Time can feel like an unconquerable enemy. 

It never pauses or slows down and you can’t buy yourself a few extra hours. As soon as you finish one task there’s another one added to your to-do list. You just can’t get ahead. 

But what if you decided time was your friend?

What if the finiteness of time is a gift to help you spend your time on what matters most to you as a person and a professional fundraiser?

Over the last few weeks my team and I have connected with five fundraising experts to pick their brain about their favorite time management and productivity tips. Whether their tips included reading a book while they waited in line to pick up their kids from school or prioritizing their projects related to urgency, each individual embraced the finiteness of time as a way to propel them forward.

We hope these tips will help you navigate the upcoming end-of-year giving season with more confidence, efficiency, and purpose! 

Brenda Moore: Start With Focus

Do you have a list of things you’ve wanted to do for years?

At the beginning of this year I realized that I had the same list of specific goals for two or three years in a row. They included family vacations, health and wellness goals, and professional achievements. This wasn’t a growing bucket list; this was a list of specific attainable goals that repeated itself for years.

I decided that 2022 would be the year some of those hopes transformed from goals into reality and committed to using Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner. 

My process is simple, but dear to my heart and has reaped extraordinary results.

The Process

 I start every day listening for God’s voice. Then I let that time speak to the choices I make for the day!

After my morning devotions I open to the first page of my planner where I read my purpose statement and eulogy. In other words, I begin with the end in mind. 

This is a precious rhythm to me because it makes sure the choices I make for the day are informed first by prayer and second by the planner. 

Next, I review my three goals for the specific quarter I’m in. These are THE THREE absolute most important priorities that have my focus for the quarter. My coach, Nicole Wipp, and others like Benjamin Hardy say these are the three I will invest in to see “10X returns.”

Finally, based on those three goals I pick my Big Three for the day. The Big Three are things that will move me closer to achieving my three quarterly goals. They are also the three things I COMMIT to accomplishing. If I get the Big Three done and nothing else done on that day’s to-do list, I will consider the day a win.

The Results 

This simple routine has led to me reaching all of my quarterly goals so far. More importantly, it has allowed me to serve others and love my family in more powerful ways.

• I’m not wishing for a team of colleagues who can increase our collective impact on ministry — I have one!  
• I’m not wishing for a strong marketing presence on social media anymore — it’s a reality! 
• I’m not dreaming of taking an extended family vacation without constantly checking my work email — I actually did it!

Narrowing my focus allowed me to take intentional action; as a result things have exploded in amazing ways!

Are there things you have wanted to accomplish for years professionally, spiritually, relationally, or physically?

If so, I want you to know two things:

1. It is possible to accomplish what you want in the midst of a full life if you commit to focused, intentional work. 
2. Having an accountability partner, whether that’s a coach, spiritual mentor, or fellow members of a bible study, walking alongside you can speed up your success exponentially. 

You don’t have to carry around a list of dreams and to-dos for years on end. You can make them happen — and I hope you do!

Rev. Jana Swenson: Take a Break

Did you know that there’s such a thing as “death by overwork”?

Japan calls this very real occurence Karoshi. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, explained that Japan first started tracking karoshi deaths as its own category in 1980. Since then “karoshi has also been labeled as the cause for hundreds of severe illnesses, suicide attempts and mental illnesses each year.”

If karoshi can cause severe illness, death, and mental health challenges it’s safe to conclude that overworking negatively impacts our performance and causes us to spend more time than necessary on the task at hand. 

Overwork can easily show up in a fundraiser’s career especially when donor meetings are outside of normal working hours. Reverend Jana Swenson, a Kairos Consulting Associate, says that she navigates this by scheduling a two-hour break in the afternoon.

To get through the days with morning and evening meetings, I schedule a 2-hour block of time in the afternoon to rest and reboot my brain. I close down my computer, silence my phone, and change my environment. 

