A Guide to Personal Contingency Planning During COVID-19 -

Many of us are craving a greater sense of control right now, and having a solid contingency plan is the most useful tool we have in our arsenal.

Countless people in our community may feel they’re in limbo—from school closures, uncertain housing or employment. As challenging as it is right now, we believe now more than ever that thinking and acting like an innovator leads to personal empowerment. No matter where you are on the spectrum of current COVID-19 impact, we’d like to share tools so you can create a personal contingency plan, focused on what you can control right now.

Depending on what approach works best for you, you may opt to digest these sections all at once, go to the section you’re most interested in now, or revisit over the course of several days.

Please note: this collection of resources has not been formally or legally vetted by Galileo. Always do your due diligence in reviewing, referencing and utilizing anything found online.

PART 1: GETTING GROUNDED & MINDSET

Process existing thoughts and emotions.

As our friend Mimi Gordon (former Galilean extraordinaire) says in a recent blog post, all feelings are normal. It’s okay if you aren’t ready to get to solutions quite yet. If helpful, make space to process what you are thinking and feeling, and do one or more of the following:

Reach out to a trusted friend to vent or process. Pro-tip: be sure to ask for what you need from them upfront (either just someone to listen or a real-time brainstorm partner) and how much time they have.
Consider journaling using a resource like this, or a quick daily practice.
Acknowledge and process stress from a different perspective.
If helpful, consider what counseling services might be available to you (either through current insurance, or here).

Create a grounding statement.

When ready, develop a mantra or slogan for the mindset you want to have during this time, and post it somewhere you can see it often. It should bring you a sense of peace. Here are a few examples:

“I’m safe.”
“I’ll be stronger when this is over.”
“I’m doing what I can.”
“Health and wellness first. Almost all else is replaceable.”
“There is so much I’m grateful for…”

PART 2: FINANCIAL PLANNING

Get a current snapshot.

Have a clear picture of where you are now, and where you might be able to save (like interest rates, or non-essential spending). This article might help, and here’s a comprehensive guide depending on your unique situation. Mint also has some great resources for financial planning during this time.

Housing.

For most of us, housing is our largest expense. Know what’s available to you (as of post date):

Renter’s rights and support during COVID-19 (note that renter’s relief varies by state/city)
Mortgage support during COVID-19

Contingency planning.

Understand what it would mean for your finances in the next 3-6 months if one of the following things were to happen:

Voluntary or involuntary furlough
Reduction of hours
Permanent layoff

Employee rights.

If you’re currently employed, understand what resources are currently available should your employment status change.

PART 3: PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE & LOOKING AHEAD

Where do you want [your career] to go?

Start with the end in mind, and take time to draft a personal mission or brand statement, then use that to consider what your short and long term career goals.

Where have you been?

Get your professional presentation on point by:

If able, download, save, and review all your past annual employee evaluations
Using that information, update your resume
Using your new resume, brush up your LinkedIn profile

Take inventory of your existing network.

Pinpoint the three strongest professional references you have; reach out to them now to provide a recommendation for you on LinkedIn (and while you’re at it, why not pay it forward and provide a recommendation to someone you know without them asking?).

Stay informed.

In the event you find yourself in a position where you are looking for a new role, create job searches on both LinkedIn and Indeed so you get email alerts when your top job matches are posted (you can even include salary requirement settings).

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