Readiness: Beyond the Checklist - Before The Pressure Hits

You can have the backpack packed, the calendar organized, and the dorm room ready—and still not actually be ready.

In the season 2 opening episode of NET Collective, Vinita Patel and Kay McBrearty go beyond the traditional back-to-school checklist to explore what it really means to be ready for a new school year, college semester, career transition, or season of life.

Vinita introduces four pillars of readiness: physical, executive functioning, emotional, and relational—and explains why preparing for what’s ahead requires more than simply getting organized.

Together, Vinita and Kay explore how to:

• Create physical spaces and systems that reduce unnecessary stress and free up mental bandwidth
• Use executive functioning strategies to plan ahead, manage time, navigate unstructured time, and follow through
• Prepare emotionally for discomfort, setbacks, uncertainty, and the inevitable challenges that come with transitions
• Build confidence through action rather than waiting until you feel completely ready
• Identify mentors, trusted adults, friends, and resources before you need them
• Approach a new school year or semester with greater intention instead of simply reacting once the pressure hits

They also discuss the important role parents can play during transitions—supporting young people without taking over, asking questions instead of immediately fixing, and recognizing that parents are navigating their own transitions too.

Because readiness isn’t a feeling you wait for. It’s a series of intentional decisions you make before life gets busy.

Prepare your space. Prepare your systems. Prepare your mindset. Prepare your people.

That’s readiness beyond the checklist.

Learn more at Netcollective.org

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Transcript

Vinita 0:00

Readiness isn't just a feeling. It's a series of intentional decisions that you can make before life gets busy and overwhelming. If your outside world is chaotic, your inside world is chaotic as well. Prepare your space, prepare your system, prepare your mindset, prepare your people.

Kay 0:18

And it's so liberating. Welcome back to Net Collective Season 2 for those of you who know us, and welcome to anyone joining us for the first time. I'm Kay McBurdy, and it's going to be an amazing season two, filled with relevant topics, fresh takes, useful tools, and insightful guests. It's going to be a meaningful season, and we're ready for you.

Vinita 0:37

Thanks, Kay. It's Vanita Patel here. And yes, welcome to all of our listeners. You know, Kay, when I think about um what season two, the goals for our season two, I'm really excited because I know that we've been a strong resource hub for our net collective community. And I believe that season two is just going to be filled with more impact on a deeper level. So I'm really excited. Awesome. And what about when we reflect back on season one? Yeah, when we reflect back on season one, the word that comes to me is evolving or evolution. Yeah. You know, I feel like season one is different than season two in a good way. Yeah. And season three, and hopefully four and five and six, and and and for as many as we've got the bandwidth to do so will continue to evolve and be a um source of um good information for our community. And and meet the needs of the audience. As those evolve, we will evolve. We will evolve with them. So yes, please keep in touch with us as we continue. So, with that, how was your summer? Let's talk about something super fun.

Kay 1:47

It was awesome. It goes so fast. They seem to go faster and faster. And with two kids in college, their summer jobs and internships, we really focused on making memories in the Midwest. So we actually took the kids to Galena to see where my husband shot his hole in one while we were dating that quote unquote sealed the deal.

Vinita 2:05

That is awesome. And by the way, Galena, one of our favorite restaurants, did you eat there? Fried green tomatoes. Absolutely great tomato. But you do not eat at fried green tomatoes when you go to Galena, Illinois.

Kay 2:16

It's great. That's awesome. That's great. So we took a picture there on the green with the kids. And then the pro there now is even named Kay, which was kind of funny. Um and then because our town is on Lake Michigan, we spent a lot of time at the beach boating and paddleboarding and just catching some great sunsets. And we ended this summer with a fun family wedding up in Madison. And Bucky Badger even joined us on the dance floor. That's hilarious. And I may have picked up a summer cold there. And while we really had a great summer, we still, just to be real, we had um a couple visits to auto-body shops. Everybody's fine. Um, we also had a couple trips to the ER for the seniors. Everybody's fine, but it's life, right? You get the highs and you get the surprises.

