Can I Reach You Anytime? Reclaim Your Time Tips #2 & #3.
Mar 13, 2019
Do you ever say this to your donors:
You can reach me anytime!
Do you ever say it to your staff, your colleagues, your dean or your boss?
Do you actually want to be reached anytime by your job??
No! You have a big ol' life with lots of other humans you want to spend time with.
As of this very moment, I hereby give you permission to never ever say, write or type "You can reach me anytime" again!
Over the past month, we've heard from fundraisers across the country during our 3 Solutions to Burnout webinars.
Fundraisers feel tied to their phones and their email.
They feel obligated to be in constant contact.
They feel guilty for shutting down.
If you're feeling this way, you are not alone!
With so many demands on your time, it's easy to feel trapped.
This leads to burnout - which we HATE - and don't want for you.
Here's a few tips to help you reclaim your time:
Reclaim Your Time Tip #2 (Go here if you missed Tip #1):
Set a Digital Sunset.
Make a commitment to stop looking at your phone or checking your email at some point during the evening. Try any of this:
- Use "Do Not Disturb" if you use your phone as your alarm clock, so you can't hear all that buzzing of your notifications.
- Turn off your notifications for all social media. You'll check it anyway, so do you really need to know the instant you get a comment or a like?
- Before dinner, plug your phone in in another room, don't check it until morning and get an old fashioned alarm clock.
Tip #3: Check your email just 2 or 3 times a day. Turn off notifications. Here's why:
- You'll be more productive. If you're interrupted during any creative task, it can take up to 15 minutes for your brain to fully refocus. Email notifications are interruptions. They're the squirrels to our dog brains - constant quick distractions that keep us from full focus.
- You'll respond better. You know that feeling when you're annoyed that you have to respond to an email and it's taking forever to type it exactly how you want it without sounding annoyed, so you're typing, erasing, typing harder and cutting and pasting over and over!? If you check email just 2 or 3 times a day, you can put your full head and heart into it. You'll be less reactive and more proactive. Because you'll be in a better headspace, you might even decide to pick up the phone instead of typing & retyping.
- Other smart successful people do this! In this Inc.com article, Orangetheory Fitness cofounder, Dave Long, discusses how to keep mental focus and clarity while leading a billion-dollar company. He only checks his email twice a day, stating "Email is not a barometer of productivity."
Can you do any of these?
I know it isn't easy, but try at least one of these tips to help you reclaim your time, work smarter and live your life.
You've got this!
We're here for you.
We're obsessed with helping nonprofits raise more money & change the world. For more tips & tools, become a Fundraisers' Monthly member! Or join us at UPLIFT, our retreat just for women in development in Phoenix, June 6-7.
