While sitting at home during the early months of the pandemic, Dawn Dawson-House started thinking.
Dawn was working in a job she loved as the Director of Corporate Communications at the South Carolina Parks & Recreation Tourism (SCPRT) department. But, Dawn’s schedule was turned upside down. No more lunches with her boss or coffee meetings with colleagues.
So she found herself doing a lot of self-reflection and considering a deeper meaning in her life.
It was during these moments that Dawn began planning a change. She had spent her entire career (31 years) at SCPRT. Now, she knew it was time for something different.
Inspired by her new outlook on time and the cry for social justice by thousands across the country, Dawn embarked on a new path.
A Career Built on Service
Dawn’s entire career has focused on helping the state of South Carolina. She promoted the state’s parks system and tourism attractions all over the world. Her goal was to get people here so they couldn’t experience what the Palmetto State offers.
Despite being in a job she loved, Dawn felt like she could do more.
The pandemic created a restlessness in Dawn. Like there was a different way for her to contribute. And during those long months at home, she spent time reading and researching African Americans and how they’ve shaped South Carolina history.
The pandemic changed things for Dawn. She started seeing her skill set through a different lens.
Dawn was involved with the South Carolina African American History Foundation, which rebranded as the WeGOJA Foundation.
It was around August 2020 when she put plans into motion to lead WeGOJA as the Executive Director.
“I felt like my talents could be put towards this effort [WeGOJA] better than PRT,” said Dawson-House.
So Dawn left the job she spent her entire career doing. The one that had “raised her” so she could pursue work that will elevate African American history.
“The pandemic pushed me into a different mindset of worth and time and contribution before I die.”
Dawn developed a passion for historic preservation early in life. Growing up in Beaufort, she was taught about the rich African American history in the area.
When she started her professional career, Dawn served on the African American Heritage Commission. She knew that more work must be done to highlight the role of African Americans in South Carolina’s history. She wanted to lift the stories of African Americans and help people today have richer conversations and experiences about history.
“My passion now is historic preservation because I do believe it’s the first step towards social justice.”
How the Pandemic Changed Dawn’s Mindset
Coupled with Dawn’s passion, the shift to remote work sparked her life change.
Instead of spending two hours commuting every day, she connected with family, contributed to her community, and thought about ways to utilize her talents.
It wasn’t easy for her to make the change.
After a long career with SCPRT, she was nervous about doing something completely different.
“I was too afraid to tell my boss that I was going to retire,” said Dawson-House.
The social justice marches and outcry, sparked by the murder of George Floyd, also made an impression on Dawn and created a desire to do more.
“I was so inspired by the multitude of people who go out in the streets and stood up for victims of police brutality.”
Living Life to Make a Difference
In December 2020, Dawn retired from Parks & Recreation Tourism. Now, she spends her days leveraging WeGOJA’s resources. She works on moving projects forward, fundraising, and making sure operations run smoothly.
Dawn feels like she’s exactly where she’s supposed to be, and in her words, “it’s fun as hell!”
She has a vision for WeGOJA over the next decade. She wants to grow the endowment so they can hire staff and take on even more projects. She’s hoping to get industries involved.
And ultimately, she wants to educate people on African American history, so they become advocates. And then those advocates become champions for the cause.
Dawn wants people to have enthusiasm for historic preservation and see how it connects to their present lives. She wants people to ask hard questions so they can learn.
“When I look back, I want to say I made a difference, and we’re a better state because of it.”
Since Dawn has taken on her role as Executive Director, WeGOJA has a brand new board. She’s found talented people to help amplify her efforts.
Dawn re-shifted her focus. She’s pursuing her passion and redefining the why behind her work. So her hustle hasn’t stopped.
In fact, if you ask Dawn, she’ll tell you she’s just getting started. You can learn more about WeGOJA by visiting their website.
By popular vote, our September Slack Session topic focused on how to manage your to-do list to rule the day instead of the day ruling you.
It may seem simple enough, but there’s more to getting stuff done than writing it down on a list or tracking it in an app. We’re bombarded with districations, work fires, and a ton of other things that can get in the way of our most productive work.
First to-do: post a Gif ✅
We kicked off the conversation by asking everyone to post how they manage their days with a gif.
And we weren’t disappointed:
The Chaos is Controlled
Despite the mountain of work and endless lists of tasks, we heard great insight into managing the many distractions that can derail us every day.
Some were simple but can have a significant impact, like listening to music so you can focus or tuning out social media by turning off notifications.
Make Your Tasks Flexible
And so much of our daily work is about our mentality. So remembering to be flexible and move items that aren’t “must-have” to another date is okay. It helps us focus on what’s important and not work to cross things off a list.
And if you have a team of folks supporting you, don’t be afraid to delegate and utilize their talents.
Find Your Productivity Sweet Spot
One of the most important things you can do is find your most productive time of the day. Then, whenever that time is, structure your most crucial tasks during that window of time. Save the items that don’t need as much focus for when you’re not as sharp, like 3:00 PM, and the only thing keeping your head off your desk is a cup of coffee.
Small Steps Each Day Lead to Big Accomplishments
Managing daily tasks can feel like a constant slog. Like you’re just checking off boxes without actually accomplishing. But that’s not true. We have to avoid the “gap” and celebrate small wins each week.
