January’s always been a relatively quiet month for us advancement types.
Right now it’s anything but a peaceful quiet.
A good friend told me this morning, “We’ve been through surges of the virus before, but this one is the worst.” It’s hard to disagree. We’re fed up. “Sick and tired” has never been more true.
It’s not hard imagining you or someone you know thinking:
“I’ve had it. I’m at the end of my rope. I don’t know what rock bottom is for other people but that’s where I am. It is awfully hard, honestly, to pull on my fundraiser pants every day and do my job.
“Well-intentioned thoughts aren’t cutting it for me. I know it’s darkest before the dawn. I know when the going gets tough the tough get going. I know I should practice gratitude. I really know that. But. It’s. Just. Hard.”
Everything about that is true.
Tomorrow morning, think about what’s on your plate and pick one thing. The most important task you need to accomplish.
That’s the only thing you need to worry about. Just get that one job done. Get it done, and the day’s a success.
If you happen to get more accomplished, that’s gravy. That’s extra. Your only goal is that one most important thing.
Keep it up as long as you need to; another day, a few days, a week. Soon it will become the two most important things, then four, and then you’re back.
Along the way, think of a donor who may be hitting their own rock bottom. (You are a fundraiser, after all.) Call that person. Or send a note. “I’m thinking of you.”
Finding a way to help someone else is the surest way to help ourselves.