Building Tenacity in the Time of Covid
Here at the CATLab, our theme for this summer is tenacity. As we strive to remain authentic, curious, and committed, we know that we need to meet the circumstances of Summer 2020 with a special sense of determination. What are some ways we can build that determination and tenacity? Some of our teammates shared their reflections.
Abby: Perseverance & Self-Discipline
Earlier this year, Abby, our social media manager, was tasked with choosing a theme for this summer. As she researched possible words, one that kept coming up was tenacity. According to Abby,
“Tenacity means to push through the hard times with determination and persistence—being ready to give it your all even when you don’t feel like it.”
It was right around this time that California went into Shelter in Place, and most of us were sent home from school as classes shifted online. Realizing early on that the CATLab was going to look very different this summer, Abby said that she thought the idea of tenacity would be especially applicable “in this time of change and in this time of new adjustments.”
When asked how she has needed tenacity in her own life this summer, she said that her main struggle has been seeing how quickly circumstances can change and having to adapt to them. “I’m a major planner,” she explained with a grin. “In this time of uncertainty,” she said, “I’ve really been pressing into my relationship with the Lord and seeking Him as my source of strength,” and that doing that has helped her stay motivated and determined.
Other things that have helped her persevere have been establishing a routine and setting goals. Abby says these goals are usually “nothing crazy, but little things that are an accomplishment when I meet them.” They give her achievable steps to keep in mind and to strive for. As for the routine, Abby says it’s good to make a schedule that starts even before your workday does. For example, she says that making breakfast, reading the news, and getting fully dressed for work every day puts her “in the mindset to work and be productive.”
“Even though our plans aren’t exactly what we originally anticipated,” Abby said, “it’s so important for us to be determined and persevere through this so that we can finish our work and contribute to the overall success of Westmont.”
Frank: The Accountability of a Team
For those of us who struggle to be self-motivated, remembering that we are part of a team can be a huge help. For Frank, one of our new developers, working with the CATLab has already been a huge contrast to the past few months of doing classes online. Even without a shared office space or people physically there to check up on him at any given moment, he still found it easier to keep himself accountable:
"What I’ve found really impactful is know[ing] that everyone is doing something. It feels like you’re part of something big. Your part means a lot to the team. I think if it was just me learning Salesforce or me doing these projects, I definitely would have taken a day or two to do nothing. But everybody being on board… brings in commitment.”
In spite of the CATLab’s remoteness, he insisted that it still has the distinctiveness that initially drew him in. The first time Frank heard about the CATLab was last summer when he spent a month in Westmont’s Ocean View apartments, which was where most of the CATLab members were also living. What he saw was “a whole group of students… where they stick together, they love each other, they pray together. So it was a group that I immediately felt I would love to be part of.” And even now, he said, although our interactions are online, “We still have morning prayer, still have collaboration throughout the day. You still see what the team is all about.”
Of the specific things that Frank said helped him persevere, most of these had to do with other people: talking to friend and senior developer James about their respective projects, calling with other team members to answer questions, and getting an idea of what other people have been working on through informal conversations.
One way we get to know each other is through our “lunch buddy” system, where once a week we get paired with someone else in the CATLab and have a casual conversation during our lunch break. Frank said he appreciated that these conversations aren’t about a formula or a list of deliverables, but simply about getting to know our teammates. He mentioned how a conversation he’d had with Kelsey, our grant writer, about grad school had been particularly inspiring. Hearing about other people’s tenacity, he said, can be “an encouragement for yourself to not settle for anything less.”
Although he’s learning a lot of technical skills, Frank said that what he’d take from the CATLab beyond this summer is the accountability and responsibility that comes from realizing you’re part of a team. Everyone is adjusting to remote work in different ways, but for Frank, his desire to “contribute to what the team is doing” is what keeps him pushing forward.
Hannah: Community & Interruptibility
Similarly, Hannah points to encouragement from others’ examples as the basis for her own tenacity—not only in her job, but in the bigger challenge of figuring out what life after graduation looks like.
Having just graduated from Westmont earlier this month, Hannah moved into a house with five other recent graduates. This new living situation has helped her experience tenacity in a community as she says she has been “watching myself and them adapt to changing expectations.” As she and her friends have faced disappointments from graduation being postponed to jobs falling through, they have been able to provide a support system for each other.
Most of this support has been through having conversations to process the pain and frustration and generally holding each other up. “For me,” said Hannah, “I think a lot of my tenacity comes from riding on the coattails of others and being encouraged by others. The communal aspect of it is really important for me.” As she talked about the last few weeks, Hannah kept emphasizing not her own determination or hard work, but “how tenacious we’ve been together.”
Hannah had similar comments to make about the CATLab. A large part of our ability to move forward with our projects as efficiently as we have has come from our commitment to keep collaboration at the center. In spite of her initial qualms about the remote working situation, Hannah said she’s been “super edified by how well it’s going.”
One of Hannah’s other tips for productivity may seem counterintuitive: being interruptible. But she’s quick to point out the “difference between being interruptible and distractible.” Hannah pointed out that “this space that I’m working in was not originally designed for the purpose of being an office or space for productivity.” Because of that, “Not being frustrated by distractions or interruptions but letting them come and go is something that’s helped me.”
Especially since the people around us are so important to our own tenacity, we need to realize that working remotely doesn’t mean we have to be completely removed from our surroundings. Remembering the unique challenges we face from our work environments can help us extend grace to ourselves and others. Sometimes the best way to be focused and productive in the long run is to “Let interruptions come and go gently.”
So what does it mean to have tenacity in a time like ours? As plans shift and environments change, the adjustment will look different for everyone. Abby reminds us that simple things like setting goals and making a schedule can get us in the mindset to persevere. Frank shows that being part of a team can help us be more motivated than we could manage on our own. And Hannah helps us see that tenacity thrives in community and that it’s not just getting work done, but about doing life well. These simple lessons are ones we can take with us throughout the summer and beyond.
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