How To Effectively Stay Engaged in the Political Process

Posted by Linda Kallas

Does this sound familiar?  You want to take action against the Trump Administration and/or help get a candidate elected but you feel like you don’t have enough time, don’t know what to do when you have time and/or feel overwhelmed by the amount of information being thrown your way.  Somebody sent a great article you wanted to read but you can’t find it now. You wanted to get educated on something. What was it?

All these things happen to me.   So I have decided to get myself organized and share my plan with others.   I am starting with the overall concept of thinking of this as a job. That may sound negative but I have full control over the time and activities yet it requires me to hold myself accountable.  And by making this more of a routine, I am more likely to be successful. It’s said that it takes 21 days to make something a habit and that is my goal.  

So here’s my plan.  My tools will be a paper calendar, a note pad, and a folder to keep the aforementioned items and various other papers.  About a week ahead I will set aside 30 minutes a day/5 days a week for my activism as it fits my schedule. Where possible I will try to pick the same time each day.  Monday will be my day to read the Western Front Indivisible (WFI) Action List and develop my “to do” list for the week. For special events, WFI meeting etc, I plan on updating the calendar as I commit to things.

As I start down this process, I plan on creating two main tools for myself that should help me be more effective.  First is a single sheet of paper with all the contact information I think I may need. That includes all my representatives, other high profile legislators, and key people I may be working with.  This will give me more time to call and less time looking things up. The second is a list of resources from WFI or other groups I may belong too. What are the links to the sites and hints on navigation so I don’t have to try to remember every time I enter the site.  

Finally, I plan on keeping a pen and paper handy so when I get an e-mail or think of something I want to tackle I can just jot down the specifics and look through the notes when putting my “to do” list together for the week.  Once it’s documented, I can get it out of my mind!

I am purposely going to try the old fashioned paper approach first although all of this can be done on the computer.  It seems a little more in your face as I try to make this a habit.

So that’s it.  Wish me luck and hopefully you found some of these ideas helpful.