During the pandemic, with the future uncertain and our staff reduced by almost half, we needed to set aside many of the projects and activities we had been engaged in so we could deliver what was most important. Every week, and often every day, we would discuss what we were working on, what ideas we had, and projects we could tackle, and every one of them was measured against one question – is this essential for our members to survive? Things that were interesting, nice to have, or represented bells and whistles were immediately rejected as we concentrated on what was essential. 

As we got our pandemic footing, we began to talk about doing fewer, better things. I even wrote a blog about the concept. As I explained, “To some extent, that is what we have all been trying to do this year (2020) with fewer staff and fewer resources and fewer visitors but a new and important role within our community. It has all been overwhelming at times. And when you are overwhelmed -- with all expectations and responsibilities placed on you -- the most important thing is to stop and try to get some clarity. We needed to figure out what matters most, what was essential to do, what was the help our community needed, so we could do those fewer, better things. And to a great extent we did.”