I am thrilled to share today’s post with a beloved colleague, Martha Ann Toll. Martha and I met while serving on the board of Funders Together to End Homelessness. At that time, I was Vice President of Programs & Community Engagement at the Simmons Foundation in Houston, and Martha was the Executive Director of the Butler Family Fund.
After 26 amazing years running the Butler Family Fund, a social justice philanthropy, Martha left to write full-time in 2020. I transitioned earlier this year to solely focus on my coaching and consulting. We’ve stayed in touch about our new lives. Martha has been a wonderful support to me, giving me entrepreneur tips and sending me client referrals, and I’ve been fangirling as she prepares for the launch of her first novel. I am deeply grateful for her friendship.
Last week we were chatting in our LinkedIn DMs about how to cope with the relentless onslaught of horrifying and hope-crushing news. We discussed our strategies and wanted to share our list, in case it’s helpful.
- KKJ: Start a text thread with BFFs and incorporate TikToks, memes, and animal videos and not just the bad news of the world.
- MAT: Go on a serious news diet.
- KKJ: Have outdoor wine meetups with my people (fellow introverts will understand the italics).
MAT: Eat lunch with your girlfriends as often as possible but not so often that you feel overscheduled. - KKJ and MAT: Start with exercise time as a repeating calendar item vs. fitting it in each day.
- KKJ: Take 30-minute random brain breaks and choose from a menu of things you like (nap, read, neurofeedback, a casual walk, etc.)
-Exercise with what you love. [Kelli is a “Gen X Peloton nerd” and a walker; Martha swims and walks, and when she can stand it, does the elliptical.].
-Save administrative work for outside your peak hours.
-Try delegating.
-Most emails and texts can wait. - KKJ and MAT: Eat dessert.
- KKJ and MAT: Get rid of any toxic people in your life.
- KKJ: Be intentional about ‘dates’ to FT with grandchildren, call your mom, and have a virtual paint party with your adult daughter.
MAT: Hug your loved ones. - MAT: Give a charitable donation, or, at the very least a compliment and some love, every time you get a rejection.
- KKJ: Move at the speed of grief.
(Special note: Martha wrote and published this post first on her blog, and it has been slightly edited for mine.)