Vinita 2:58

That's right. First, I'm I'm glad everybody in your family and in your social circle is okay. And you're right, that's life. And I think you just gave me an episode idea. We are the sandwich generation. We're taking care of our kids, no matter how young or old they are, and then we have some aging parents. So I'm glad to hear that everyone is okay on your end. How about your summer? Our summer was really good. Thanks for asking. We, you know, like you said, you know, we had our highlights were really just being outside. We did take a couple of um really fun road trips um all along the Midwest. Um, and you know, you forget how pretty this part of our country is. It may not be as pretty getting there, but once you're there, you're like, oh, it was worth the ride. It was worth the ride. I don't know that my kids would agree with that, but you know, some of the places we visited were were just really, really gorgeous and we had a great time. And so it was slow. It was a nice, slow summer, got some writing done, um, spent time with friends, gardening. And you're right, I can't believe, I mean, it's only mid-August, but we keep saying summer is over. It's not over, but it just aligns with our school schedules, right? Because kids are going back to school. So, with that said, are you ready to talk about readiness?

Kay 4:14

Let's go. Welcome to Neck Collective, where we navigate everything together from classroom to college to careers and beyond. I'm Kay McBroody, career coach and founder of Waterville Partners. I'm Vanita Patel, school psychologist in private practice. When I think of readiness as we're all getting ready for school, uh some people may have empty or openness coming their way, but all these students who are going back to start a new chapter, I get a pit in my stomach. And it's a combination of excitement and anxiety. And it used to be about myself, and now it's for my kids, right? And so, how do we approach this whole topic of readiness?

Vinita 4:55

I think that there's lots of different ways that one can get ready for this new phase, you know, a new school year, a new semester, away at college, whatever it may be. I like to look at it in terms of four pillars of readiness. Okay. And those four pillars, and I'd like to dive into each one separately, but I'll list them first. Sure. Physical readiness. Um, then there's our executive functioning readiness, and then we have emotional readiness. Also, how do we get our mindsets ready? And then finally, relational readiness.

Kay 5:33

Well, and when I we were prepping for this episode, I thought of readiness in two pieces, sort of the inside and the outside. And those blend in really nicely with your four pillars.

Vinita 5:43

Yeah, I'd say when you say it like that, yes, I agree. And you know, from episodes from season one, we like to work from the outside in, because if your outside world is chaotic, your inside world is chaotic as well. So why don't we start with physical readiness, since that's what I mean about the our external world. Sound good? Yep. Yeah. So when you think of physical readiness, okay, or when I say that, what comes to mind?

Kay 6:11

The spaces. Yeah. Like being, you know, having the spaces where you're gonna get things and do things. And are they cluttered or decluttered? Yeah.

Vinita 6:21

And that makes a big difference because if our brains are cluttered, or if our, as you say, if our physical space is cluttered, like our workspace, or even things like our inbox, our email inbox, or our briefcase, our backpacks, if there's no organization to it, then we're gonna feel cluttered on the inside. Then we're spending too much time trying to find something like our keys or our cell phone or our charger, et cetera, or that one email that was really important from the financial aid office, you know? And so if you don't have kind of like a more focused or organized approach to your physical spaces, you're gonna have less mental capacity to do things like learn or think or be creative, right? And so that's why I always like to start with physical readiness. And by the way, readiness isn't just about what we can see. These are all things that we can see, right? Like we can see our backpack, we can see a cluttered, you know, uh desk, we can see a bedroom that's in disarray, right? Or a dorm room where there's like 10 juice boxes and Cheetos wrappers and all of that. So it's important to have all of that organized. And those are the things we see. And I like to start with that, but we're gonna get into some of the deeper ways of being ready as well. Okay. Um, and I like the term brain dump when we talked about that last season. Do you remember that term?

Kay 7:45

I do, I do, and I love that because it's sort of by being able to clear your brain, so to speak, and put it all in one place, then you can organize it. That's right.

Vinita 7:55

You wanna dump what's in your brain onto any type of a physical or external source such that you can free up your brain to do the deeper things, right? Right. Go ahead and come up with a system to, you know, color-coded system. Write important things down like your appointments, um, your schedule. You know, create a home for useful things that you know you're going to need every day, like your charger, your calculator, your ID, your headphones, your keys, your water bottle. You know, think things that were you're not spending a lot of time looking for them. Organize your computer desktop into, you know, specific files or folders or emails and, you know, clear out your download folder. I've got so many things that I've downloaded just even this summer that I know I need to go and clear out so that I can make space for the new stuff that's coming this semester.

Kay 8:52

It's funny. I actually spent, I did spend some time this summer cleaning both physical files and my electronic files. Oh, isn't that great? And it's so liberating. It is. It's freeing, right?

