5 Things the State Department Can Do While Email is Down
Most of the U.S. Department of State’s email is down, owing to an apparent cyber attack first reported Sunday by the Associated Press. Putting aside the not insignificant reality that this is serious stuff that has the potential to expose sensitive (but unclassified!) information, to say nothing of the perpetrator(s) and what that could mean, or that this is incredibly inconvenient for employees on overseas travel or in remote locations, or or or….put aside all of that.
This is an enormous opportunity.
So instead of fuming, foot stomping, and refreshing Facebook, here are 5 things State Department employees can do to reclaim their time, think big thoughts, and make meaningful connections while all of this mess gets sorted:
1. Walk around. Get up, leave your office, and go introduce yourself to the new person or that no longer new person you’ve been meaning to meet for months. Ask them what they’re working on. Ask them how you can contribute to that task. Set a date to follow up. Too much? Pick up the phone. Call the person who hasn’t cleared on your memo — check in with them, ask them for their thoughts.
2. Have lunch. The not-at-your-desk-but-with-an-actual-person kind of lunch. Benefits: a mental break, some exercise, the chance to have a conversation with someone who might expand your thinking. The reality upon returning to your desk that the world has not imploded owing to your absence. The realization that you really could make space for this kind of restorative time that broadens your outlook.
3. Read. Lots of people write about you. When’s the last time you read something not in your press clippings, from your post, or your own higher ups? Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, the Atlantic, CSIS’s 2015 Global Forecast. People outside of your own front office have ideas about how you could do your job better — and some of them are really good.
4. Exercise. Go for a walk, hit the creepy gym in Foggy Bottom, or just do some squats behind your desk. It will clear your head and make you feel much better than another cup of coffee. Clear your mind to let new ideas in. Set your intention for the day. Pick your goal and go after it. Besides, there’s plenty of proof it works.
5. Leave post alone. Embassies and Consulates are staffed by smart, busy people doing their part to fulfill the Department’s mission. Let them do their work without interrupting them multiple times a day. Remember the “threshhold feeling” you experience when you decide that something is important enough for a phone call. Hold onto that feeling when email comes back and then think twice before you ping them incessantly.
