We've heard of self-care a lot in recent years but why is it extremely important specifically for us community managers? Showing our “human” side helps us connect with our members, but this also means we can be susceptible to the negative effects of our community. We take a look at how we can establish and encourage practises to keep work and community at a healthy distance from our personal time, as well as tips on promoting and advocating self-care within the community to encourage a more healthier attitude towards mental and physical health and to each other.

1. Healthy work life balance as Community
Managers
Ashley Nicolson: Head of Community
Twitter: @MiniRidley
Company: SalesAgility
Community: SuiteCRM

2. Disclaimer
 This talk is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice,
diagnosis or treatment.
 Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care
provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health
both mental and physical.
 All references and resources will be listed at the end of these slides. Please take
your time to explore them if interested in this topic.
Let’s begin….

3.  What and Why is self-care is important for us community managers
 What happens when we don’t take care of ourselves
 Practical steps to help encourage self-care and awareness within your
team and community
 Discuss how to sustainably keep stressors at bay
 Breakout sessions
Self-care is unique to everyone. Chance to share with others in the group
what you do to focus on your well being.
What are our objectives?

4.  Don’t need to go into too much detail on what a community manager
does or demonstrates it’s worth.
 It’s all the “other” stuff that makes being a community management a
really tough, but often satisfying role.
 We’re the glue that sticks the community together, the fuel that ignites
the flame and keeps the community going.
 It can be fantastic, seeing the community grow and flourish, but
keeping people’s spirits high, whilst maintaining your own workload is
a very delicate tight rope.
 On a good day you would just have to manage member’s
expectations, or resolve a few fires, but…..
So, what’s it like being a community manager?
Herding cats….

5. Other days...
 Members' feelings have been “hurt”
 People throwing their toys out the pram
 Resolving conflicts and fighting off egos
 Lack of appreciate because can't see behind the
scenes

 ... This is just part and parcel of the job
right?

6. Dealing with the darker side of our communities
 Trolling
 Elitism & Gatekeeping
 Bias
 Unpredictability
(absences and abandonment)
Photo by @markkoenig Mark König on Unsplash

7. But wait, there’s MORE...
 Pandemic
 Remote working
 Childcare and other dependants care
 Social unrest, heighten emotions
 Increased intolerance or code of conduct violations

8. We need LOVE!
No less than any other role, in fact we need more.
Heck we even have a “Community Manager Appreciation Day” on every 4th
Monday of January
strangely it’s consequential close to Blue Monday (the most depressing day of the year)
P.S. Book it in your diary for Monday 25th January 2021

9. Where is the Love?
 Kinda feel like the world is on your shoulders
 This is a lot of emotional labour for one person to handle.
YES IT IS!
Photo by Calle Macarone on Unsplash
That’s why we as managers need to
take care of ourselves before we take
care of others…

10. What happens if we don’t?
Then this leads to a number of nasty issues that affects more people than we think.
50%* of community managers experienced burnout
e.g. of symptoms
 Exhaustion
 Detachment
 Boredom & Cynicism
 Increased irritability
 Sense of Omnipotence
 Suspicion of be unappreciated
 Paranoia
It can mentally and physically debilitated, suffocated, and denied of the fulfilment and joy our role once
provided us. Regaining that joy could take months, even years. In fact, we may never regain that same
level of passion for them again.
*The Community Roundtable 2019 survey, spanning 12 months
Photo by Sydney Sims on Unsplash

11. Burnout is no joke
Spotting for the signs help you become
more aware of the slight changes in
behaviours.
Won’t go into too much detail about the ins
and outs of these symptoms or phases but I
highly recommend checking out Dr
Freudenberger and his work on Burnout and
the Burnout Cycle. As well as other medical
practitioners advice.
Then you can look for the possible causes
and be proactive to dealing and reducing the
likelihood of experiencing burnout.