Conquering Fears
Everyone is busy, so there’s the ever-present fear that you missed something and that can creep into your life. It’s something we all have to manage and develop a system to prevent.
Keep Work Manageable
Planning and working on projects in small steps will help you avoid the stress that comes with a looming deadline.
Change Starts Today
We asked our folks what they would do today to manage their workday and to-do list instead of it controlling them.
You’re in the Right Place
If this conversation has you nodding along and saying, “heck yeah, this is great,” you’re in the right place! If you’re already a SOCO member, you can join us each month for #Slack_Sessions
If you’re not a member but you want to be part of a community that supports you and talks about things that matter to your work, book a tour right here.
Bacarri Byrd is an independent researcher, a coffee connoisseur, and avid reader. We think she’s awesome. She’s doing amazing work on African-American history. Now, we’ll let Bacarri tell you a little more about herself!
Let’s talk about what you do for work
Due to my cool sense of curiosity, I have a great opportunity to research on a variety of topics including but not limited to: language, culture, and digital spaces.
Okay, what are you passionate about? What brings a smile to your face?
My passion is tapping into the unknown so that the world can be a far better place. I absolutely love reading books around history, tech and rhetorical theory!
In my spare time, I can be seen grabbing a cup of coffee at Big Bucks (Starbucks).
Give us your best piece of money advice
One personal finance tip I would give is to invest early and it’s never too early to SAVE. As a sole proprietor it is so important to save money for rainy days.
Having a cushion to fall on in times of uncertainty is so beneficial to your business.
Tell us about the biggest challenge of your journey
Being disciplined. With the new freedom of remote-work, you can easily fall into the trap of finishing at a later time. Full stop. Always finish when you can and do not wait until later!
Now tell us about the best part of your journey!
Flexibility & having full control of how I spend my time.
How Has SOCO Supported You?
SOCO has provided me with a space and community of professionals who are all passionate in their work. Through my membership, I have a place I can come to in the late night hours to refrain from keeping my family up.
More importantly, I have engaged in several meaningful conversations that have opened my eyes to various possibilities. Thank you, SOCO!
The whole “rise and grind,” “never stop working,” “hustle” mentality isn’t healthy for anyone. But we hear it on Instagram, we see it on LinkedIn, and on those inspirational posters you put in your home office. At the end of the day, it’s not sustainable. All that talk about work doesn’t get to the thing that’s really driving you. Without going full Simon Sinek, we want to address what really gets you out of bed and at the keyboard everyday: your why.
Why do you wake up and bust your ass every single day?
It’s not for the sake of hustle or to land on Inc.com’s latest list. It’s for your family, for your kids, for the sake of having a life that’s not built around your job.
We’re going to get off the hustle soapbox for a few sentences (don’t worry, it’ll all come back around).
The last 18 months at SOCO have been tough, to put it mildly. Like a lot of you, it rocked us to our very core. It was an emotional roller coaster and there were days we didn’t know if we’d even make it. It challenged who we are.
At the best of times we were white knuckling this pandemic ride. We saw members lose gigs, income, and clients. We went through some of those awful moments ourselves. And it sucked.
However, in the midst of all this chaos, we rediscovered our own purpose. We’re here to support the “why” of each and every member in this community.
We remembered that SOCO’s purpose is to inspire people and give them an opportunity to build connections and access resources to pursue work that matters to them.
And we’re more fired up about this than ever.
In a strange way, we’re thankful for the hardships of the past year. It helped us remember why we’re here. Why this community matters.
And truthfully, we probably wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for folks who believed in us during the darkest moments of the pandemic.
So in the spirt of anti-hustle culture and discovering the “why” of SOCO, we’re creating a new series called “Why We Hustle.” It’ll features the stories of our members and what drives them everyday. We’ll discuss their passions and how they’ve overcome adversity to do work they love (hint: it’s not for the glory of hustle culture). And hopefully you’ll walk away feeling inspired and motivated about your own “hustle.”
Strap yourself in. It’s going to be a fun ride. You can read each story right here on our blog.
Hannah is another one of our new team members. She’ll working as our ops support manager. You’ll see her out and about at 80808 and Bull Street. We know Hannah is going to make this place run like a well oiled machine so you’ll have an even better experience. We’ll let Hannah take over and tell you about how cool she is.
Who Do You Work For?
I am the Operations Support Manager for SOCO.
Tell Us About What You Do. Brag a Little (50 words or less)
From administration to facilities, I keep the wheels in motion. My job is to identify problems and find solutions that streamline our operations, so we can be our best and most consistent for our members!
What Are Your Passions? What Do You Love Doing? Business or Personal.
I am really passionate about spending quality time with the people I love. I also love time spent outdoors, especially if there’s music involved!
What is one wealth building, debt elimination, or personal finance tip that you would share with the community?
STICK TO YOUR BUDGET!
What’s Been The Hardest Part of Your Journey?
The hardest part of my journey has probably been fighting burn out from retail operations, and actively trying to make a path into a work-life balance I love.
What’s Been The Most Rewarding Part of Your Journey?
The most rewarding thing for me is seeing my efforts make a difference. In terms of my journey, it would be achieving the work-life balance I was striving for by leaving my 60 hour work-weeks behind.
How Has SOCO Supported You On This Journey?
SOCO has given me the opportunity to work with an amazing team that is extremely driven, but by a love of people and community!
