Okay, let’s get into this. I have a bit of a confession.
When I first started working, I absolutely LOVED meetings. They were my chance to hear from folks higher up the chain about what the heck was going on at my org! Plus, I wasn’t that busy at the time.
4 years later & everything’s changed. I’m a seasoned grump that has way too much on her plate, which means I’m dodging calendar invites like Leon from the Matrix. If that’s his name. Is that his name?
Anyways.
Continue reading
For many of us, summer is our moment. It’s the time of year when things finally slow down and we’re able to take those big trips, make time for family, or just take time to kick back and relax.
For those of us who are a bit more low-key, we may not have grand plans for our vacation time at all. That’s where staycations come in!
You don’t need to plan an expensive trip to make the most of your time off. The important thing is that we take time at all, because 1) we deserve it, 2) we need it, and 3) we can still make those breaks restful and enjoyable.
Continue reading
Let’s talk about impostor syndrome, gang. Because although this blog is constantly offering advice about how to do well….like most, your girl suffers with this one from time to time!
Impostor syndrome, for those who don’t know, is a phenomenon driven by feelings of failure, inadequacy or incompetence. Psychology Today describes it as “a pattern of behavior where people doubt their accomplishments and have a persistent, often internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud.”
What makes impostor syndrome different from your average unconfidence (inconfidence? disconfidence??) is that it even happens to folks with a track record of being awesome. Imagine the smartest person you know confessing they feel like a fake, and you get the idea.
Continue reading
How do you organize your work requests? Have you got your system down?
I’ll be honest: when it comes to task management, I’ve started, abandoned and restarted systems. It’s easy to let ourselves get disorganized when things get chaotic!
But for requests that involve staff (or other constituents), it’s never a good idea to let this slide. You need to proactively capture those needs, stakeholders, and project updates. Otherwise, details slip through the cracks and communication breaks down across teams.
A good process keeps us covered here. We know how to build a framework that guides us in executing requests. We’ve also figured out how our colleagues should reach out to us. Now it’s accountability time: how do we document and manage that process from start to finish?
Grab a coffee. Let’s talk systems.
Continue reading
Have you ever spent unnecessary time on a request, all because you & your colleagues weren’t on the same page? *raises hand*
It’s not a great feeling! But that’s what happens when you don’t organize those requests early on. If you write content for your org, create reports, build lists, or do anything that requires even the slightest bit of niche expertise….let’s chat.
Continue reading
A while ago, I shared tips on how to build a staff process that people can actually follow. Because when you start getting overwhelmed with requests, a process is key to staying cool and organized.
We did the first step of clarifying how these requests play out in our orgs today. We’ve got notes on everything that matters: the types of requests we get, the needs of our requestors and our own team’s capacity. (If you haven’t read that first post, you’ll want to start here.)
Now that that’s done, we need to translate those points into a living, breathing process. That’s a big leap, especially when you’re not used to doing it!
Continue reading
Whether your nonprofit is using it or not, let’s talk Google Forms for a second.
In case you’re not familiar, Google Forms is a survey app that comes with the Google Suite of products. Much like Google Docs and Google Sheets, it has its own place in the G-Drive and lets you easily build form surveys.
Google is not sponsoring this post. I’m not even claiming it’s the best survey tool out there. BUT, it’s worth highlighting for three very nonprofitty reasons:
This means that Google Forms has many applications for our work, regardless of how large or technologically sophisticated the org. A simple tool that can do all the things? Prettyyyy cool.
Continue reading