Community outreach professionals often have to juggle multiple tasks, projects, and stakeholders in their work. They need to communicate effectively, plan strategically, and deliver results on time. How can they manage their time effectively and avoid burnout? Here are some tips to help you optimize your time and productivity as a community outreach professional.
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. These are the criteria that can help you define and prioritize your goals. SMART goals can help you focus on what matters, track your progress, and adjust your actions if needed. For example, instead of saying "I want to increase community engagement", you can say "I want to increase the number of responses to our online survey by 20% in the next two weeks".
The goals should be straight and logical. The goals should be itemized, How to achieve them Targeted audience and The time frame to achieve it
Smart Goals are important, however when it comes to community outreach the goals should be backed up by proper data and rationales. One should set the goals according to the previous data, the scope of the project, needs of the target community and mission of your outreach campaign.
I prefer prioritizing tasks by identifying high-priority items and focusing on them first. This ensures that critical activities are addressed promptly, guaranteeing timely and relevant productivity, not just for myself but also for the team and in my personal life. During my day, I utilize time blocks to properly manage my time by allocating specific periods for various activities, such as outreach events, meetings, and administrative tasks. This approach helps maintain focus and avoids multitasking.
A calendar and a to-do list are essential tools for managing your time and tasks. A calendar can help you schedule your appointments, meetings, events, and deadlines. A to-do list can help you organize your tasks by urgency, importance, and duration. You can use digital tools like Google Calendar or Trello, or paper-based ones like a planner or a notebook. The key is to use them consistently and update them regularly.
One thing I found helpful is to make use of post it notes. Since I work with clients, each client has a different colored post it note in my planner with the time needed blocked out. Office supervisor meeting are yet a different color, and includes work needed to be done (training videos, paperwork deadlines, etc). My planners pops with color and looks exciting. And if an appointment changes or cancels, the post it note goes to the side with the reason or I just move the post it note to the new time scheduled. You could even add a postit note for your break with a word of affirmation to remind yourself that you are doing a great job, accomplishments that morning, or a reminder to focus on something besides work to reset for the afternoon.
Effectively utilizing a calendar and Google Planner can significantly enhance the efficiency and organization of a community outreach person. Here are some perspectives on how to make the most of these tools: Centralized Scheduling: - Use the calendar to centralize all your outreach activities, meetings, and events. Integration with Other Tools: - Integrate your calendar with other productivity tools and platforms you use. For instance, link your Google Planner with task management tools or communication apps to streamline your workflow. Long-term Planning: - Leverage your calendar for long-term planning. Outline overarching goals and milestones, and break them down into smaller, manageable tasks with specific deadlines.
Using calendar is of paramount importance,for the following reasons (1)To meet up with the the frame (2)Orderly arrangement of goals for effective results (3)For checkmating reason (4)For time management
Color coding can be really useful when planning your time across multiple activities. In Outlook, you can use categories to color code both your inbox and your calendar items to coordinate events and related correspondence.
When I was working as a Program Coordinator, I utilized OneNote. It was great because I made a notebook for each employee to document meetings or quick sessions, I inserted documents to organize and keep track of employee attendance etc. Also, I utilized it for program and project planning. By having everything in one spot I can easily and quickly add and delete things on my to-do list notebook on daily pages. Also, having a different color for each notebook helped me tremendously. I made my outlook calendar coincide with my notebook colors and could place my planned calendar into the pages of the notebook and make notes on what I wanted to discuss during meetings. Good luck!
Not all tasks are equally important or urgent. You need to prioritize your tasks based on their impact and deadline. A common method is to use the Eisenhower matrix, which divides tasks into four categories: do, decide, delegate, and delete. Do the tasks that are urgent and important first, then decide when to do the tasks that are important but not urgent. Delegate the tasks that are urgent but not important to someone else, and delete the tasks that are neither urgent nor important.
Prioritization is important for effective results delivery. Delegation makes work Tobe done with less stress but with higher efficiency. Delegation makes other team members to be involved
Delegation plays an important role when managing a team. In order to not overwhelm employees, it worked best for me to identify team member strengths and interests and coordinate with employees while delegating.
Distractions and interruptions can disrupt your focus and waste your time. They can come from external sources, like phone calls, emails, or social media, or from internal sources, like boredom, stress, or fatigue. You need to identify and eliminate or minimize your distractions and interruptions. For example, you can turn off your notifications, mute your phone, close your browser tabs, or work in a quiet place. You can also set boundaries and expectations with your colleagues, clients, and partners, and let them know when you are available or not.
I have found that creating blocks of time allow for prioritization. Grouping together smaller tasks can allow things to still be done but in a sequence that is more efficient. This means focusing on tasks in focus while pulling other tasks into their respective spots in the day.
I love that @Jason! I also began using time blocking and notified my employees of the specific times blocked for their programs after discussing what days and time frames would work for each program. I made sure my team knew they could still come to me at any time, but during this timeframe my attention would be focused to their program specifically. This allowed my team to expect messages or meetings from me during this timeframe and they expressed appreciation to the consistency.
As a Community School Coordinator, managing my time depends on my calendar and important deadlines. Having immediate issues, such as meetings and financial oversight, taken care of first is paramount to my success. Utilizing partners in the development of events and programming frees my time to serve as a point person. I can work behind the scenes to gets the programs to our families. These two strategies aid me in time, resource, people, and finance management of my work.
Working long hours without breaks can lead to exhaustion, frustration, and reduced quality of work. You need to take breaks and recharge your energy and creativity. Breaks can help you relax, refresh, and refocus. You can use the Pomodoro technique, which involves working for 25 minutes and then taking a 5-minute break, and repeating this cycle four times before taking a longer break. You can also use your breaks to do something enjoyable, like reading, listening to music, or meditating.
I support the saying, "self preservation is the first law of nature". As a Community School Coordinator, I have come to understand self-care. After serving my families through our food pantry, laundry service, wrap around services, enrichment and academic support, I find my personal physical and mental health need to be rejuvenated. I utilize a mental health provider and acupuncture to revive my body and mind. My family takes mini trips to learn and do new things. Communing with nature is the best environment for connecting spiritually and organically with healing. These are strategies that bring me back to life and give me strength to do this work.
At the end of each day, week, or month, you should review and reflect on your work. You should evaluate your performance, achievements, challenges, and learnings. You should also celebrate your successes and appreciate your efforts. Reviewing and reflecting can help you improve your skills, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and plan your next steps. You can use a journal, a spreadsheet, or a feedback tool to document and analyze your work.
Bi-weekly, I meet with my administrator and we reflect on the progress and needs of our outreach work. I am constantly reminded that our funding are aligned with our school's goals, mission, and vision. With each partnership, we reflect on how can improve our partnership to meet the challenges of the community. As a part of the learning community, we reflect on how our work impacts learning instruction and student needs. Reflection has to encompass all aspects of community outreach.
One of my favorite tools for reflection is evaluations. Anytime you can have a community member provide anonymous feedback is invaluable. I like to take the results and put them in a wordle or using google forms to provide me with visuals of the data. Then take time to discuss with colleagues and reflect on what can be tweaked or changed. My favorite part of community outreach is that services can always evolve.
Proximity Matters: Stay close to the ground. Engage directly with community members, attend local events, and listen actively. Being physically present allows professionals to understand the nuances, challenges, and aspirations of the community. This proximity fosters empathy and informs effective outreach strategies. Reflect and Adapt: Regularly assess your efforts. Reflect on what’s working and what needs adjustment. Adapt your approach based on community feedback and evolving needs.