We live in a city of Figure It Outers, and that puts us in a unique place in moments of crisis. When the floodwaters rise, we have a city full of big hearts and sharp minds ready to lend a hand and get to work. 

That’s what we're seeing now. Those tireless spirits who are making an unbearable time just a little more bearable. The adaptive brands. The people on the front lines keeping us all safe. The leaders admitting they don’t have the answers, but they sure as hell won’t stop trying.

One such voice in all this is our friend, Craig Cohen. You may know him from Houston Matters, and as one of our town’s most beloved interviewers, he has a unique vantage point on this pandemic. Craig talks to everyone. And Craig listens.

That’s why we were so happy he joined us in our latest lunchtime chat. If you missed us, here’s the video.

Figuring It Out with Craig Cohen

And if you don’t have time for the full conversation, you can read a few of our favorite takeaways here:

Social distancing is not emotional distancing. Our new favorite pandemic drinking game: shots every time someone tweets, emails, slacks, texts, TikToks with the phrase “social distancing.” It’s 2020’s favorite neologism, but while we’re all caught up in our virus vernacular, we’re also working really hard to stay connected. And this is something that we love about our Houston community—how we stay socially distant to keep each other safe in the physical sense, but we strive to remain emotionally connected and supportive in every other possible way.

We’re more adaptable than we think we are. We have seen it in the ways we change each day: operating agencies from our homes, shifting a public media broadcast schedule to better accommodate new norms, learning to host Zoom meetings and radio shows from the living room. We know others haven’t necessarily had it so easy, but we’re inspired by the innovators—the Figure It Outers—we’re seeing succeed every day. And where we can’t adapt, we need to give ourselves the emotional space to feel frustrated, to breathe, to slow down because…

When faced with forces we can’t control, we seek out those we can. In Stephanie Wittels Wachs’ recent COVID-19 piece for Time, she notes “the Pandemic makes us feel as if we don’t have control—but we never really did.” All of our lives, no matter the plans we have, can change in an instant. We’re just coming face-to-face with that in a new way. As Craig said, it’s like the serenity prayer: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” We’re in the middle of something unfamiliar and some of it will stay that way. We just have to be brave in the places where we can and patient in others.

We don’t have to go back to what we did before. It’s easy to start spiraling, thinking about how broken things were before—healthcare, education, political parties. But, we have to move forward. We have to embrace the solutions we’re finding every day, with technology, with our grocery pickups, with simple acts of human kindness. Let’s be deliberate about the things we want to hold onto and get ready for the work of rebuilding the things that must change.

We don’t have to have all the answers. We see this as we go back to “re-opening” our country. How do we navigate the coming months of safely returning to work, monitoring new outbreaks, responding to even more new ways of doing things? We don’t know. We can’t know. Not until we’re in it. And that’s OK. We’ll adapt—painfully maybe, awkwardly certainly—but we’ll find our way. We’ll figure it out. 

A few other things worth adding to your quarantine read/listen list:

Houston Public Media is crowd sourcing a series of badass playlists from your favorite Houstonians. 

Stephanie Wittels Wachs understands a thing or two about lack of control.

A Houston couple, friends of the flock with an unreal love for live music, is single-handedly helping to save the scene. 


This talk left us feeling further clarity around the pandemic. As though this enemy is starting to make more sense. It’s still unpredictable. And frightening. But seeing how people are pushing back, making changes, even finding tiny victories—that is heartening in a time where we could all use a win.

When it comes to what is next for this series, we are still Figuring It Out. You can keep your eyes on our social channels, or sign up for our newsletter. We’ll keep sharing the latest in those places. Or you can always reach out directly to let us know what you’d like to hear about or what’s been on your mind. Until then, please know that you are on ours. 

Figuring It Out (Webinar Recap)

Regular

At its heart, time is a luxury. It doesn’t matter your life circumstance or social status, time can often be taken away from us or relinquished in myriad of ways - work, family, social obligations, that shiny magic box you have in your hand at all times. We often wear busyness as a badge of honor or sign of productivity. But about 2 months ago, that all changed. 

For a country that notoriously hates taking vacation days, we have a lot of time on our hands right now. With only a husband and dog at home, I have the privilege of having even more time than most (shoutout to all the parents holding it down). So what am I to do? 

Is now the time to amp up my Instagram game and make my dog Gizmo the internet star he was meant to be? 

Or turn into a Lovecraftian couch creature* gobbling up all of the reality and prestige TV I can? 

*I’m not going to melt your eyes and brains with a photo, just watch Color Out of Space.

Nah, instead, I have quietly started a “high quality leisure” revolution in my home. 

Author, Georgetown University computer science professor and my personal mindfulness guru, Cal Newport,  reintroduced the concept in his book “Digital Minimalism”.  Newport essentially challenges the reader to remove distracting technology from their life and incorporate a structured plan of low-tech activities that bring you a feeling of joy and fulfillment. 

My own definition is participating in leisure activities I “never had (or made) time for” that don’t involve being on my phone. They can use a computer, but for instructional purposes only and no simultaneous web-surfing. 

1. Walks, walks and more walks. I am constantly surprised at the mild nuances I discover on my daily walks, even though I'm often taking the same path - a teddy bear waving from a window, a woodpecker going to town above me, monarchs lightly perched on a flower. 

2. Animal encounters with the Houston Zoo. Did you know meerkats perform sentry duty?


April 16 - Meerkats

4. Throwing a dance party in my living room - thanks Numbers and Secret Group. 

5. Taking an art class with Honey Art Cafe (I am excessively proud of free-handing this).  



6. Working out with studios in Boston, New York, Atlanta and, of course, Houston. 

7. Treating my bookshelf like the library (I miss you Houston Public Library) and reading even more now. 

So for now, all I have to say is “Viva the high quality leisure revolution!”

How Covid-19 has left us with time on our hands for those hobbies we never got to start.

Bored and Brilliant