WEEK 2: RECALIBRATE
Start here for program overview: November 18 - 24, 2024
Welcome to Week 2 of the After Action 2024 workshop!
We hope you feel RESET from our first week of programming – with insightful reflection questions from Michelle Kleppe, super helpful tools for relieving stress from Kiara Lee-Benton, and real talk from the NewCo Strategies team about all the ways our minds and bodies need rest. If you missed any of that, make sure to go back and check it out.
From that reset, we’re now going to RECALIBRATE – that is, try to get back to your baseline (i.e. begin to feel like a human again). We have an amazing week of programming to help you do just that!
First, seasoned campaigner and leadership coach Emily Parcell will help us really understand the burnout we feel. Watch for her post on Monday and then mark your calendars for her Zoom session on Wednesday, November 20 at 2pm PT! She will share some critical lessons about how to identify burnout, and how to avoid it in the future.
From there, we’re going to dive into some mindfulness practices. Yes, we know the term “mindfulness” gets thrown around a lot these days. And let’s be real -- how can we really practice mindfulness in a high-stakes, high-stress environment like politics? Amanda Levinson is the perfect person to teach us how. As a seasoned meditator and experienced mindfulness teacher who also runs youth voter engagement campaigns, she knows first-hand how mindfulness practices can help get us through the challenges of this work. Watch for her post on Tuesday and then make sure to join Amanda’s Zoom session on Thursday, November 21 at 4pm ET for an in-person training. We promise you’ll feel better if you do!
And finally, the amazing team at mente will give us some critical insight into how we can successfully balance our activism with our self-care. Too much of one or the other doesn’t work – the key is to find the balance that sustains you over the long term. The mente team knows what this is all about and has some great lessons to share with you. Look for their post later this week.
That’s the plan for week 2! Our goal is by the end of this week you’ll start to feel like yourself again.
As a reminder, here are our three tips for getting the most out of this program:
Use a journal. This can be a hard copy journal or an intentional place to type notes on your computer. Pick a process that works for you to do some written reflections throughout this workshop.
Dedicate some time each week. This workshop will provide you with the tools, but it’s up to you to put in the work. Read the posts, join the Zooms, watch the videos, and dedicate the time for your own “after action” reflections. You are worth it.
Stay open and curious. Some of the content and practices might be new for you – that is by design. This is an opportunity for you to work different muscles and take a different approach to your post-election experience. Try some new things, hold it lightly, and take with you what works for you.
With this work, you are laying a critical foundation for yourself to sustain through the weeks and months to come. We celebrate you for being here and doing this part of the work. See you in the chat and on the Zooms!
P.S. If you are in a job transition, we highly recommend signing up for GAIN Power’s Talent In Transition series that kicks off this week. You’ll hear from some incredible speakers and have the opportunity join networking sessions with potential employers. You can sign up here to join!