Beat the Pandemic Slump with a Summer Challenge

What a year we’ve had. Even in this challenging and unpredictable year, you may have experienced a big career leap. Or, if you’re like me, the past year may have been about survival mode. You dealt with disruptions to your job, childcare, life. You may have triaged, or given yourself a season of grace. And for the record, that is 100% ok!

I will also be the first to raise my hand and admit that I’ve experienced a bit of a “Pandemic Slump.” Like you, I know I have done impressive things in the past. I think I will do them again in the future. But many times in the past year I have felt…. not so impressive. Like when our nanny said “I know you are a Chief Marketing Officer, but I’ve only ever seen you in sweatpants!” She was nice to not mention “unshowered.”

The Pandemic Slump can show up in various ways, both professionally and personally: for me, it often feels like I can power through the day-to-day tasks on my list, but struggle to be creative or think big picture.

Psychologist Adam Grant recently wrote about this “slump feeling” calling it “languishing — not depressed, not burned out, but languishing: just not operating at the level we want to, or feeling like that best version of ourselves.

But right now — literally, the start of Summer 2021, feels like a fresh start. Temporal landmarks, like the new year, or this post-pandemic moment, are scientifically proven to be ideal for a reset.

A few years ago, I was at a transitional point in both my career and personal life. I didn’t feel like I was bringing my best self to the party, and the paths ahead felt hazy. I didn’t verbalize it at the time, but I was in a slump. I needed a tool — a metaphorical flashlight, if you will — to help me navigate through the haze and get my groove back.

For me, that tool was what I call a Jumpstart Challenge — a hyper-focus on one area, for a set time period, with a goal to uplevel and re-energize. The Jumpstart Challenge provided structure and accountability to an otherwise amorphous time, and was like a flashlight through the fog.

I’d like to share that story with you, and then a few ideas for kickstarting your own Challenge — so we can all get back to flourishing.

My Story

10 years ago, I was flying pretty high on life. I was the food editor at Oprah Magazine. My husband and I lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and I had signed a book deal with Penguin Random House. Life was… really great.

It was that book that would be my undoing ;-) I was writing about how popular indie food brands got started, and as I interviewed these inspiring entrepreneurs, I had a dawning realization that this startup thing sounded FUN — and that these entrepreneurs weren’t born with special knowledge or skills, but were figuring it out as they went along.

So I did the crazy thing: I began my own technology startup, trading in my high heels for sneakers so I could run around the city and meet with investors, and convince developers and designers to burn the midnight oil on my project. That first year was exhilarating and all-encompassing, and I was in a honeymoon phase with my business.

But gradually, the honeymoon ended. Nothing had gone wrong, exactly, but the business plateaued, and I didn’t yet have the clarity to know if it could be more, or how to get to the next level.

In the midst of this plateau, my husband and I also decided to move west, to the technology hub — and mountains — of Utah. At first, I thought this might be the antidote to my “Startup Slump” (it was definitely a distraction), but after the unpacking I found that I had just transported my slump across the country.

Now I was in a new city, working remotely with a team in New York. I could go days without seeing anyone in real life except my husband, and spent all my time in a tiny apartment up by the U, moving from computer, to kitchen, to bedroom, and back. It felt like I never closed down my computer, but also never got anything done. (Sounds like 2020, does it not?)

And I was languishing. I felt like I had been high, and now I was low. I had been making it work, and now I wasn’t. I was lonely. And while my Instagram feed made startup life look glamorous, I had also gone 18 months without drawing a salary. I was losing my motivation, and more importantly, I was losing my vision of what I wanted to do with my startup, and my life.

The approaching new year inspired me to re-set. Could I give this entrepreneurial journey one last hurrah, and see if I could break through?

I thought of a friend who, a few years back, had been in a dating slump. She decided that for 12 months she’d become a dating machine — and at year end, she’d give herself permission to never stress about meeting that “special someone” again. She openly shared her journey with friends and colleagues, and went on hundreds of dates. She often wanted to quit. But in November — 11 MONTHS into the year — she met the man who would become her husband.

What if, for one year, I gave both this company, and my new life in Utah, everything I possibly could. I would make no small plans. I would put myself out there, chase every opportunity, work harder and smarter, and try to operate at my peak — for 365 days in a row.

At the end of the year, I would either have gotten to the next level, or I would have clarity (and permission, from myself) to move onto something else. Similarly, I hoped I would have a life I loved in my new state, too.

As a magazine editor, I was trained to “name” trends so they would be sticky and shareable, so I will admit that the first thing I did was spend a good chunk of time trying to define a concise concept for this year-long, “Jumpstart Challenge” I was creating for myself.

I was inspired by a Thomas Edison quote along the lines of, “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration,” “perspiration!” That’s what I was going for! But Year of Perspiration didn’t have the ring I was looking for.

Then someone suggested “hustle.” I tried it on: “Year of Hustle.” That had a niiice ring to it. I typed out the hashtag — also a success ;-)

My Year of Hustle challenge started with a bang: Our startup team came together for a two-month development sprint, and a friend and I started an online course, which added 6 more months of runway to my bank account (thank goodness). When my alarm went off at 5 a.m. every day, I wasn’t even toooo groggy. I felt like I was back in the race.