Vinita 9:03

You brain dumped. So you brain dumped. You brain dumped. Right, right, right. Um, and then you know, I know a lot of this stuff is in a perfect world. So I understand if you can't do it all. But you know, things like um developing a consistent morning and evening routine. Now I get it, especially if you're in college, you're gonna have a different morning on when Monday, Wednesday, Fridays than you do on Tuesday, Thursdays. We get that. But the routine can still be the same. You get up, you brush your teeth, you have breakfast, you go for a run, you check in with mom and dad with a thumbs up text that you're awake or something like that. You know, come up with a consistent routine so that you're not spending the time thinking about, oh, what's next? What's next? What's next? You already know what's next on the days where the stakes are high in terms of learning and receiving information within your classes.

Kay 9:56

And it's interesting because you talk about routines at the beginning and the end of the day, and most people think that their day starts in the morning. And I've heard it explained that it actually starts the night before. Oh, yeah, with when you go to sleep and what your routine is there, and are you getting quality sleep? And so I would suggest, based on what I've learned and heard from experts, that sleep and having that figured out in terms of your routine is critical.

Vinita 10:25

Yeah. That I love that you said that about sleep because, and I love how you framed it, that it starts the night before, even from picking out your clothes the next day, or what am I gonna do when I get to the gym in the morning? Because sometimes I'll go to the gym and walk around and be like, hmm, I should have thought about is it, is it upper body day, is it app day, whatever, you know? So if you can make those decisions the evening before, so that your next day you're waking up with the proper amount of sleep, you're ready to tackle on the day. Okay, great. And why all of this matters? It's because every minute you're um needing to make decisions is a minute taken away from things that could have been decided the night before or that morning, right? Um, and every minute spent looking for something is attention taken away from learning or something else that you need to do. Um, and organization, as we know, reduces unnecessary stress before the day begins. Okay? Perfect. So, any questions about pillar one, which was the physical readiness? Sounds good. Okay. Pillar two, executive functioning readiness. Now, organization, we know is part of that, but I feel like it deserves its organization deserves its own limb because there are so many areas where we need to be organized. And so when I talk about pillar two being executive functioning or cognitive readiness, I'm talking about the skills that we may not see. Next week, you're going to really unpack college readiness. But if I can, I want to talk a little bit about the college piece, is knowing where your resources are before you arrive is a really good idea. And by that I mean know where the academic resource mental health center is, or the health center, or the tutoring center. Knowing that and planning ahead. This is part of our executive functioning skills, planning ahead for the pitfalls and for the things that can go wrong or that you're going to need before you actually need them is part of pillar two of readiness.

Kay 12:32

And even for parents to know ahead of time before their kiddo starts at a new school. Could it be a grade school, a high school, a college, but knowing what resources there are for parents and knowing what resources are available for their children within that school system or within that building or beyond. You know, maybe it's through your own healthcare providers or other things. But just understanding what resources are out there, I think, for people before you actually need them and leaning into parents who have already parented ahead of you. Oh, yeah. That's a resource. Finding out who's done. I mean, there is I've got one friend who's got four kids and her caboose overlaps with my caboose, but she I call her when I need something. I'm like, okay, I need a tutor for this. What can I do? Like being able to lean into what other people have already done, in my opinion, no sense reinventing the wheel. Like there's people who already know some of these resources. Ask them. And ask before you need them, hopefully.

Vinita 13:30

Right. And and and that's that's all very important is knowing your resources and tapping into it. Don't be shy, take the risks and ask the questions that you need. Self-advocacy is definitely part of our executive functioning skills. In addition to that, create systems that make success easier to execute. Okay. A system even for things like waking up on your own. You know, I don't know what it's like, you know, when your kids were still at home, but you know, I know some kids still need to be woken up by their parents. You know, so, so when you get to college, you're gonna have to find a way to wake up on your own, right? You're gonna have to find a way to plan things out or to deal with unstructured time. If you think about it, when you're in high school and junior high, most of the time that you're in those buildings, every minute counts. It's already been accounted for for you. Even if you don't physically have a class, you're still in study hall, you're going to the library or you're meeting a club, whatever. When you're in college, there's a lot of unstructured time. So think about what you're gonna do with the two and a half or three hours in between your classes. Do you go back to your dorm room? Do you have lunch? Do you go to the library? Do you come up with a study group? Do you get into gaming and then, you know, you're so into that black hole? I mean, so so these are things that you wanna think about. And then you also want to pull from the study skills that really benefited you the years past. What is your study skill? What is your study plan going to be when you have a test coming up? You know, how are you gonna choose your time wisely such that you're studying, going to see your professors, you know, so you're gonna plan ahead for all of these things. So that's the executive functioning piece, making sure that you're planning, you're breaking things down, you are using your time wisely, using the resources and advocating for yourself.

