Rest
December 18, 2020
Dear Humble Healthers,
The end of 2020 is quickly approaching and this has been a year like no other. To help us determine the right content to include in each issue of the digest, we look back on the previous quarter. We try to see what's coming in the future. And we stop to look around at the present moment.
What we saw upon looking back is a group of people who banded together to work tirelessly through an unexpected and unprecedented year. Even though we didn't necessarily see one another in the office, you have been seen. Your effort. Your sense of duty to your teammates, friends, family and community. The way you have gotten up every single day to power through. To keep making progress. To make an impact. You've shown up. Everyone has.
What we see looking forward is a team that will continue to persevere. A team that will continue to need one another's support and connection. A team that will continue to be met with challenges, setbacks and frustrations. And a team that will continue to surprise themselves and those around them with what they are capable of.
And what about today? What's the current state of things? Yes, next year will arrive before we know it. But what about right now?
How does the word...exhausted strike you? We've heard it from a lot of people. We've also heard the terms weary...fatigued...wiped. We feel them ourselves. The answer? Taking a break. Rest. Recovery. You know what sounds good to us? Getting into bed, pulling the covers over our eyes and hibernating under a cave of pillows for the rest of winter. Our only movement...a swift hand darting out to pull a warm beverage back into our den. Somehow it magically appears on the bedside table each morning.
Before we all go into hibernation, we are sharing one last issue of 2020.
A Quick Refresher
Humble Health's mission is...
TO BUILD A HEALTHY AND BALANCED WORKPLACE COMMUNITY
We focus the program on three main dimensions of health:
- Creative Health: Conditions and experiences that spark creativity and imagination.
- Physical Health: Exercise and nutrition.
- Emotional Health: Stress management, connection and emotional intelligence.
Don't forget about our newly improved wellness reimbursement program. Taking care of yourself right now is vital. The program has been re-designed to support every category listed above. People have been using the benefit on books, virtual workout platforms, free weights, meditation apps, puzzles and much more. Keep us posted on the different ways you are using it. We love hearing about the ways it's helping you!
Something else to come out of the program in 2020 was the concept of Creative Vacations. These are trips or activities you can do to nurture your creative health. It's thinks like hikes, walks, museum trips, writing sessions, listening to music, drawing...whatever you need to do to take a break and re-set.
COVID-Safe Productions
Remember when COVID came around, clubbed us with a two by four, grabbed us by our feet, started swinging us around, shouting that we had to figure out how to make videos all over again? That however we wanted to make a video wasn't allowed and if we even attempted to do what we wanted, we would be pummeled by fireballs?
And then we fought back, did a fakeaway takeaway, launched ourselves out of a cannon, summersaulted into COVID's dumb face (while protecting ours of course) and figured it out? Yea, us too. These photos are proof.
An Italian, Winter Feast
A long time ago, our neighbors, Bob and Susan, invited us over for dinner. Susan loves to cook and has taught me a lot of her tricks over the years. She tends to cook big batches of Italian food and freeze a few trays for easy eating later on.
Susan made stuffed shells, meatballs and salad. It's super comforting for the winter months. I haven't stopped thinking about those cheesy, savory stuffed shells and plan to give them a try over the holiday break. I've been searching for various recipes over the last few weeks (referred to in our kitchen as suggestions). The video below is the best looking suggestion that I have found so far.
Humble Healthers
Usually, we interview one of you on a specific health topic. Since we haven't seen one another in what feels like a century, we decided to pose questions to everyone. Read on to learn how this year has gone for your teammates.
What has been your favorite work to have been a part of this year?
WILL: I can’t put this into a project or two. It’s best described by little moments of preserving and inspiration. Sometimes it had nothing to do with Myriad, others it did. From an impromptu 3D printing company to a kind Slack message just when it was needed, to the team picking up remote production skills (yuck, but…) It’s been amazing watching everyone stay steady throughout a global pandemic. Thriving, surviving and staying kind in a very authentic way.
ALEX: It’s been very rewarding to work towards better systems and processes this year! And, overall, all of us working together to ensure Myriad made it thru 2020 wasn’t my favorite but definitely the work I’m most grateful and proud of for this year.
MAX: There were so many projects I was involved with this year that I’m proud of! Blame it on the new role. While many of them did not require deep involvement, I am proud of having worked with so many creative and talented people. Many favorites but I got my hands dirty on two projects that helped me keep one foot (or two) on the trenches of production and post. One of them was for a Daniel-directed piece for KPMG. Being on set with the crew with camera in hand was enough gas to maintain some sanity in this weird year. Corporate as it may have been, it was one of my favorites because Daniel found a way to bring some quirkiness and technical challenges to it (i.e. teleprompter on a dolly and like 900 pages of script). As well as the opportunity to work with Melissa, Jim, Matt and the rest of the crew which was a gift.
