3 Ways To Stay Organized During The Holidays — From A Serial List Maker
Dearest Nonprofit Professionals,
My brain is flooded with the smell of fresh baked kugel, a vision of blue bows and clean corners on tightly wrapped presents, peppermint hot chocolate, and an alarm clock I don’t have to worry about setting.
We’re so close to the end of the year, but I’m a working woman and so there is still so much to do (so. much.) before I can set my out of office until 2019.
As we drift closer and closer to the end of giving season, It’s even harder and more important to stay focused. This is when I mix an overflowing cup of motivation to help my organization conquer this year’s goals and a healthy dash or two of anxiety to push through.
1 — Your New Mantra: The only way to do it is to do it
This is inspirational philosophy at it’s best, people. When you can’t see a positive way to get to the light at the end of the tunnel, lean on facts. You will get through it all. All you have to do is work through that list one by one.
I’ve come back to this time and time again. When I was building this company from 8 AM — 4 PM and working as a bike messenger to pay the bills from 5–11 PM. I had absolutely no idea how I was going to go another mile on two wheels, or how I was going to wake up at 7:00 AM the next day. But, there was one thing I knew for sure — I cared enough to try.
2 — Make A List. And Then Make Another List.
Anything can feel overwhelming when you don’t have a plan. This is when you whip out your favorite pen and paper or digital notes app. I live by Apple’s Notes application because it gives me the ability to move and edit tasks and to do’s a bit easier then you can on paper.
- ONE: Brain dump all of your to do’s
- TWO: Prioritize them by urgent versus important. Urgent: anything with a deadline quickly approaching. Important: something that will make an impact, but doesn’t have a deadline.
- THREE: Make a sublist for each big to do. These are the details. Anything you need in order to accomplish the task? Any blockers you need removed before you can execute?
- FOUR: Edit. Every. Day. Priorities change all the time. As a core member of your team, you need to make sure you’re accomplishing the urgent tasks, not just crossing items off your list. Hold yourself accountable to doing what’s going to make the biggest impact for your organization.
3 — Delegation is your new best friend.
One of the most important qualities a team member can have (according to Wethos) is understanding when to ask for help. When you don’t raise your hand in favor of struggling alone, you sacrifice quality and impede the results you’re looking for. Not only do you suffer, the organization does too.
Take a look at that beautiful list you just made. What can you offload? Who can help?
If all else fails, just remember: I believe in you.
Fondly,
Kristen Ablamsky
Co-founder of Wethos
Serial List Maker Extraordinaire
