How Can I Get Any Work Done with So Many Meetings?
A day filled with meetings is the norm in the nonprofit sector. Perhaps once or twice, someone wraps up their discussion early, and you reclaim 10-15 minutes of your day, but more often than not, your windows for actual sit-down-at-your-desk work are narrow. Too narrow, it seems, to be productive. So, we surf social networks, grab a snack and stare mindlessly as life passes by. After all, what can you do in five minutes?
The world can and does repeatedly change in five minutes. International negotiations, babies born (and conceived😆), and natural disasters occur regularly in windows as briefly as five minutes. Your ability to leverage these short windows for bursts of productivity, decision-making, and restorative habits should not be discounted. Taking advantage of these short windows requires a mindset shift related to time and tasks.
It Doesn’t Have to be All or Nothing at All
Humans crave accomplishment. Our need for achievement is as well-documented in science as it is high school yearbooks and office trophy shelves around the world. While all this striving can be healthy and motivational, it can also rob us of the pleasure of incremental progress. What is the point of starting if I can’t finish? Isn’t there a “touch it once” rule to increase productivity? We’re caught in the trap of not tackling what we can’t complete and not having the blocks of time necessary to tackle what we need to do. This limitation is drawn from the assumption that all of our work is equal…that signing donation letters is on the same playing field as writing an employee performance review. A task requiring systematic thinking is different from one requiring consideration and creativity. How things are perceived varies by person, but here are some items on my to-do list and how I would categorize them.
| Systematic Thinking | Consideration & Creativity |
| Things I can do on “auto-pilot” because I do them daily or weekly. | Items with high levels of exposure, i.e., media announcements, newsletters, or ED Reports. |
| Tasks that have defined increments where I can stop and pick up later (checking things off a list, bank reconciliations, signing donor letters, etc.) | Work that includes the value and time of others, such as collaborative projects, performance reviews, and check-in meetings. |
| Simple correspondence, e.g., answering questions or acknowledging I received something. | Exacting work where mistakes are critical. Budgets and process formation are good examples. |
Systematic tasks are the things that can be tackled during your in-between times that are too short for larger projects.
Break it Down. Then, Break it Down Again.
The worst strategic plans are the ones that leave you with lofty goals and no incremental steps to get there. The Nonprofit Nav team always focuses on breaking down the big dreams until you know the steps you need to take that day to make progress. A task list should be the same. Don’t write down “Grow online donations” and then wonder why you can’t find the time to accomplish that task. It’s not a task – it’s a goal. Break down your goals to the point that you can make incremental progress and enjoy the achievement of crossing off more during shorter periods.
If your to-do list is already entering the danger zone of Page 2, take a step back. Are the things on your list all to be addressed this week? If not, move them over to a different page, notebook, or Trello board. Stay focused on what is current and achievable.
Worried your task list is getting into the minutiae? If you can’t afford to forget to do it, you should document it. These simple tasks are the things that often accumulate into a half-day on Saturday in the office playing catch up. If you start to manage them proactively and leverage five minutes here and there to get them done, you’ll recoup hours over the course of a week.
Five Minute Windows of Active Recovery
There’s a term in the fitness world called “active recovery.” It generally refers to low-impact activity that keeps you moving while offering rest during a workout. The same logic can be applied to your workday. Been meeting with donors all day? Pause and write thank you cards for a few minutes to decompress. Prepping for a big board meeting? Take a break and do some rounds of your office or check-in on Slack with your teammates. Allowing your mind to switch to a different task can clear the cobwebs, stop creative blocks and help you refresh your perspective.
There are also non-work-related ways to do active recovery during your workday. Five minutes regularly spent on deep breathing exercises, stretching or lifting weights can help develop mental and physical wellness and endurance.
The Flip Side of Five Minutes: There’s Danger in Distraction
We all do it. We pull out our phones and scroll social media. Our minds have a temporary reprieve from the workday, our endorphins spike as we scan over our notifications, and then…BAM! Your ex-boss posts a pic of their new team. Your ex-significant other posts a vaycay pic. The nonprofit next door announces they won the grant you were also going for. And just like that, you’re in a funk.
Social media isn’t the only culprit of workday disruptions. Chatty coworkers, notoriously demanding people and dark rabbit holes of thought abound in nonprofit land.
Five measly minutes have the power to disrupt your day. So, before you open the Pandora’s box of social media or troublesome conversations, consider the benefits of keeping your focus on work, even if for only five minutes.
Katie’s nonprofit career includes a variety of leadership roles for human service, foundation, and publishing-related nonprofits, as well as many volunteer roles. Under Katie’s leadership, nonprofit organizations have developed new programs related to free healthcare, affordable and accessible housing, and literacy programs for K-12 students. In her first Executive Director role, Katie increased the annual revenue of the organization she led by 300% and received the top grant prize in the nation for affordable housing through the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis. She went on to help establish Do More Good, a nonprofit educational platform that eventually merged with Nonprofit Hub, one of the largest free content sites for nonprofits in North America.
Today, Katie serves as the contracted leader of Inform USA in addition to her work with Nonprofit Nav and as an adjunct professor of nonprofit leadership and fundraising for Cornerstone University.
Her educational background includes an undergraduate degree in business administration and a master’s degree in nonprofit leadership.
Katie serves on the boards of Gracious Grounds, the Grand Haven Children’s Museum, and the National 211 Steering Committee.
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