The Practice I Almost Skipped

There is a practice I almost never started because I kept telling myself I did not have time, that there were more urgent things, that it could wait until things slowed down. And then one day I stopped negotiating with myself and just began.

It starts with my journal. Every morning I protect my first hour to write down what I am grateful for, simple and quiet, before I open my inbox or look at my calendar. And then I take it one step further by transferring those reflections into thank you notes to the people who have partnered with us in the work, donors, volunteers, board members, people who said yes when they did not have to.

I even set up my space before I begin, the cards, the letters, the names, my pens and markers laid out so I can choose the right one for each person. It sounds like a small thing, but that setup is intentional because it creates an environment where I can actually express what I feel rather than just check a box.

When I share this with nonprofit leaders I almost always hear the same response: I do not have time for that. And I understand it, because I used to say the same thing. What changed it for me was not finding more time but deciding that this practice was worth protecting, and then building a simple rhythm around it that I could actually keep.

Rhythms are different from goals. A goal is something you achieve, but a rhythm is something you return to, and the leaders I have seen sustain themselves and their missions over the long haul are almost always people who have built small consistent practices into their days, not grand gestures but quiet repeated acts of intention.

You do not have to start where I started. Maybe it is five minutes in the morning before the inbox pulls you in, or one handwritten note a week to someone who showed up for your mission, or a monthly moment to sit with your donor list and ask yourself whether you actually know why each person gives and what their story is. Start there, start small, but start.

Behind every gift there is a person, a story, a reason they said yes, and when we build rhythms that help us remember that, fundraising stops feeling like a burden and starts feeling like what it actually is: an invitation into relationship.

Mil abrazos 💛