Four productivity tips for Volunteer Engagement Professionals

Being a Volunteer Engagement Professional can be demanding. We are constantly balancing the needs of our volunteers, our colleagues, our bosses, our funders etc. with the development work needed to keep our volunteer engagement efforts relevant to our ever-changing world.

This article is a chance to take a step back from the day-to-day and think about how we can be more effective in our work. In doing so, it’s helpful to remember that effectiveness isn’t the same as efficiency.

Efficiency is doing things well.

Effectiveness is doing the right things well.

Productivity is a big part of helping us to determine what those right things are and to focus on them fully when we direct our attention to them. A wise approach to productivity not only uses our time well but acknowledges that our focus and energy play a big part in what we do. There is no point, for example, focusing on that new report full of insights into volunteer engagement at the time of day when you suffer that soporific slump, normally after lunch.

Below, I highlight four tips I’ve picked up from my experience that might just help you be more productive in your volunteer engagement work.

Tip #1 — Walk this way

Steve Jobs used to hold his meetings walking around the Apple campus in California. He was mobile most of the time he was at work, and rarely sat at a desk.

We don’t have to be sedentary, parked at a desk all the time, either. Can you hold your meetings walking around the local park? Can you get up and go for a brief stroll when you take a call, or when you need to reset your attention, refocus your energy or just reset your brain?

Every afternoon I’m in my office, I take an hour to walk my dog. The clear headspace it gives me recharges my energy and often helps me solve problems I’ve been mulling over. On one walk, I even wrote the first draft of an article for my blog, dictating it into my iPhone after inspiration struck.

Your walk doesn’t have to be an hour. It could just be a stroll to the sandwich shop at lunch, or five minutes round the block between meetings. Whatever you can manage, give it a go and see if it helps you.

Tip #2 — Stop

This one is a bit radical in our fast-paced, always on world.

Every now and again, just stop.

Pause for a minute between the phone call that just ended and turning to your email.

Take a few deep breaths between the last meeting and the next one. Give your brain time and space to catch up and reset, ready for the next task.

Oh, and make sure you take all of your holiday allowance. However, you want to spend that time away from work is fine, but make sure you spend it away from work. Email off, voicemail on. No sneaking a peek at your messages. They can wait. Life won’t.

Tip #3 — Know yourself

One of the most valuable things I’ve ever done to be more productive was monitoring my attention over a given day.

I know I’m a morning person and am especially productive between 7am and noon. I know I’m not as productive after lunch. So, I try to schedule my work around these rhythms of energy and attention.

Every so often that isn’t possible, but my advice is this — as much as possible, try not to let other people dictate when you are most productive. Know what works for you and try to structure your day accordingly.

Tip #4 — Notifications

My last tip usually results in gasps of astonishment when I say it in productivity training for leaders of volunteer engagement. It’s easy to say, but hard for many to do.

Turn off notifications on your computer, smartphone, and tablet!

Shocking right?

You don’t need these machines pinging at you every time someone tweets, emails, texts or otherwise interacts with you.

Don’t let the device manage your attention, take control and manage the device.

You’ll be amazed how much more focus you have and how much more you get done.

Ready to tackle those less-than-favourite tasks with ease? Check out this blog on 8 proven tips for conquering unpopular tasks and keeping your productivity high!