Starting a new job in the midst of a pandemic can be hard. Hallie Jackson, a senior Washington correspondent for NBC News, knows the feeling. The 37-year-old Pennsylvania native began hosting Hallie Jackson NOW on November 17—on top of her other duties at the network—and as a busy working parent (Jackson and her partner, NBC News producer Frank Thorp welcomed their first child in March 2020), she’s thankful for the support system she has. “So, real talk: it’s hard," she candidly revealed to Parade.com in a recent interview. “You know how they say, ‘it takes a village’ when you’re a parent? It takes a village to do this too and I’m grateful that NBC News understands that. It’s exciting, but it’s a lot of work." Jackson is understandably excited for the new role. “We’re trying to give audiences a bit of a different perspective—like we are normal human beings talking to normal human beings, instead of the traditional news anchor vibe,” she explains of the new show. “We’re trying to try to be a bit more natural in the delivery of our storytelling.” During a rare break from working, Jackson opened up to Parade about how she’s learned to prioritize her mental health during this time, why she’s thankful for Zoom therapy, and how meditating five minutes a day has helped her find inner peace.
What the pandemic has taught her
“Once we hit the pandemic and I was a new mom, I felt like I had a lot of tools from my previous struggles with mental health to help support me through it all. And so for me, the pandemic was honestly about juggling being on maternity leave and then coming back to work at a time when I was covering the White House and outbreaks with COVID cases, and traveling all the time. So for me, it was about finding the self-discipline to create boundaries that allow me to take care of myself.”
Why she’s thankful for online therapy
“My schedule is so crazy. I did Zoom therapy from everywhere—my hotel room, a rental car on the road, and after work as soon as I walked through the door. Those were things that I learned that I needed to have and that have helped me along the way. It was about figuring out what practices help me get to a more clear and healthy mental place. And then putting those tools into practice.”
The power of saying no
“Even now, as I’m working three different jobs—a senior Washington correspondent, MSNBC anchor job and NBC News Now—I think it is so critical to set some boundaries and to be able to say ‘I need this time for myself and my family’ or ‘I need to this time for my mental health.’ And that can be so hard, especially when you’re a Type A person who just loves to get out there and go after it. But that’s what leads to burnout. And I’m looking to have a long career.”
Her perfect mental health day
“I think a perfect mental health day is just a good day. I believe there can’t be a ‘day’ that you take for your mental health. It has to be practices that you incorporate into your life every single day. Because taking one day every three weeks to focus on your mental health—it just doesn’t work like that.”
The emotional and physical practices she swears by
“I’ve learned that when I don’t feel good mentally, it often triggers a cycle where I don’t cook, I eat poorly, and then I feel gross,” says Jackson. “That adds to the cycle. It becomes a downward spiral.” Taking five minutes to write in a gratitude journal in the morning and write some affirmations works wonders for Jackson. She also finds doing some movement, whether it’s yoga or taking a walk or an intense workout is incredibly beneficial. “I realized a few years ago when I was kind of going through some mental health issues that meditating five minutes a day, doing like 20 to 30 minutes of yoga and working on my journaling helped,” Jackson explains. “Carving out those 40 minutes makes a major difference. It truly shifted the way that I was able to think about my mental health.” Hallie Jackson NOW airs weekdays at 5pm ET on NBC News NOW. Curious about meditation? Here’s what to know about how to meditate for beginners.
