Well, we’ve done it again. It’s a tech festival, but not as we know it. And I was so overcome by black excellence that it took me a few weeks to gather myself, collect my thoughts and write them down… 😉
If you’re more of a visual person, check out the slides I made for the talk I gave about Afrotech Fest at Novoda in April 2019.
Black girl magic, y’all can’t stand it
Listening to Janelle Monae’s Django Jane 🎵
Table of Contents
Wellbeing: Practical steps for recovering from burnout
Praise for my practical self care workshop
- Insightful workshop, I left feeling lighter than when I arrived.
- It was really nice to actually let out what’s been on my mind in a space that feels so safe.
- Really made me think about solutions to the challenges in an innovative way
- I found the workshop really helpful, especially sounding out my roles with others.
- Well explained concepts, Well structured, Great facilitation
What we did
I wrote about the burnout recovery triangle in April 2017, when I used what I’d learned from Anna Obukhova to give a talk at Novoda about burnout. There are 3 essential factors for recovering from burnout:
- Re-evaluate goals & priorities
- Slow down
- Get support
So I designed a workshop using Liberating Structures to do each of these. Check out my slides & speaker notes for steps and timings for each of these.
Use them on your own or get in touch with me; I’m happy to guide you through them.
I am not a healthcare professional. Burnout can be really serious and lead to depression, which needs professional medical support.
Get in touch with your doctor, The Samaritans, Mind, NHS, Rethink or other health services in your area if you’re concerned or not sure.
Re-evaluate goals & priorities using Spiral Journal
- Ideas and new things I want to start doing or bring into my life
- Things in my life I’m excitedly growing/tending/investing
- Things that reliably give me a sense of achievement or enjoyment
- Things in my life that are draining, things I need to let go of / stop doing
Slow down using 15% Solutions
When it comes to slowing down, what do you have the freedom and resources to do now? What’s within your power to stop doing, without using any extra time, energy or money? What’s the first step?
Get support with Troika Consulting
What’s your challenge? What kind of help do you need?
Make care collective
Your journey is yours and yours alone, take pride with every step that you take, refresh with every breath and take the time and effort to make the trip worth remembering and share with others.
Don’t be afraid of winging life if it excites you and remember to enjoy the moments that come with the journey.
You do belong, you’re in the right place.
Remember to help yourself before you can help others.
I closed the workshop by inviting everyone to: Write down 1 thing you think will help other people to Re-evaluate goals & priorities or Slow down or Get support. Here’s what we gathered.
Appreciate your difference
Thrive on the fringes
What now?!
Afrotech Fest is set to return in 2021.
If, like me, you can’t get enough of Afrotech Fest and all things black tech, check out:
- List of speakers and workshop leaders on Twitter
- Olu Niyi-Awosusi spoke about Building the Woke Web: Accessibility and Social Justice – check out the slides, so well-researched 💯 You can watch the talk too.
- Watch Mike Little’s talk: My beginnings in tech, and WordPress the early years
- Watch Erinma Ochu’s talk: Above the Neon#AfrotechFest on Twitter
- #AfrotechFest on Twitter
Your work in the shadows matters. It makes a difference. You are making an impact.
When I am feeling fragmented or limited, seeing any of my friends in their wholeness reminds me of my own capacity. And as I stand in my wholeness, which includes being more honest with myself and others about what I want and who I am in the world, it exerts a pressure on others, both to receive me and to become more whole in themselves.
Reading adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy 📕
A few fleeting impressions
I want to remember these, so I’m gathering them here.
I got interviewed by Alex Lathbridge for the Why Aren’t Your a Doctor Yet? podcast 🎉