Kay 15:29

Absolutely. And it's interesting because I think in this readiness piece, um, you talked a little bit about it from an organization standpoint, but really setting some clear goals and doing that upfront before you getting ready for this next season, wherever you are, whether it's in grade school, high school, college, or beyond. But what is it that you want to get out of this time? You know, and being clear about the goals. And you'll hear um, like Stephen Covey talks about uh beginning with the end in mind. So think about where what you want and then how to get there. You'll hear people talking about SMART goals, um, you know, SMART being something that's specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. And there's a lot of different strategies that I've seen people employ with the goal setting. And we'll get into some of this, particularly focused on the college piece when we talk about this whoop, you know, method next week. But I think beginning with the end in mind is gonna be critical for people as they're getting ready and then breaking it down into steps, just like you were talking about.

Vinita 16:33

Right. And and then just one one last thing I want to say about pillar two in terms of executive functioning. We know that our EF skills are about managing your brain and not relying on it to remember everything. That's why these systems and getting things out on a planner and breaking things up is really, really important. And these systems that you're using, whether it's for time management and if you go back and listen to some of our episodes from season one, um, they reduce the need to constantly remember. Remember, successful students don't necessarily have better memories, they just have better systems. Okay. Absolutely. And let's jump now into Kay, what you already were alluding to, is the emotional readiness and the mindset readiness. So preparing our mindset before challenges arrive. And like you said, seeing the end goal is really important in that piece. And so let's take a step back. When our kids are in elementary school, middle school, even junior high, you know, school happens to them. They're kind of being told this is what these are the classes you need to take. This is what your schedule looks like. But when you get into the upper grades, high school and of course college, you have more agency over your schedule. The classes you take, you have more agency over electives, the clubs you're taking. Um, you may discover new things. So there's a shift to I am more in control of my system. Take advantage of that with intention. Okay. So that gets into what you were saying about setting goals and setting intentions. It's not just about the outcome, it's about setting the intentions. So think about school years in the past and remember what worked, what didn't work, but reflect, reflect on that.

Kay 18:26

Any thoughts? Well, it's interesting because when I think about the emotional piece and getting ready, I also think of frustration. I think that a lot of um students will get tripped up if they hit a roadblock. And so how do they plan ahead for anticipating that? And so I know I've seen a couple different things where um when in the moment when they're frustrated or they've missed one of their goals or they've missed one of the small bite-sized pieces to help them get to the ultimate goal to do the the five, four, three, two, one, where they, you know, look at, you know, five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two that you can smell, and one that you can taste, just to kind of reset the brain and then revisit and refocus on what it is you need to do, right? I love that five, four, three, two, one.

Vinita 19:17

Can you can you talk a little bit more about that and give examples?

Kay 19:20

Yeah. So I mean, I've seen that um I've been paying attention, my reels, my feeds, you know, if I'm gonna be on social media, I want it to be something that I'm learning. And so that there were there were two different that was one. So if you to reset your nervous system, if you stop in the moment and and look around and see five things that you can actually see, four things that you can touch, three things that you can hear, two that you can smell, and one that you can taste, it will it it distracts your brain from the the crisis or the peat. And now keep in mind, I'm not a clinical psychologist, but um, but that will, and you do that and say it out loud or say it in your mind, emotions tend to last 90 seconds. So if you are doing that thoughtfully and intentionally and slowly, you will sort of reset your system a bit. And then you can take a fresh look at what it is that you were frustrated about and proceed.

Vinita 20:16

That's really cool. So we talk a lot about how our nervous system is always seeking or avoiding, I'm sorry, avoiding threats and seeking safety. And so this framework, this 54321, is a way to deal with that and also stay present for that. Is that is that a goal? I like that.

