Preventing and Managing Burnout

Community organizing and group leadership is hard work. You’re no good to anyone if you burn out quickly. Please don’t forget to put on your own oxygen mask first!

“Tap into the community. Ask specific individuals for help or suggestions on who else to ask.” —Cristela Garcia-Spitz

“Don’t be afraid to say when you’ve taken on too much, and to ask for help. Some people won’t step up until asked directly, and it doesn’t help anyone if you go under.” —Jody DeRidder

Readings and Resources

• Self-Care Starter Kit - SUNY Buffalo School of Social Work

• Everyday Feminism’s 5 Self-Care Tips for Activists

• How to Hack it as a Working Parent - Code4Lib Journal

• Becky Yoose's #c4l16 talk “The Modern Day Sisyphus: #libtech Burnout and You” and selected bibliography

• Stacie Williams, “All Labor is Local” (2016 DLF Forum keynote talk)

• Mindful Occupation: Rising Up Without Burning Out (PDF)

• How to Keep On Keeping On: Sustaining Ourselves in Community Organizing and Social Justice Struggles

• Librarian Burnout

“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation and that is an act of political warfare.” – Audre Lorde

Sending Out an SOS

Please contact Team DLF or director Bethany Nowviskie directly and confidentially if you are ever feeling over-stretched. We’ll find ways to continue your good work and give you a break! After all, it takes a #DLFvillage.

Table of Contents

1. About DLF and the Organizers' Toolkit
2. Working with Team DLF
3. Starting a New Initiative or Working Group
4. General Facilitation and Goal-Setting
5. Facilitating for Diversity and Inclusion
6. Preventing and Managing Burnout
7. Gathering Info/Building Enthusiasm
8. Planning an In-Person Meetup
9. Setting Up Year-Round Meetings
10. Talking and Writing
11. Organizing and Sharing Your Work
12. In a Nutshell