Sometimes I take a nap, other times I go for a walk, or have coffee with a friend. It's easy to feel guilty for taking time off on a weekday afternoon, but when work requires me to be at the top of my game at the end of the day, a break in the afternoon is a necessity!

There are three key ingredients in Jana’s break routine:

• Close your computer
• Silence your phone
• Change your environment

Each of these things allow you to disconnect from work and be present to your life. On the days you don’t have evening meetings, consider leaving your desk for lunch and taking a walk after you eat. James Clear shares ten ways to take breaks and avoid karoshi HERE. 

If you struggle with taking a break in the middle of the work day when you have evening meetings, keep in mind that you’re still going to work all your hours — you’re just putting those hours in later. 

Lastly, remember that you are a human being, not a human doing.

Ceallaigh Smart: Intentional Work

Have you ever caught yourself spending twice as much time on a project than necessary or going down a rabbit hole related to your assignment but not actually doing work?

I think we’ve all been there at some point (especially with social media on our phones it’s easy for 30 minutes to basically evaporate)!

Ceallaigh, Director of Philanthropy for Global Health Ministries, avoids this tendency by investing in intentional work using the Pomodoro Technique..

One of my favorite ways to be efficient and stay on top of all my projects is with the Pomodoro Technique and using this timer. If you’re unfamiliar with this method invented in the 1980s by the Italian, Francesco Cirillo, its power is in its simplicity:

• Get a to-do list and a timer.

• Set your timer for 25 minutes, and focus on a single task until the timer rings.

• When your session ends, mark off one pomodoro and record what you completed.

• Then enjoy a five-minute break.

• After four pomodoros, take a longer, more restorative 15-30 minute break.

This method has helped me tremendously set and achieve many of my personal and professional goals.

 Three benefits of the Pomodoro Technique include:

1. Infuses urgency. If you only have 25 minutes to work on a task the chances you’ll get lost in a rabbit hole or be distracted by social media decrease significantly. 
2. Reduces procrastination. If there’s a project you really don’t want to do you can set a timer, work on it for 25 minutes and be done. 
3. Promotes breaks. Sometimes we have intentions of taking breaks, but get lost in a task. The pomodoro method provides a set time for taking breaks.

The more time management hacks I’ve tried, the more confident I am that increased focus is often a more valuable factor for better results than an increase of hours.

Kristin Herrera: Invest in Yourself by Absorbing Information

“One way to significantly change your life is to develop the habit of reading,” says self-development professional Brendon Burchard.

If you love reading like me, it’s easy to put reading into an enjoyment category. While reading is fun for many of us, reading is also one of the simplest and most effective ways to invest in yourself and the value you offer as a professional. 

Kristin Herrera, Director of Development for Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministries, is a serial reader and expert in her field. Every chance she gets she’s absorbing information like a sponge. This also means she has a wealth of information to share with her colleagues and donors. 

I am in love with current education pieces that keep me in-the-know and relevant. Today’s donors are savvy givers who want us to be knowledgeable and caring. Podcasts, webinars, blogs, books and articles…anything I can get my hands on! And getting copies for my team is important, too. Sharing knowledge to keep everyone updated is so important!

Drive time is the best time for me to absorb information. Commuting 30 minutes each way gives me time to listen to audiobooks and podcasts; longer drives to visit donors are also fabulous times to listen. 

Fun fact: I’m such a nerd I like to buy both the audiobook and a hard copy to do the highlighting and flag the actual pages too!

As a development professional your schedule is jam-packed, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait until you’re knocking out your continuing education credits to make yourself more valuable. 

By being prepared with a book on your desk and a list of your favorite podcasts ready you can invest in yourself and your career while you’re driving, waiting in lines, or have some unexpected down-time.

