Commit to self-care

Know yourself

Ask yourself if this is the right time in your life to take on this work. Do you have a good support system in place – family, community, spiritual sustenance, or some combination of these resources? What do you do with stress? Please do not take on this work if you are going through a hard time or are already stressed or overwhelmed. There will be another time.

Know and acknowledge your own limits. There will be interviews that you cannot conduct, record, or transcribe. There will be times when you have to step back from the work. There is wisdom, not shame, in knowing what is too much. Pay attention to your body, your emotions, and your intuition.

Take care of yourself

Eat well, exercise, & get a lot of sleep.

Don’t let this work take up your whole life. You have to have other interests and pursuits to stay balanced.

Secondary or vicarious trauma and burnout are real. Pay attention to your body (your head, your stomach, your sleep patterns), your emotions (anxiety, depression), and your dreams.

Work as a team

Don’t be a “lone ranger.” Get to know your colleagues. Decide whom you can trust. Be honest. Learn how to say I can’t do that; I don’t want to do that.

Don’t spend a lot of time in the office by yourself. Never, ever, ever go to an interview alone.

Pay attention to each other. Recognize if a colleague is having a hard time. Don’t be afraid to speak up.

Expect to make mistakes: be gentle with yourself & each other

Give and receive criticism without taking anything personally. Start with the positive; be specific; be clear but gentle; and make your criticisms in private or relatively private settings (not in front of the people we are interviewing). Don’t undermine your colleagues; help each other.

We’re all learning. Mistakes and apparent mistakes are part of the process.

At our trainings, and as we work, we've shared our personal strategies for self care, including:

running
basketball
swimming
any kind of intense physical exercise
going for a walk
listening to music
playing music
candles
quiet time
drawing or painting
gardening
any kind of creative activity
debriefing with colleagues
talking to friends (while respecting narrators' confidentiality)
talking to a partner (while respecting narrators' confidentiality)
talking with family member (while respecting narrators' confidentiality)
writing in a journal (while respecting narrators' confidentiality)
getting outside
soaking in a bath
getting away from everyone
letting yourself cry
prayer
meditation
spending time in a peaceful place (a certain room or place outside)
imagining yourself in a special place
refraining from drinking alcohol, especially if you're depressed or on the verge of depression
taking a break:
taking some days off
doing something completely different
performing tasks that do not take a lot of emotional energy: going to the post office, trip to the office supply store, rearranging a library, cleaning a desk or purse or room
physical labor
spending time with little kids
watching really silly movies
work on something else for a while
bouncing on the big exercise balls
painting our office beautiful, fun colors ("deep greens and blues are the colors I choose" - from james taylor's "sweet baby james")

Contributors: Kim Bacon, Cecilia Ballí, Creighton Chandler, Tony Cherian, Papa Diallo, Eliana Díaz, Danielle Dirks, Megan Eatman, Mark Evans, Bianca Hinz-Foley, Sabina Hinz-Foley, Kathryn Krastin, Walter Long, Carlos Loredo, Julia O'Byrne, Virginia Raymond, Jorge Antonio Renaud, Victoria Rossi, Benita Rubinett, Lorraine Samuels, Brenda Sendejo, Megan Sissom, Gabe Solis, Christen Smith, Shannon Speed, Ellen Sweets, Michael Truong, Mark Westmoreland, Linda L. White