12. So how can we lighten the load?
 Use our Leadership
use our power and teach others
 Being Human
love yourself, others will love you
 Through the looking glass
self-reflection
 Set Boundaries
Don’t walk on the grass!
 Social Support Network

13. Use our Leadership
 Emotions are powerful
Being positive, has a positive affect on others
 Implement change
Use our influence, educate others, set dedicated
time within your workload
 Set the example & expectations
Plan for more realistic goals, plus downtime. Quality
over quantity
Photo by KOBU Agency on Unsplash

14. Being Human
 Ignore the false expectations and perceptions
A leader is many things to many people, most important
though is that they are human.
 Connect with yourself
Difference of being in control, under control, and being
controlled
 Show your flaws – Bring your whole self to work
People gravitate to those they relate to
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

15. Through the looking glass
 Self-reflection
Have good retrospectives with yourself and teams
 Re-evaluate priorities
The role, the workload, the community. Track down causes and reactions.
 Self-Care
Based on new priorities implement self-care to better ones’ satisfaction
with life
Photo by Yeshi Kangrang on Unsplash

16. Self-Care
Self-care is the practice of making conscious, mindful efforts to perform activities that aid in our physical,
emotional, relational, and perhaps spiritual well-being at a fundamental level. A few examples of some...
Physical self-care:
 Regular sleep routine
 Aim for a healthy diet
 Taking a nap
 Getting a massage
 Going for a stroll
 Stretching
 Yoga (or other forms of
exercise)
Mental self-care:
 Reading a new book or
article
 Try a hobby or interest
 Write a list of goals
 Solving puzzles
 Organize or clean out a
space in your room
Spiritual self-care:
 Volunteering for a cause you care
about
 Meditate
 Spent time in nature
 Pray or attend religious service
 Determining your most important
values or morals
 Considering your significant
relationships
 Discover new forms of spirituality and
religion

17. Healthy Work Life Balance
 More and more difficult to switch off
Technology surrounds us, connected emotionally and physically
 Everyone’s work life balance is different
Trial and error your schedule to suit your self-care
 Define your boundaries, and educate others
including your community
Ensure your calendar has time blocked off; be transparent
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

18. Healthy Work Life Balance
 Create a usable escalation process
Give your team the tools to autonomous decisions and only
interrupt if have to.
 Maintain emotional boundaries too
Emotions can affect us too, so draw a clear line of what you are
responsible for
 Educate even more
Promote self-care, mental awareness, build up acceptance that
we are all human.

19. Social Support Network
Photo by Erika Giraud on Unsplash
 Having a social support network improves our well
being
Often it’s them that notice changes in you first.
 They provide variety of relieve in all aspects of life
Help promote self-care, and boundaries.
 Say it again, Educate!
Build up social support groups within your community teams, safe
havens for people to moan or vent without violating code of
conduct.

20. Conclusion
 Place your health and well being at the forefront of your mind
 This will have a cascading affects on how you treat others, they treat you and genearally those you
connect with with
 Leads to more “me” time, leads to creativity and new perspectives
 Break down false expectations
 Management, Team and Community
 Set the example: others will emulate
 You are not alone
 Build a social support group
 Work colleagues
 Friends & family

21. Prep for Breakout Sessions
As part of our social support network, we community managers can take this
opportunity to share with others what you do for your self-care or if you have
implemented processes into your communities to help with members well being
and general mental awareness.

22. Resources
Twitter: @MiniRidley
Company: SalesAgility
Community: SuiteCRM
High-Octane Women: How Superachievers Can Avoid Burnout by Sherrie Bourg Carter Psy.D
Burnout, Your first ten steps by Amy Imms M.D
*Burn-out : The High Cost of High Achievement by Dr Herbert Freudenberger and Geraldine Richelson
*Women’s Burnout: How to Spot It, How to Reverse It, and How to Prevent It by Dr Herbert
Freudenberger and Dr Gail North
The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women by Dr Valerie Young
*The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention by Dr
Pauline Clance and Dr Suzanne Imes
*Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/details/inlibrary

23. Thanks!
Ashley Nicolson: Head of Community
Twitter: @MiniRidley
Company: SalesAgility
Community: SuiteCRM