The other project is this Automation anthem that I kept complaining about. I ended up editing it and it was going to be uphill because stock. But to my surprise, sitting back down and playing in premiere was awesome because I found I didn’t have to stay in the stock world: I could use a lot of archival footage from IBM. This is something I always wanted to do: use really old footage and new images, to juxtapose them creating unexpected, fun and quirky ideas. So it’s turning out to be a very rewarding experience.
ALYSSE: Working on the rebrand with Jed, Will and Max has been incredibly fulfilling. It’s something that our team has been asking for for awhile, and it will have a huge impact on how Myriad grows over the next few years. We made a decision to work with designers, writers and a web team that challenged us to be thoughtful and, honestly, to be better. It was a blast and I’m proud of what we created.
DREW: Asset Ops videos, IBM Supply Chain videos, Dev Diaries series, Pearson. Also the Company Financials Tracking system.
JED: New Myriad Brand Identity. Creative Video Frameworks + Remote Production Video Options. Window Music Episodes. New Myriad Website. New Myriad Tone of Voice. WFH Guidelines. Teaching Media Theory at NC State College of Design. Raising $10k to help fund local artists for Black Lives Matter murals in Downtown Raleigh. Vote Murals with March for our Lives and MTV.
MALIA: This year presented some pretty massive obstacles and needs. I enjoyed finding and implementing solutions, ideas and programs to help address those things. Some of them were obvious but others took a lot of observation, research and contemplation. Not every need during a pandemic is visible. And the impacts of Covid change every day. I enjoyed putting on my sociology and psychology hat and getting creative to help support my team. The KPMG set design work was also a much needed and unexpected change. I loved being a part of the production team and using my passion for interior design in a new way.
Did you watch or read anything this year that you would recommend others checkout over the break?
SPIKE: I read this book called Atomic Habits that I’ve been telling everyone about. It was one of those life-changing books that re-orients how you think about certain things in your life. Oh and Weekend at Bernie’s. I love re-watching that movie every couple years.
Psst! You can thank Spike for that part of your gift. After he read, I did too. And here we are.
ALYSSE: My favorite book was Moscow Rules. It’s a nonfiction account of spy tactics during the Cold War, written by a husband and wife CIA team (Jonna and Tony Mendez). It was so different from what I normally read. They talk through working with magicians and Hollywood crew to create disguises, and they get into details about real spy missions. Highly recommend.
ALEX: I would encourage everyone to read something that broadens their understanding of actual lived experiences in America.
MAX: Let me preamble this answer with “early in the pandemic during lockdown, when we were reeaaaaaally slow…” I binged a few shows while my family slept. (I have a problem, yes). Westworld (HBO): holy cow. One of the most complex narratives and highest quality of storytelling I’ve seen in shows ever. S1 is absolutely flawless. Watchmen (HBO): The only DC superhero adaptation that is amazing. Regina King is boss. It’s for adult audiences so don’t watch it with kids. ALSO, another superhero show, holy-big-gigantic-cow The Boys (Amazon). Shit’s crazy. Not sure there’s any other show that can push boundaries of gnarly-ness like this one. TV-MA. It’s insane and it’s insane good. If you haven’t seen it and can take violence and gore, you won’t see this one coming. BUT, discretionary advice, it is not for the faint of heart. Two seasons ready to binge.
DREW: The Smartless Podcast cracks me up. Rick Beato’s, What Makes This Song Great? series. A podcast by Jonathon Goldstein called Heavyweight
WILL
Treeline - The Hidden Life of Trees from Patagonia Films
Peaceful, natural, snow, mind blowing. The production values are simply astonishing.
MELISSA: I recommend: watching Money Heist on Netflix AND How To with John Wilson on HBO.
MALIA: I've been re-watching the Good Place recently. The writing and acting is so silly and sharp. Coisa Mais Linda (Netflix) was amazing. I also just finished the series, Selena (Netflix). Loved it. Unorthodox and The Queen's Gambit were my favorite series overall. We just finished The Queen's Gambit last night. Omg. The set design (and locations), acting, character development, story...it was all stunning.
JED - READ
- Currently reading Obama’s new book and The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design
- The new Austin Kleon book, Keep Going
- The John Lewis March graphic novel set
- Always reading a 33 ⅓ book (read the Public Enemy one this year). Would highly recommend any of them to anyone.
