second is a reminder from Terrance DeShaun that we have to remember to invest in ourselves. It’s the most significant investment we can make. Why? Because it allows us to invest in others.
Both of those statements are what spurred me to my post today for Morning Buzz. I’m calling it my “Top Four Ways I’m Investing in Myself in the Last 3 Months of 2020 So I Don’t Burnout and Can Invest in Others in 2021”. (Whew, that’s a long name for a not so long list).
I try to invest in myself every day in these next normal to inspire you to find similar things in your community that you can take part in.
- #ELGL20: Local Gov Oktoberfest is the first thing I’m doing. I’m assuming my training and conference budget being decimated is similar to others in local gov. Thankfully, I have a direct supervisor who values investment in ourselves. So I signed up and so far have enjoyed three online sessions with two more today! I’m trying to get outside my marketing/communications box and look at local government as a big picture – not just my piece of the puzzle.
- My community is located near a large metropolitan area, and we get a lot of fringe benefits to that. In particular, one is this 21-Day Equity Challenge that the United Way of Central Iowa is hosting. Anyone could sign up, organizations, and other entities have been promoting it for weeks. With one email a day, including videos, articles, and more – I’ve learned so much, and we’re only six days in. I’ve also signed up for a state-wide young professionals conference, a public relations professional conference AND the Adobe Max conference (which I’ve always dreamed about going to but it’s super expensive – but their doing it online for FREE this year!).
- Taking time off and enjoying a vacation. Yes, I know this is ironic because “Danielle, there’s nowhere to go right now!” but hear me out. Getting away from the office and disconnecting for a day is not only good for you, but it’s a great thing for everyone you interact with. I’m actually logging out this coming weekend to visit a secluded Victorian-era home in the middle of nowhere with friends who are a part of my COVID bubble.
- Reconnect. Now I’m not talking about plugging in your devices after you take time off. I’m talking about having real conversations with people that you may not have seen in person since March. And I mean, honest, heartfelt discussions. Don’t rely on social media and your text messages. I’ve slowly started seeing friends outside of my COVID bubble. We’re socially distanced and masked, but it’s been nice to have conversations with people and see their eyes light up as we reconnect. Or take it a step further and reach out to that former coworker you wish you hadn’t lost touch with; or that mentor (or mentee) that made an impact on your life.
Those are just four things I’m doing. Here’s hoping you find a way to invest in yourself the rest of 2020!