Time management is one of the most important aspects of leading a streamlined nonprofit organization. If your organization suffers from a lack of time and pore management, follow these five steps and you should see immediate progress.
See where the time is wasted
The first thing to do when trying to reorganize time management process is to see where the time is wasted in the first place. Are there any shortcuts that can be taken? Is there a bottleneck in the communication process that can be fixed? Are people taking too many breaks? Is someone showing up late frequently?
The best way to find out how and where the time is wasted is by using an attendance tracker and a time tracker. This way you can see when the individuals arrived and on what projects and activities they were working on each day.
Set clear goals
When it comes to time management and productivity, smart and clear short-term goals matter the most. When goals are specific and measurable, they can really impact the team’s productivity and morale as they get completed. Just make sure you have set them accordingly.
One way to do this is SMART technique. It stands for:
- Specific,
- Measurable,
- Attainable,
- Relevant, and
- Time-based goals.
Create a to-do list
To-do lists are very useful when comes to organizing your tasks. It is a simple and quick way to prioritize and schedule activities. Start by creating a master to-do list with all major projects in it. This can be the one-year plan that you can further break down into monthly and daily plans. Breaking it down will make the list and tasks seem more doable.
Few things you should take in account when making a to-do list are:
- Keep it simple,
- Denote the most important tasks,
- Be specific.
Delegate wisely
The key to a quality management is good delegation. After you have defined the organization's tasks and activities in the to-do list, you can now delegate them to the team. When delegating, make sure you:
- Pick the right people,
- Provide help,
- Don’t micromanage,
- Offer feedback.
Eliminate distractions
There are lots of distractions in the workplace that you need to eliminate to increase productivity and time management. Teach your team how to control their work environment and avoid distractions.
Shutting the office door, turning off the phone, not being instantly available for other people - Things like this can help everyone concentrate more on work and be more prolific.
Further information
These five simple things, if implemented wisely, should make your organization more streamlined and your team more time savvy. When it comes to nonprofit organizations, time is of the utmost importance and should be managed accordingly.