Here are a few resources we recommend to get your list started:

• Achieving Excellence in Fundraising
• 7-Figure Fundraisers Podcast
• Stelter Blog

Nick Tofteland: Do What’s Most Important 

President Theodore Roosevelt, “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”

There are lots of things we could be doing, but there are a few things that are worth doing. The question is, “How do we know which things are worth doing?”. Nick, Fundraising Consultant at Brenda Moore and Associates, navigates this by using a system inspired by Stephen Covey’s quadrant urgency chart. 

Each morning he assigns tasks to one of four quadrants:

1. My purpose. These are the tasks in my work life that are attached to what I believe God created me to accomplish and what I am uniquely qualified to do. 
2. Why I was hired. These are the things that I’m excellent at doing; they show up on a resume and my employer expects me to do at the highest level. A typical day has a LOT of these tasks. 
3. What I’m competent at doing. These are the tasks I’m capable of, but aren’t life-giving.
4. Things that take me more time to do. These are tasks that someone else is better at doing. Just because I can do it, doesn’t mean I’m adding value by doing it.

After Nick has assigned tasks to each quadrant he starts the day with tasks from the first quadrant, purpose. He only tackles tasks from quadrant three and four if it’s absolutely necessary. 

Nick also uses a time-bound system to work. Every 40 minutes he takes a break from working. When he returns to his desk he assesses whether or not his current task still fits into his purpose quadrant.

Even though the tasks we’re best at tend to be life-giving they’re often hardest to start. This system or assigning priority is valuable because it helps you steer clear from spending your time on mindless tasks. Nick said, “If you can do something mindlessly you’re probably not investing your time in the most value driven work.” 

In other words, doing the most important thing matters. Doing the most important thing — the thing that matters — starts with knowing what that thing is!

Sisi Roose: Physical Movement

Have you heard the quote, “How you do one thing is how you do everything”?

Caring for our physical bodies is one of the most effective ways to set the tone for how you show up to the rest of your life.

Do you show up consistently or work in bursts?

Do you lean into the hard work or stick to what is comfortable and familiar?

Do you take breaks to recover or power through?

Do you celebrate your progress or launch into the next goal?

Sisi, Marketing and Administrative Coordinator at Brenda Moore Associates, prioritizes fitness because intentionally caring for her body helps her move through life with more intention.

When I start my day with a workout it’s as though I’m telling myself, “I take care of the things that are important to me.” These can be physical things like my body, car, or favorite coffee cup. But it can also be non-physical things like relationships, participating in activities that bring me joy, or goals that I care deeply about.  

I also find that the things I learn while I’m working out, like the value of performing with excellence, enduring hard things, creating measurable and specific goals, pausing to recover, and celebrating milestones carry over into the rest of my life. For me, fitness is like bootcamp for healthy habits in all areas of my life — it’s where I cultivate them and usually see their positive impact first.

If currently you’re not getting in regular physical activity here are three tips to getting started:

1. Start small. 15 minutes a day or 30 minutes three days a week. Once you have a routine of showing up you can begin increasing frequency or duration. 
2. Do something you enjoy. If you like walking, walk. If you like lifting weights, get a trainer and lift weights. If you like playing pickleball, play pickleball. 
3. Find a buddy. Accountability can significantly improve the staying-power of a new habit — you’re not just showing up for yourself anymore, someone else is depending on you!

You need your physical body to show up at donor meetings, build relationships, and cast a vision for your organization. A computer might be able to automate a “thank you” note, but it can’t automate an in-person relationship. Prioritizing physical movement will improve the way you show up to life and provide for the longevity of your career.

How Brenda Moore and Associates Can Help You Manage Your Time Better

 As a fundraising professional many things are vying for your attention. You can’t do it all, but you can do the meaningful tasks and make a lasting contribution to your workplace and career. 

If you’re ready to become a professional who makes meaningful and lasting contributions to their organization and personal growth my team and I would be honored to walk alongside you. Schedule a call here to see if we’re a good fit!

For more fundraising time management hacks check out this blog post!

Co-authored by Brenda Moore, CFRE and Sisi Roose.