Preamble to the Protocol

Why are we doing all this? This seems all to be a bit “over the top”. Pages and pages all about how to drop off and pick up a carton of eggs. Why all this fuss?

• COVID-19 is going to be with us until there is a vaccine. That could be quite a while. In the meanwhile, it is worth all our whiles to learn new habits to help return us to a more “normal” life and to stay safe.
• We all have grandparents or friends and colleagues who are at high risk. Changing our behaviors is not just about our own safety and well-being. We are protecting the most vulnerable in our midst.
• Once we learn how to make these changes for small and simple activities, we can start to do the same for larger and more complex activities. Small changes can lead to larger changes in behavior.
• If this works well, we want to spread it around. Promulgating behavior change to distant others will benefit by careful thinking in advance. We are laying a sound foundation for a movement to change micro-behaviors.
• We want to get it right. By writing down details, we can have them reviewed by others to be improved.

Behavior Change is hard.

• Having the big idea is not enough. We need to drill down and make small changes in our behaviors that can run against a whole lifetime of learned experiences. Many of us hug each other as a basic building block of our everyday interactions.
• Initially, we will need to pay attention, teach each other, and rethink how we do small things. Over time, we will create a new normal.

Steps to safely change behaviors.

1. Carefully write out a simple protocol and share it around to get it right.
2. Start small and work out the kinks and details with a small group of friends.
3. Make sure that initially everyone has access to a written version of these protocols before the event begins.
4. Talk about and reflect on what we are doing the first time that an egg drop takes place.
5. Reflect on and learn from experiences, updating these protocols as needed.
6. Share lessons with others.