Kay 20:37

Okay, cool. Okay. The other little one that I've that's on my feed is um to make two fists and put your press your tongue on your roof and inhale slowly for four. So your body is tight, right? You're focused on the tightness. And then exhale for six seconds, release your fists and release your tongue. And if you do that a couple of times intentionally, again, you're sort of rewiring, resetting, distracting perhaps from the original threat that you were feeling, the anxiety, and then you revisit. So some people, you know, different tips and tricks. Like neither of those may land for some of our audience, but maybe one of those does. So, but I think that emotionally, like thinking of ways to, you're gonna have obstacles, you're gonna have whoopses, you're gonna have moments where you're not um performing the way you intended. So, how are you gonna deal with that disappointment? Are you gonna wallow in it? Yeah, visit Pity City, as I say, or are you gonna pass through? Do you know what I mean? Like, so that from an emotional standpoint.

Vinita 21:36

Well, and I think we need to expect discomfort to happen during transitions. That's unavoidable, right? Right. Um because if it doesn't, then uh, you know, I I'm not sure. I'm not sure that that's ever existed. I mean, it's not life. It's it's it's you know, but yeah, so I think that expect discomfort during transition, but it doesn't mean That it's going to last forever. It doesn't mean that you're failing. It just means that you're experiencing something new. And then you can employ some of those tips and tricks that you just that you just talked about. Okay. And then also I think practicing self-compassion after you make a quote unquote mistake. And that could be as simple as, oh, I said something silly during, you know, class, or I wish I would have, you know, talked more when I was at this, you know, fraternity party or whatever it is, you know. So just just know that if you're feeling that, everyone around you is probably feeling that too, that that weight of, you know, and if that in that moment at some point everybody has felt yeah. I could have, woulda, should have. Yeah. But in, yeah. And in a couple of weeks, we're going to be dropping an episode on self-confidence, right? And so this is one thing I will say about, and that's a really good episode. Um, we have a self-confidence expert that will be joining us. But remember, and and the reason I'm bringing the self-confidence piece up right now is because we're talking about being compassionate with yourself when you feel like you've made a perceived mistake and also risk taking. But remember that confidence often follows the action, not the other way around, meaning that you don't need to be confident to take that first step. Sometimes the first step is what begins to build the confidence. So take that risk. It's okay. Otherwise, there could be some really cool missed opportunities.

Kay 23:31

Absolutely. Same with motivation, right? You need to take action. Do the thing.

Vinita 23:36

And then the energy will follow. Do the thing. So if we get started. Right. So if we could wrap up this pillar three about emotional readiness and getting your mindset ready, set the intentions, not just the outcomes. Focus on behaviors you can control. Expect discomfort and use the strategies that we will reiterate in our show notes. Practice the self-compassion and know that sometimes the confidence may be a couple steps behind, but the action is something that you can control right now. So go ahead and take the risks. And all of this matters because you want to, you want to really ask yourself, who do I want to become this semester or this school year? As a student, as a test taker, as a planner, as a friend, as a social being? Maybe you want to be more social. Maybe you want to be less social because it got in the way of your academics, you know? Um, ask yourself, how do I want to handle stress this semester or this school year? What habit would make the biggest difference? And what got in the way in the past that I want to get ahead of this year? And also, you know, the thing is, is I we talk a lot about identity as well at Net Collective. I'm gonna challenge you guys to reframe yourself. Instead of saying, I'm so bad at this, I'm so bad at math, I'm such a bad writer. Instead, change that monologue in your head to math is just hard for me right now. So I'm gonna go get the resources I need to.

Kay 25:07

Or I'm learning this right now.

Vinita 25:09

Isn't that cool? I'm learning a new skill. I'm learning it. Okay. I know I don't want to be a mathematician, but I got to get through this and I'm gonna get through it with as much grace and help that I know I need. Done. Perfect. Okay. All right. And then the fourth pillar, we're moving right along here, aren't we? The fourth pillar is uh relational readiness. And I love this one because this is about obviously using the resources around you. It's about finding a mentor, it's about connecting with people. So things like introduce yourself to your teachers or your professor early, learn their office hours before you need them, know how to contact your instructors or your TAs. Identify one trusted adult at the school, whether it's a coach, whether it is an RA if you're in college, whether it's a um your counselor or a former teacher. Explore new clubs and activities during the first week or two. Explore them, build new friendships intentionally. This doesn't mean waiting passively for someone to talk to you or making, you know, like the relationships just, you know, waiting around for them to happen, especially during a transition when everyone may feel uncertain. Everyone's feeling uncertain, right? So go ahead and be intentional with your friendships. Um, learn where the tutoring, counseling, disability services are, or academic support, and ask for the help before you're overwhelmed.