- The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song From Every Year Since 1979
JED - WATCH
- Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
- Run (film on Hulu)
- Run (show on HBO)
- Hannah Gadsby - Douglas (Comedy special - Netflix)
- Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
- The Missing (Netflix)
- We are the Champions (Netflix)
- Unorthodox (Netflix)
- The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
- The Outsider
- I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Netflix)
- Normal People (Hulu)
- I May Destroy You (HBO)
What’s something you hope to do or not do during vacation?
SPIKE: Ride my bike! I’ve fallen in love with riding my bike this year. I ride every day I possibly can and I’m going to try to ride through the winter.
ALEX: I am hoping to do the least amount of work during my vacation as possible! Fingers crossed! Also, I hope to play a lot of video games and work on home remodeling projects.
MAX: I set myself a goal of finishing a 90 pages script December of last year. And when the pandemic hit and we were stranded at home, I said “This is it! I’ll be able to do it.” Well, no. It didn’t happen. I did do a lot of research and I have most of the elements of the story on notecards. But that’s it. Not one letter on a page yet. I just have to start it and I am hoping I can at least do that during this break. Another thing I hope to do is at finish one large charcoal sketch.
HILLARY
Do: Hiking, making kimchi and learning how to pickle things. Organizing my personal life lol.
Not Do: No emails/Slack/Zoom!!!! No alarm clock.
JED: Relax. Hang and bond with family. Watch a lot of TV. Play a lot of Switch with kids. Read a lot, including work and non-work texts. Take a lot of walks. Think a lot about this year, next year, and beyond.
ALYSSE: I want to cook, make a ton of freezer meals, listen to music and read. My reading this year was on and off, and lately I haven’t made it a priority. But I have a stack of 3 books on my bedside table that are ready and waiting.
MALIA: If you couldn't already tell from our intro paragraph...all I want to do over the holiday is...nothing. That's not entirely true but I am going to try to make as few decisions as humanly possible. I want to plan out my vegetable, herb and flower gardens for next year. I'd like to get back into a cooking routine. I want to go on excursions to new places. And I have a massive stack of library books to devour. One of them is called, What it's Like to be a Bird. I might have that answer for you at the end of the holiday.
WILL
Do: Plan my “2021: 12 months, 12 different subjects within which to become immersed” program (business strictly verboten).
Not do: Not watch the news, read anything about marketing or business.
DREW: Watch more movies.
How has 2020 impacted your perspective or understanding of well-being?
ALYSSE: It’s changed my entire perspective on being a parent. I never, ever thought I could be a stay at home parent or a work from home mom. But we decided to take Owen out of daycare early on in the pandemic, and I’m thriving. I can’t believe how little time I was spending with him while he was in daycare; I wouldn’t know him in the same way if it wasn’t for quarantine. My day is all about finding balance and energy between him, work, and my sanity. But it’s going pretty damn well. (Though ask me again once the new baby is here - lol!)
JED: I’m definitely more in touch with my health overall. More walks. More breaks from work and screens. More reading and thinking. More yard work. More mindfulness (whenever I can). More connection to family which I believe is fundamental to mental and physical health. Also has me noticing and paying more attention to the health and physical activity of my kids, making sure they have enough exercise (when possible).
MALIA: I've learned that I can't help other people in a sustainable way if I am not placing just as much importance on my own well-being. I tend to hit an intense feeling of burn-out and then struggle to recover from it. I've tried to be pretty experimental with new habits and routines to see what makes a difference. I'm trying to protect myself from burn-out rather than dig myself out of it. Setting boundaries is something I am working hard on. Exercise (or often, a lack thereof) is another big one for me. I've noticed it makes a major impact on my mood. For some reason, it takes a lot of mental effort for me to go get exercise. I've been trying to figure out how to get around that barrier, especially in the winter.
SPIKE: Because we’ve all been stuck inside with ourselves all day everyday, it gives us a good opportunity to pay attention to the small things that we do (or don’t do) throughout the day. Changing a few small things can, over time, create a snowball effect that ends up making a big difference in your life.
WILL: That I need people more than I ever knew I did (and I’ve always known I do.) This year placed that need in an even more distinct light. Others are the source of the progress in life. Without other people to bump into I start to go in circles in ways that are hard to recalibrate and dissappointing.
ALEX: I don’t know that I’ve ever been more motivated for self-care and finding joy in my authentic self than this year. Especially as a trans person, finding a place of safety and joy within myself has been vital.