02 Nov Time is Our Most Precious Resource

By Tiffany Rucker, MBA

Do you find yourself rushing to beat the clock every Friday afternoon to complete essential job tasks, with no idea how you got so far behind?

Have you taken a good, hard look at how you’re spending your time these days?

As a nonprofit leader, it’s vital that you gain clarity about how you spend time working toward your mission. So, let’s dive in and talk about some time management strategies for success.

First, motivation counts, so realize that no job is insignificant and that you do impact your nonprofit mission, no matter your role. You may not be on the front lines of client service or program delivery, but if you don’t do your job efficiently and effectively, somewhere down the line, that will cause a breakdown in service and impact.

Think of it this way: If an accounts payable clerk doesn’t stay on top of reimbursements for grants, their nonprofit could lose funding or run out of operating cash to shelter the homeless. The custodial staff in a nonprofit hospital keeps doctors, visitors and patients from falling ill by eradicating germs and viruses on surfaces throughout the facility.

Once you understand how your role supports the organization in mission delivery, essential tasks and responsibilities snap into clear focus.

Second, identify your timewasters. Have you ever looked at your to-do list and wondered why you do a specific thing? Maybe it was an inherited task or something the person who trained you in this role said had to be done. But does it, really?

If you audit your recurring to-do list, you might identify some redundancies caused by new processes or tools to weed out.

Do you check email constantly? Are you always listening for message notifications on your phone or internal instant messaging apps?

Each time you stop a task to check these messages, you’re losing about 10 minutes of productive effort. And you’re short-circuiting your short-term memory—and increasing your inefficiency!

Third, reclaim and redirect that newfound energy. Mastering our time also allows us to marshal our energy and use it most efficiently to do what we all want to—do our part in making a difference in the lives of others.

With a new understanding of how you impact the mission and clarity on how to protect your time, you may find you’ve got a second wind and can get more done in a day—and with more enthusiasm and a greater sense of accomplishment—than you thought was possible in a long time!

Here are three specific strategies you might try out to see how well they work for you:

• Spend one week to one month, depending on how often your recurring tasks repeat, tracking your daily activities. Knowing the length of time your everyday tasks actually take can help you create a realistic daily schedule.
• Turn your phone, email and messaging tools to silent or unavailable for specific blocks of time each day to allow you to focus on a single task or project.
• Edit your to-do lists to feature your true priorities. Can you really accomplish all 20 items on your to-do list in a day? And don’t put small tasks on the list just to feel the rush of checking them off. Write in only the things that MUST get done today (or this week) to keep your focus on what truly matters—how you’re supporting your nonprofit’s mission every day.

Here at JSG & Associates, we support the passionate leaders who make nonprofits successful. For more information about us, visit our website.

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Tiffany Rucker is a small business and financial literacy coach as well as wife, mom and special needs advocate. She lives in Tampa, Fla.