Yes, there were 18-hour days in the little office we rented just up the street from here, and my diet consisted almost entirely of the Thai pizza from The Pie — but I was energized and having fun.

You can guess where this story is going.

By March, the adrenaline rush had worn off. We were 90 percent done with our new software. We’d been featured in a whole slate of national magazines. I was no longer stressed about where my next rent payment might come from. Pretty good!

Except this was the Year of Hustle — not 2 months of hustle. Because I’d publicly shared my journey on social media and with friends, I felt accountable to keep it up.

So I hustled to find my hustle. I made long lists of things I could do, and then I did them.

And what I found is that the magic happens after you want to stop.

So here’s what I actually did: I made a list of 50 people I wanted to know, and then invited them to lunch. I asked those people who I should meet. Every day, I forced myself to reach out to 3 potential big-deal partners. I jumped at every chance to pitch in competitions. I hired mentors to help me shape strategy. I hosted dinner parties and co-working days in my tiny apartment, even though the only place to perch was on the couch. I began doing free phone consults with potential customers, and closed sale after sale. I launched campaigns. I wireframed new ideas. I picked up lunch for our developers. I sought out speaking and writing opportunities anywhere I could, no matter how small. I sent out hundreds of packages to media and influencers.

I did things that would not, could not scale.

“Year of hustle,” I repeated to myself, over and over again.

I put thousands of feelers out into the world during Year of Hustle, and when I unravel the threads, it’s a domino effect of those feelers — and the real, incredible relationships that came of many of them — that led to a high point of my Year of Hustle journey: an acquisition offer for my startup by a company I deeply admired, Chatbooks.

A conversation led to a speech, a tweet led to a meeting, and the story unrolled in the most organic way.

In fact, every little thing that led to and positioned us for the acquisition offer was unexceptional in the Year of Hustle — and yet the sum of those actions was exceptional: my software product joined the Chatbooks suite of products, and I joined the Chatbooks team.

That was in November — fittingly, 11 months into the Year of Hustle. I ended the year, and my challenge, in an entirely different place than I began it — excited and clear about the next stage of my professional life, and as part of an amazing community here in Utah.

Do it Yourself

The Year of Hustle — my personal Jumpstart Challenge — kicked me out of my slump and into my future. But you may be thinking that a Challenge to break out of the Pandemic Slump sounds great and all, but you’re also… busy, or tired. Over the years, I’ve seen people take the “Jumpstart Challenge” in all directions, big and small, and even something light and fun can offer a boost when done as a challenge.

There’s a basic formula for a Jumpstart Challenge: Concept, Calendar, Commit.

Concept

First, find a concept that works for you. Ideally, you’d pick something that would unlock the core of your Slump. This might relate to your job or career, or be physical, spiritual, about relationships, or pure fun.

To spark concept ideas, I like to talk to friends, family, and colleagues. Look at what quotes inspire you, or make a vision board on Pinterest. Identify someone you want to be like. And pay attention to that little feeling of envy: if you want what she’s having, is there a Concept that can help you get there?

When it comes to career, here are a few questions: What work is high-impact or has a big upside, and can you do more of it? What parts of your job do you love the most, or what puts you in a state of flow? On the flip side, what doesn’t come naturally to you, but you know it could make a difference?

There are so many physical Jumpstart Challenges out there (like Whole30, 75Hard, and all the Peloton streaks), and a challenge in one area can still unslump you in other areas of your life.

And it all else fails: make it the Summer of Tacos. Who knows where that concept can lead?!

Calendar

Next up is Calendar: Define both your length of time, and when you’ll start. It’s hard to muster the energy to do anything forever, but a set time lets you know when you’ll end and gives you the feeling of crossing the finish line.

It doesn’t take a year to break out of a slump, and many concepts lend themselves to shorter seasons. Try on your theme with a week, a month, 100 days, a Summer, a quarter… there’s a whole range of possibilities.

I suggest picking a Goldilocks period: something that feels do-able but also a little uncomfortable. For example, if working on your novel every day for a week feels in your comfort zone, make your Challenge a month.

By the way, as you pair your “Concept” with your “Calendar,” you get bonus points if you can create a fun phrase with it: rhymes, alliteration, pop culture references, and riffs on common sayings all go a long way to make your Jumpstart Challenge feel real and important.

Commit.

Finally, there’s Commit: commit to yourself by making a plan, and commit as publicly as you can, everywhere you can. That might mean with friends or family, on social media, with your colleagues, even simply writing it down. And take people along on your journey! It makes it more fun for you, and makes it easier to keep going.

This is especially helpful when you reach that March Moment — when you’re a few steps in, and you start to question if you really need to go all the way to the finish line. In my Year of Hustle story, March was when it seemed like I had achieved enough, and was ready to ease off the gas pedal.

But remember, the magic happens after you want to stop.

So, if you’re up for “getting your mojo back” this summer, I’ll be right there alongside you: I’m committing to a Chatterbox June, where I meaningfully connect with someone each day. Please help me kickstart it by saying hello afterwards! And I’m doing a totally fun one with the Chatbooks Team: the Summer of Tacos!

January is a new year, and they say September is the “new” new year, but in 2021 it feels like today is the fresh start and new beginning we’ve all been waiting for. Let’s go kick that Slump and make it a summer to remember!