December 2021

Insights from Steve Pacheco

President & CEO, American Advertising Federation

Recharge Yourself at Least as Often as You Recharge Your Phone 

How often do you recharge your phone?

Do you get concerned when your phone battery goes below 10%?

What’s more important to you—your life or your phone?

This is not a rant about technology, or phones. I both love and loath technology (highly dependent on if it’s working or not. And I carry two phones at all times. I’m very seldom more than 3 feet away from a phone charger—and I get really nervous when my battery goes to less than 70%. I know.

I just wanted to take this time and space and posit that we all need a real break from all of this…To state the glaringly obvious…this has been a pretty rough year. (I resisted the urge to bring in “Captain Obvious” here.)

And the Holidays seem like a perfectly good time to just stop everything and seriously reflect on our own personal well-being, our own mental health and consider “recharging” ourselves.

Just like a cranky computer – maybe we need to shut down and reboot.

I propose that we all shut it all down for a few days. Stop scrolling and swiping.

Call it the “Great Unplugging” if you want. 

A friend of mine calls it a “Digital Detox” and that sounds pretty good to me.

Whatever you call it—just spend time on yourself and your needs and less time hovered over that small screen. Look up and around instead and see what you can see. There’s a lot of really cool stuff happening all around you IRL.
Here’s what we are doing to recharge…

The AAF Staff will be out of the office the week between Christmas and New Year’s so that they can each spend time with friends and family and to get to have a meaningful break from all the urgency and high demands of our intense around the clock work. 

Many AAF Members don’t realize that the full time AAF Staff numbers 14 people total. 14. How we do all that we do with just over a dozen people constantly amazes me. It’s a testament to their professionalism and resourcefulness and their dedication to making the AAF better for our Clubs and Chapters, our Members, our Students, our Sponsors, and our Supporters.

I urge you to take some down time this Holiday season and unplug, relax, and recharge. You will be better for it, and your family and friends will appreciate it to. And then let’s all power back up and start the New Year with energy, enthusiasm, and a greater sense of what can be!