When You Need a Break
Last week marked the start of the Chinese New Year. While I don’t fully subscribe to the astrology, the Year of the Fire Horse sounds ah-mazing. Especially after the Year of the Snake, which apparently begins badly and slowly drags itself out.
Honestly, that tracks. It’s been a personally trying stretch for us at FourPoints, although professionally we are full of gratitude for the past 8 months of pure joy this work has brought us. The idea that personal relief might arrive from the cosmos feels… delightful.
But here’s the thing. We don’t always get the relief we need from external sources.
Sometimes there are hard days, tough weeks, and long seasons. And we still have to show up.
As fundraisers, that’s especially true. You show up for your organization. But you also show up for donors who experience the mission through you. So what do you do when you’d really prefer a pause?
We have a few ideas.
First, name it.
Learn to recognize when you need a break. Big moment or small, say the quiet part out loud: I need a break.
Take your weekend.
Use your vacation time.
Step away for ten minutes in the middle of the day if that’s what’s available.
One fundraiser we work with had a rough donor call. The donor was upset, abrupt, and the conversation felt messy. She went to start her next call and realized her energy had dropped. Her voice even sounded lower. She loves people and suddenly dreaded talking to one more human.
That was the signal. She needed a reset.
A rested fundraiser listens better, reacts less, and builds more trust. Breaks are not avoidance. They are part of the work.
Second, do something.
Not everything requires pushing through. Sometimes the most productive choice is interruption.
The fundraiser mentioned above recognized she was feeling low, named it, and did something. She didn’t solve it. She didn’t process it. She stepped outside for ten minutes of sunlight.
That was enough to reset her voice, her posture, and her presence.
If you need a quick reset before the next interaction, try one of these:
Step outside or look at something far away for 60 seconds.
Drink a full glass of water.
Stand up before your next call.
Wait 15 minutes (or longer) before replying to a difficult email.
Kara once worked with someone who had ongoing tension with a colleague who marked every email as urgent. Every single one had that annoying red exclamation point. So Kara’s coworker made a rule for herself: she would not open those messages for 24 hours. We recognize that’s a bit excessive, but you get the point.
Interruption is powerful.
For us, relief looks different on different days. Kara keeps a walking pad under her desk. Movement helps clear her head and lower stress. She also takes 20 minutes every afternoon to walk the dogs - yes, the same dogs her husband once said he’d divorce her for bringing home. (He’s still here. So are the dogs.) That rhythm grounds her.
Lisa often resets outside, whether it’s on her back patio listening to the water feature or on the walking trail in the woods by her home. Sometimes she’s working, laptop on the patio table. Sometimes she’s just breathing. Either way, the light helps.
We don’t wait for the cosmos to fix it. We move our bodies. We change our environment. We interrupt the spiral.
Finally, give yourself permission.
Fundraising is caring work. Our organizations care for people, animals, communities, and the world. We care for donors who become part of our daily rhythm.
Because of that, we forget we’re allowed to care for ourselves.
You don’t need approval to take a breath.
For Kara and me, sometimes it’s as simple as texting each other: “I don’t wanna today.” We still show up. Not because we push harder, but because we allow ourselves to breathe first.
Great fundraising cultures are not built on urgency and over-doing. They are built on joy, rhythm, and an “enoughness” culture. And donors can tell the difference.