I’ve spent the last three days trying to write a post (since Thursdays are my self-imposed deadline) only to find each of them ring hollow. The ridiculous or silly seems too silly and the sincere, but UX-oriented, drafts feel hollow.
And then I saw a headline that indicates the governor of Minnesota has deployed the National Guard to protect Americans from Americans.
So I’ll say this: it’s was a damn hard thing being an American this last week, and it’ll be a damn sight harder next week.
We are all surrounded by different levels of trauma. Personal tragedies. Political catastrophes. Existential trauma. Some of them we can step past, and some of them stop us in our tracks. I don’t know which one tomorrow will be.
Anyone who tells you that you’re expected to put in your best work while your world is falling over has expectations that no human can reach. It is okay not to reach them.
On January 6, 2021, my manager Josh Smith called a meeting while we were all watching the attempted overthrow of the government in real time. In essence, he said “It’s okay if you call it a day”. None of us were going to get anything done. But the answer was neither to hide from it nor to wallow in it alone. The answer was to say “This is important, and it’s painful, and I’m traumatized. And that’s okay.”
If you have to lead this week, be that kind of leader.
It’s okay if you call it a day.