Living Through COVID-19: It’s STILL a Marathon
Holy cow.
Doesn’t April 21st, 2020 seem like a decade ago?
It does to me. That’s the day that Harvard Business Review published the article I wrote with two Seattle-based physicians on managing the COVID-19 crisis .
The article was about how one hospital system built a sustainable response to a dynamic and evolving crisis.
I had the opportunity to reread the article recently and reconnect with its universal message: whether it’s managing hybrid schooling or helping teams shift their approaches on the fly, things are changing so fast that we need to learn and adapt as quickly as we can.
Even though the article is about a hospital, there’s an aspect to it that applies to life more broadly right now:
We’re learning from the initial stages of our Covid-19 response and focusing on creating sustainable practices. Unlike the response to an earthquake or a plane crash, we need to be able to undertake months of response activity.
Living during COVID-19 is a marathon and not a sprint. We need to work in a way that is realistic and sustainable; otherwise, it’s all too easy to feel overwhelmed.
So, do what you need to do to take a break, when and where you can.
It may involve backing off goals and realizing that you can’t move quite as fast as you’d like.
It may involve blocking off 30 minutes to sip tea.
Or, *gasp*, it may involve calling into your Zoom meeting, so you can take a walk.
Let me know what you’re doing to take care of yourself right now.
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