Kay 26:41

I mean, I think that success in school, work, life, it comes down to having this team around you. And as you said, intentionally choosing to spend time with people who are helpful, who are bringing out the best in you. And I've heard it said that in any phase, whether it's high school, college, beyond, a new job, if you have one mentor and at least one or two, but at least one good friend, coworker, colleague that has your back that you can be vulnerable and authentic with. If you have that one person plus a mentor, um, you're gonna whatever phase you're in, you will find success.

Vinita 27:23

I agree with that. I think mentorship is so underrated, and I feel like that should be an embedded resource that every student has. You know, now I know that we really think about independence, and independence is really important, that it's up to the student to go find that. And for some it's easy, and for some it's really not. Right. You know, so that's a conversation that I have with all of my students before the school year starts or that first week is who are who's one or two people in your orbit that you can trust for an emotional issue and an academic issue you can go talk to. In addition to me, of course.

Kay 28:03

Right, right, right. Right, absolutely. Absolutely. No, I think that's that's great advice.

Vinita 28:08

Yeah, yeah. So, um, and why this matters is that I I've seen students often wait until they're struggling before reaching out. And again, the theme for this year is how can we be most impactful, but also how can we be proactive instead of reactive. Yep, right. Um, and strong relationships also increase confidence, accountability, and resilience. That is research based. That's just not me and Kay talking. That is research out there. And your support system is part of your success plan. Okay. So again, you know, readiness isn't just a feeling, it's a series of intentional decisions that you can make before life gets busy and overwhelming. So prepare your space, prepare your systems, prepare your mindset, and prepare your people. To me, that's what uh a comprehensive uh, you know, when we talk about readiness, that's what it looks like is readiness in those four pillars physical, executive functioning readiness, emotional readiness, and relational readiness.

Kay 29:13

And I think it's really important that parents, as they're helping their young adults get through these transition points, recognize and have some compassion for themselves as they're going through transitions as well. And they want to support their children and sort of ask questions maybe instead of trying to fix everything for them, maybe lead them, um, offer other resources, you know, validate some of their feelings and nervousness that they're having and, you know, helping them with their plans. But it's got to be a mutual process. You can't go and say, here's your plan. I mean, they need to create the plan, but you can be part of the conversation maybe and find ways. And then the other thing is with a lot of people, their nests are changing. So it could be that their last ones now in full-time school or in high school or in college. And so their nest might be, I don't use the term um empty nest. I say open nest because they often come back. Yeah. Um, but as your nest is changing, how do you, how do you adapt with that? And how do you give yourself some grace and space and compassion and make sure that you're taking care of yourself while you're taking care of your young people that are also transitioning? So I think that's really important. And correct me if I'm wrong, I think you're saying this because you you're on the other end of it.

Vinita 30:33

Yeah. You've had to deal with that because both of your kids are out of the house. Well, off at college. Yeah.

Kay 30:39

They're off at college. So you know how they're coming back. But how, you know, what's your new normal? Yeah. Right. At every phase and stage, there's a new normal. Yeah.

Vinita 30:47

So figuring that out. And since you're talking about parents, one thing that I think is also important to say, and I think this would fall in between executive functioning readiness and emotional readiness is have the conversation with your children before they go off to college about finances. How much are are we going to allow you to spend on our time every week? When should you do laundry? You know, what's a good rule for that? Or how often things like should you be changing your sheets or, you know, ordering groceries or, you know, and there are some great checklists out there.

Kay 31:23

I mean, the grown and flown is one resource that's out there. Um, they've got a great website. They've got tons of checklists for, you know, send-off for college, for high school, just getting ready to for the for those types of things. And I think maybe what's different about this podcast versus some of the lists that you might find out there is again, some of the science around it, but also how all of these pieces fit together.

Vinita 31:47

And I know that some of the colleges also have apps with with, you know, kids can just open up their app and then be like, oh, this is this is the resource I'm looking for at this moment. This is where I can go and get, you know, I've got a cold, I need to get like a flu test or a COVID test or whatever it is. You know, this is where I can go. So, bottom line, look at the resources around you, get those in order, prepare your space, prepare your system, prepare your mindset, prepare your people. That's what readiness looks like. Ready, set, go. Go get ready, everybody.

Kay 32:21

If today's conversation resonated with you, please share this episode with anyone who may need it. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on socials so you won't miss what's next.

Vinita 32:31

We are Net Collective, navigating everything together, one conversation at a time. Visit Netcollective.org for additional resources. Thanks for listening.