On Professional Resilience And Bouncing Back: Evelyn from the Internets
To find some breathing room in the midst of global change, we welcomed licensed therapist Davia Roberts and content creator Evelyn from the Internets (Evelyn Ngugi) in our virtual chatroom on May 30 to explore bouncing back. Throughout the talk, Evelyn shared her thoughts on de-stressing, finding time for self-care and navigating the ebbs and flow of a creative career.
ABOUT EVELYN FROM THE INTERNETS
Evelyn from the Internets is a video producer, digital storyteller and funny-girl based in Austin, Texas. On her Youtube channel, Evelyn has over 205,000 subscribers that she calls her #InternetCousins, all of which laugh with her and engage in numerous social justice conversations to water-cooler banter: from how to be a better ally for Youtube’s #CreatorsForChange to a passionate two-minute soliloquy on the excellence of Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” (which, by the way, Beyoncé loved so much she played it on every stop of her Formation World Tour). Currently, she co-hosts and writes “Say It Loud,” a PBS Digital Studios show about Black history and culture.
HERE ARE SIX TAKEAWAYS FROM EVELYN’S TALK ON BOUNCING BACK FROM PROFESSIONAL DISAPPOINTMENT AND BURNOUT:
1.) MAKE TIME TO FILL YOUR WELL.
“The things that I project to the world and give to people are like water, but I am the well. I am the source,” Evelyn says. Sometimes, it can feel like what we do is everywhere and anywhere—that in order to be good at our jobs and creative careers we must be ever-present. A key theme throughout Evelyn’s talk was remembering that you’re the source. You get to determine what you respond to and when. You get to give yourself breaks. You get to go offline. And when you’re feeling done, you deserve to fill your well.
2.) WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS, NOT HUMAN DOINGS.
As fulfilling as a creative career can be, we can often get a little lost (or consumed) in execution. How much time do we spend nurturing our creativity and curiosity? How much time do we spend meeting deadlines or trying produce as much as possible? For Evelyn, drawing her own lines around creativity, productivity and social media has been helpful.
“Inconsistency is now a little bit of my brand because it’s realistic. Not everyone is going to want to do everything all of the time, even if your job seems fun, cool or creative. After every video, I say ‘I’ll see you on the Internet somewhere’ just so that I know I’m always being honest. It might not be soon, but it’ll happen eventually,” Evelyn said. So, it’s okay to be bored, and it’s okay to feel like you’re not where you want to be. As Evelyn quoted, We are human beings, not human doings.
3.) RECLAIM YOUR TIME ON THE INTERNET.
So, how do we pull away from “the hustle” and find time to tune into our creative selves? For Evelyn, pulling back from her time online to determine what she wants has been paramount. “With the Internet, since it’s like endless almost, there is this feeling that we also need to be endless. And that’s just not true,” Evelyn said. Like a restaurant’s hours or a movie’s start and end time, you deserve to have on and off space, too.
4.) FIND A ROUTINE—AND ADAPT AS NEEDED.
Evelyn encouraged implementing a routine and centering what brings you joy, too. If you’re trying to figure out your career path or pivot out of a difficult work situation, a routine can help you start and finish the day, as well as get clear on what’s working and what isn’t. For Evelyn, this has become all the more important during a pandemic-induced quarantine.
“Everyday I have go outside, and it doesn’t mean exercise or anything other than having the sun touch my skin. I drink water throughout the day, wash my face, eat breakfast in the morning. If I don’t do certain habits, it makes it feel like one long day instead of seven separate days,” Evelyn said. Finding things that make you feel good are important for non-work hours, too. For Evelyn, this looks like everything from making Bon Appetit’s chocolate chip cookies to growing cucumbers in the community garden to binge-watching Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Evelyn also uses a hand-drawn bullet journal to stay motivated and organized. Photo via @evelynfromtheinternets
5.) TRACK YOUR FEELINGS AND CHECK IN.
Figuring out what we need and building those things into our day takes time, especially in a rapidly changing and volatile environment (like a pandemic). So, be patient with yourself, and take things a day at a time. The more you study yourself and your work, the more you’ll know when it’s time to quit or try something new.
“You can’t really pivot, unless you assess where you’re at. Realize what it is what you need or where you need to go. It took me a solid year to begin to understand that my worth was tied to my performance, and you can’t undo that in a month. It’s important to take that time to pause and understand that it’s about taking baby steps,” Evelyn shared.
6.) REMEMBER THAT CREATIVE CAREERS AREN’T LINEAR.
Our emotions, our goals and our careers are never linear. Sometimes, we might not feel good about where we are for a number of reasons. So, how do you know when it’s time to get a new job or make a change? These are a few of the things that Evelyn said pushed her to a pivoting point:
She didn’t want the position above hers.
Her full-time job schedule didn’t allow space for her passion projects.
She paid more attention to the things that made her feel motivated (or even jealous). She noticed that these things were signaling her next steps and interests.
She committed to setting goals and trying new things to explore her feelings.
She found that asking for help, brainstorming and taking breaks helped her look at her problems and negative emotions with a fresh pair of eyes—and eventually make decisions.
“Jealousy gives you a lot of information about what you’re feeling and why you’re feeling it. Use jealousy, or admiration, as a motivator,” Evelyn said. “And then, a little goes a long way. Think of some ideas to work on every day, even if it’s as you’re putting on lotion. It doesn’t have to take too long, but dedicate time to think about your business and prioritize those thoughts.”
Evelyn also recommended using an online organization tool (like Trello, for example) to break down your goals into realistic steps. Tackling a few things each day will make even the biggest of goals more tangible.
LOOKING FOR MORE?
If you’d like to keep up with Evelyn from the Internets, you can follow her on Instagram, check out her Youtube channel, sign up for her newsletter to become #InternetCousins, or go to her website to find out her upcoming events and what she’s currently doing, “somewhere on the Internet.”
Keep up with what we’re up to at bbatx—from virtual events to membership—here.
This blog post is by bbatx intern Divina Ceniceros Dominguez, a fourth-year Journalism and Entrepreneurship student at the University of Texas at Austin from Monterrey, Mexico. Currently, she's a happy Aquarius, plant mom and Texas-based writer. Click here to check out more of her writing and virtually connect.