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Author of How to Prep When You’re Broke and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course

We are living in absolutely crazy times right now. What with the crashing economy, the potential of world war getting closer and closer, looming terror threats, our fragile power grid, and frequent heated demonstrations about Gaza, Israel, the President, and ICE, it’s difficult to focus your prepping energy. A lot of folks have said they currently feel incredibly helpless because they don’t know what to do. Today, we’ll talk about what to do.

It’s overwhelming.

Our present situation is nothing if not overwhelming. Threats are coming at us from all different directions. How can we focus on just one without missing an important indicator?

It’s easy to get sucked into the cycle of fear, but that is paralyzing.

You may need to limit your access to news to get beyond it. I’m certainly not saying to completely ignore it – just to carefully select your sources and not scroll on newsfeeds and X all day long. We need information, but I’m not sure we need constant, every-second-of-our-lives information. I think that makes things seem even worse than they are in an already bad situation.

Find some trusted sources and limit yourself to those. Also, you may want to put a time limit on this.

There’s a name for spending hours reading negative news. It’s called “doom-scrolling,” and Merriam-Webster defines it as “spending excessive time online scrolling through news or other content that makes one feel sad, anxious, angry, etc.” If you’re already in the habit of doing that, it can be difficult to escape the cycle, but it’s essential if you want to be effective. Focus more on spending those hours being productive rather than immersing yourself in bad news.

As a news junkie myself, and also while I’m recovering from surgery, it can be extra tough not to get sucked in. I finally had to make a rule for myself to check three places for news in the morning and then three later in the afternoon. I spend the rest of my time working on other projects, reading books, learning skills and languages, and enjoying some shows on Amazon Prime.

I strongly suggest you limit your news time as well.  You may also want to seek out some more positive stuff. There are a lot of fun channels on YouTube with good news, how-to videos, nature documentaries, cute puppies, and adorable kittens. Yes, I know some people are going to say this is an idiotic way to spend your time. And obviously, it’s not productive. But it’s far better for your mental health than doomscrolling.

What should you be prepping for?

You know, I’ve always kind of hated that question. That silly show, Doomsday Preppers, was always edited to make it look like the guests were hyper-focused on only one looming event. That’s not how real people prep, and I’m pretty sure it’s not how the guests prepped, either. But if you sound well-balanced and rational, it doesn’t make for good television.

I like to recommend general preparedness. Selco also recommends “going back to basics” when you don’t know what to do. So, think about your pillars of preparedness.

Pillar One: Water

Pillar Two: Shelter

Pillar Three: Fire

Pillar Four: Food

Pillar Five: Signaling | Communication

Pillar Six: Medical | Hygiene

Pillar Seven: Personal Safety

No matter what emergency you are facing, you can’t go wrong by focusing on these areas. Here is a bundle of products that addresses some of the basics. You can get it for as low as $5 this weekend.

Another option is this Prepper’s Interactive Bundle, that will help you go through the different areas of preparedness and make sure you have your bases covered.

Another area I’d recommend focusing on is financial preparedness – paying off debt, investing wisely in tangible goods, and putting your savings into a medium that won’t lose its value.

Physical fitness cannot be overlooked either. In some situations, we are trapped in our own bodies, but most folks can work to become more mobile and fit. The more active you are now, the less difficult it will be for you later. If you’re new to this, start off slowly with just a simple, short walk at an easy pace. (Here’s an article on the topic.)

If you have mobility issues like I do, you can look on YouTube for seated exercises. One of my legs doesn’t work, but my arms have never been so ripped. While this may not make you more mobile, you can never go wrong with extra strength and stamina.

Some productive things you can do

Another thing that helps a lot is to do productive things. If your productive things are related to the pillars or your financial security, then this will help you to get through basically any kind of emergency.

Some activities cost money, while others don’t.

Use containers you already have to store more water.

Make sure you have multiple ways to purify water you acquire.

Take a walk around your neighborhood or property and seek out additional sources of water.

Grow your own food.

Preserve food.

Stockpile long-term storage food.

Make any necessary improvements on your homes – good windows, perhaps some off-grid power sources, needed repairs, etc.

Make sure you have a way to cook that doesn’t require electricity, and then practice. I used to take my girls out into our backyard in the city and we’d have a fun cookout over a campfire. They loved it, we learned stuff, and it was a nice way to bond while learning skills.

Think about how you could stay warm if your power went out, then proceed to prepare for these alternative methods.

Consider getting your ham radio license and practicing for communications purposes.

Learn medical skills. You can often find free local courses at your fire department or YMCA. You can also find a plethora of excellent videos on YouTube to help you learn to handle medical emergencies. Look at both First Aid and longer term options for care, in case help is not coming.

Learn about natural remedies.

Work to make your home safer. Are there any easy access points for criminals to breach your home? Fix them before things get even crazier.

Learn self-defense skills. These skills are perishable, so if you already know them, practice them.

Head to the shooting range. This is also a perishable skill. If you don’t know how to shoot, now is the time to learn. If you do know how, now is the time to practice.

Work on building a trusted community of people nearby. It’s great to have a plan to go across the country to meet up with family, but if you can’t get there, you’ll need a like-minded community nearby.

Learn survival skills for extreme situations from folks who have experienced such events.

Learn what to do in the case of certain events, like a nuclear disaster, civil unrest, or economic collapse.

Teach your children how to handle emergencies in case they ever have to face them alone.

Teach your children and grandchildren the skills you possess – things like making a loaf of bread, the joy of planting a seed and watching it grow, being outdoors in nature safely – don’t let these skills and arts be lost to the next generation.

These things may seem very small but in the grand scheme of things they’re significant. We are all limited by something – things like our health, our finances, our mobility, our locations, or something else. But if we’re diligent and use the resources we have to improve our situations, we can focus on productivity instead of panic.

The key here is to do something.

Don’t get sucked into the doom cycle. It’s paralyzing, and no matter who you are, or where you are, or what your situation is like, there is always some small thing you can do to improve your chances of survival.  Focus on the basics when you don’t know what to do and you’ll always be better off.

What about you? How do you focus on productivity? Do you have any hacks for learning skills inexpensively? Do you find yourself doomscrolling online? How do you prepare when you don’t quite know what to prepare for the most?

Let’s discuss it in the comments section.

About Daisy

Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging author and blogger who’s traded her air miles for a screen porch, having embraced a more homebody lifestyle after a serious injury. She’s the heart and mind behind The Organic Prepper, a top-tier website where she shares what she’s learned about preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty. With 17 books under her belt, Daisy’s insights on living frugally, surviving tough times, finding some happiness in the most difficult situations, and embracing independence have touched many lives. Her work doesn’t just stay on her site; it’s shared far and wide across alternative media, making her a familiar voice in the community.

Known for her adventurous spirit, she’s lived in five different countries and raised two wonderful daughters as a single mom.  Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.