Short Answer Yes, communicators can take a vacation without everything falling apart. The key is creating a coverage plan, preparing your workload in advance, planning your return to work, and setting clear boundaries before you leave. Most vacation stress comes from a lack of preparation, not from taking time off itself. What’s Different in the […]

One of the most common phrases in communications is “control the narrative.” But in today’s information environment, control is unrealistic. Information moves too quickly. Multiple voices shape public perception in real time, and audiences are constantly consuming updates from media, social platforms, and community conversations all at once. The organizations that communicate most effectively are […]

In December 2025, Washington State experienced historic, record-breaking flooding after an atmospheric river hit the area. (Yes, that’s a real thing and no, it’s not the first time we Washingtonians have been hit with it.) Many parts of the state were washed out, evacuated and/or will require long-term recovery efforts. In this article, I’m breaking […]

You’ve probably seen people using ChatGPT to write news releases, captions and content calendars in seconds. And if you’re anything like me, you have a love-hate relationship with it because you want to have all of these brilliant words flowing out of you with ease. But if you’ve ever tried it yourself, you might’ve thought, […]

Every communicator starts the year with good intentions and I’ve said these words myself, “this is the year we’ll finally plan ahead.“ But between breaking news, leadership requests and trying to keep social media consistent, strategy can feel like a luxury you don’t have time for. The good news? You don’t need weeks of planning […]

We’ve all been there. We’ve built out a content calendar amidst 30 other nagging tasks and called it a day. Then we mope in our half-empty latte as to why our content isn’t converting, whether it’s platform growth, brand awareness or something bigger (like voting). That’s because we’re looking at communications all wrong if this […]

Every communicator knows planning matters, but most don’t have time to do it. Between daily requests, leadership updates and putting out literal or figurative fires, it’s easy to stay stuck in reaction mode. That’s why I built the 3-Hour Framework, a simple, focused process that helps you create your entire annual communications roadmap without weeks […]

We’ve heard it time and time again: you need to engage on social media. But who has time for that? By the end of this post, you will, because I’ll teach you my 15-minute strategy that will help you to increase your engagement and get more eyes on your own social media accounts. What does […]

Starting from scratch on social media can be difficult. In order to grow your account(s), it takes time, dedication and a lot of patience. I have been managing social media platforms since 2009 and I’ve launched many accounts in that time – for agencies, small business and personal brands – and let me tell you, […]

“Go touch grass.” It was like he was speaking directly to me, even though we were in a room of hundreds of people. At a recent social media conference, the keynote speaker reminded us of the importance of taking care of ourselves. As his speech went on, it was refreshing to hear him saying all […]