A Talk on Self-Care with Erato
Moonlemon48
December 28th, 2021
Interviewee: @Erato
What is your idea of spending a balanced time on 7cups? Share your idea of how a good day looks like on 7cups, for you.
My idea of spending a balanced time on 7cups is setting firm time boundaries and knowing your priorities and intentions once you logged in on your account.
I remember having a routine in the past when I was still very much involved in the community as a leader since I would like to be consistent in everything I did. Everything was scheduled and structured. Each day was intended for different purposes.
For example–
Monday: Internship subcommunity check-ins, checking-in with intern mentors
Tuesday-Wednesday: anything google sheets (internship, listener verifier, social soldiers, etc), making drafts for internship subcommunity or listener learning and journey subcommunity
Thursday: Intern badge updates, evaluations reminders in the forums
Friday: organizing Social Soldiers Team (approving applicants), making drafts for monthly twitter discussions
Saturday: reviewing mod applications, communicating with Support Team Leaders, training/onboarding new mods, verifying new listeners
In my free time: I respond to PMs, work closely with the community managers, check-in with my members, lurk in the rooms, flag profiles, review flagged forum posts, participate in current discussions, etc.
Of course, this would differ from person to person. However, I made sure that I covered all the things I had to do as a leader and didn’t get behind while also trying to balance my time with my responsibilities as a student. Unfortunately, college life got so demanding and even though I tried to keep up with my responsibilities as a leader, I knew I had to give up my roles to focus on my real-life priorities.
Now that I’m back, there are so many things I have to get myself familiarized with. Although I’m not an active leader anymore, I still stand by what I said: setting firm time boundaries and knowing your priorities and intentions. At this point, I know I cannot just dive right back into my leadership roles. I’m going at my own pace and rediscovering where my passion lies this time. Most of the things I used to do during my free time back then are the things I currently do now (specifically taking member chats, lurking in the rooms, helping out in listener rooms, participating in current discussions, etc.) since they don’t require that much time.
What challenges did you face in trying to strike that balance?
I always had to remind myself that coming to 7cups shouldn’t feel like a chore. However, at some point of my journey, I admit that I suffered from burnout since I had to maintain active engagement in the community. Before I would go for a longer break, I had to ensure that things were going to be okay while I was away. Then, once I came back, catching up with the changes I missed was another struggle to deal with.
How did you try to deal with those challenges?
I had to give up some roles and decide which area of 7cups I would like to concentrate on. I used to be involved in every area (1-1 chats, forums, group support rooms, subcommunities, internship, etc.). What helped me to let go of my fear of missing out was keeping in mind what would make me sustainable in the long run–and that is not stretching myself too thin and not having too much on my plate.
I also tried to find other hobbies aside from 7cups and reconnect with my offline life.
What are the benefits of improving your balance for the time you spend on cups?
It’s absolutely freeing to have control over the time you spend online and not be confined by the amount of responsibilities you have to do. Just like any other hobby, once it becomes a repetitive chore, it takes away the fun of doing it. Sometimes, you have to take a step back in order to feel the spark again.
What message would you like to give to the cupsers who have come to be negatively attached to cups, in one of the many ways?
Everything you do for the community-no matter how small-makes a difference. While it would be a great experience to try out projects and be involved in leadership roles, keep in mind that you don’t have to prove your worth as a listener by keeping scores of your contribution (reviews, badges, chats, forum posts, etc.).
Real-life responsibilities should not be sacrificed so that when it is time for you to leave the community, you know there is still life waiting for you out there and you are not bringing with you the negative experience of being overworked or burnout but rather the skills and learnings you have acquired.
Make sure you’re still having fun and enjoying every second you spend on 7cups.
Tagging our series supporters:@sunisshiningandsoareyou @sia1325 @fristo @Moonlemon48 @musicalHarmony @SoftFaith2004 @KyleBorg @audienta@29amy @EmmaE
(Want to be tagged too, in the new interviews? Type in "I am A Talk on Self-Care interview series supporter", in reply to this thread)
This interview is part of the A Talk on Self-Care Interview Series. Learn more here
Sunisshiningandsoareyou
December 28th, 2021
Thanks for this, @Moonlemon48 . I admire your enthusiasm in supporting this series. ❤
Goodness Eraaaaa, I could resonate with alot of things you mentioned and I am so glad you shared your insight. Thankyouuuu for being *you* . ❤ @Erato *shares pizza*
1 reply
@Sunisshiningandsoareyou Thank you! I admire your enthusiasm for supporting this team so much:)
Erato
January 3rd, 2022
@Sunisshiningandsoareyou aww, thank you for the kind words, sun! c: It's my pleasure to share my experience!
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Remina
January 2nd, 2022
@Erato thank you for sharing your wise words!
Hopie
Erato
January 3rd, 2022
@Moonlemon48 I'm really honored to be interviewed by you, moon! Thank you so much for the opportunity c:
1 reply
@Erato Of course era!<3<3
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