Time Management Tips for Development Directors
By Mary Macugna, Development Director
All Saints Catholic Newman Center
Arizona State University
“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Robert Burns
I enjoy maxims like this – little nuggets that have proven themselves over time. This one however, painfully reminds me of my work in development. Development Directors always have a heavy workload and many responsibilities – which can cause any sublime fundraising plan to go awry. It has happened to me too often to count. Years ago I tried to manage my workload by simply working more and more hours. But the birth of my first child coincided with the launch of a capital campaign. In order to keep my sanity I had to hunker down and get serious about managing time better. I began the journey of learning how to control my schedule rather than letting it control me. The application of good time management skills can be the difference between feeling chronically overwhelmed or enjoying your work and advancing your mission.
Here are some of my favorite tips (and maxims) for managing time…
1. “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” - Vincent van Gogh
You need a solid plan and you need the discipline to stick to it. It’s critical that you create a plan every year that is based on measurable goals that will advance your mission. Stephen Covey says it best in his book <u>The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People</u> when he reminds us that successful people focus most of their time dealing with what is important, not urgent. It’s all about learning to prioritize. Start with this…
• Bi-Annual Goal Setting – 4 hours. Schedule a half-day each semester to calendar the tasks that need to be accomplished in order for you to raise the most money. Make sure your annual development plan has goals, corresponding tasks and deadlines.
• Monthly Goal Setting – 60 minutes. Each month, with your development plan in hand, spend an hour to prioritize weekly goals and the tasks associated with them.
• Daily Goal Setting – 10 minutes. Each day identify three to five priorities that must be accomplished.
2. Cleanliness is next to godliness.
It’s so hard for me to work from home. I can’t sit in my home office without fighting the desire to load the dishwasher or throw in a load of laundry before I start my work. Distractions are everywhere. It can be the same at the office. If you don’t keep your desk clutter-free it becomes difficult to focus on priorities.
• Use one legal pad or notebook to record everything. Each day I start a new page, date it
and list my 3-5 priorities at the top. Throughout the day I use the same notebook to record notes from phone calls, voice mails and meetings or jot down ideas for the future. This notebook serves as a great reference. The best part, it eliminates the ubiquitous sticky notes, scratch pads and various to-do lists from my life.
• Have one To-Be-Filed manila folder on your desk for paperwork that needs to be retained. It’s more efficient to stash mail, articles, printed emails or resources in a folder during the day than to interrupt what you are doing each time to find a place to file it. Each interruption costs you time and can distract you from the task at hand. Schedule ten minutes each day to clear out your To-Be-Filed folder.
• Consider keeping twelve hanging file folders in the front on your file cabinet labeled with each month of the year. When you come across an idea that would be useful during a specific month just place a note about it in the appropriate month’s folder. For example, if you read an article with ideas for a Christmas cultivation reception, clip it out and put it in the December folder. At your monthly goal setting meeting, scan through the next two month’s folders to identify tasks needed to move these projects forward.
3. “Choose your friends wisely – they will make or break you.” - J. Willard Marriott
E-Mail, the Internet and social networking are not your friends. Seriously! If you are checking your in-box or responding to emails every 10 minutes, you are spending your time working on other people’s priorities, not your own.
• Close your E-mail and Internet access and check it once in the morning and once in the afternoon. If this practice sounds radical consider that you may have E-mail addiction and get help immediately!
• Turn off the email notifications on your Blackberry/cell phone.
4. The early bird gets the worm…
Your notepad should list the most important tasks to accomplish for the current day. When you arrive at the office, complete them – right out of the gate! Typically in development, those tasks include making appointments and calling prospective benefactors. The best time to reach busy professionals is early in the morning.
• Before you check email, before you check your mailbox, before you check for danish in the break room – pick up the phone and make your calls. Start your day by completing your priorities and you’ll be energized and more productive the rest of the day.
• Completing your tasks early allows you to prepare time for and give attention to unexpected visits, phone calls and important interruptions.
5. “The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.” -Tony Blair
A successful development director is responsible for allotting the majority of his or her time to raising money. Staff meetings, committee meetings and unscheduled visits can quickly consume a large percentage of your time. More often than not, you just have to say no.
• Ask your coworkers for permission to attend staff meetings once a month instead of once a week so that you can focus on raising more money for their programs.
• Consider that you can attend part of a meeting rather than the entire meeting and arrange to be present during agenda items that directly involve you.
• If you find that you have a lot of unscheduled visitors who drop by your office to chat, keep a stack of books on the open chair so no one sits down. Or, remain standing during the conversation. If a visitor sits down he or she is likely to stay much longer. You can always clear the books for those important conversations.
• When asked to be part of a committee that is not a high priority for your development goals, respectfully decline. It’s hard to say no but can be in the best interest of the organization.
A career in development is a blessing. We find ourselves surrounded by educated, philanthropic and joyful people. Don’t miss a moment of it because you’re buried under a pile of paperwork or working too much overtime just to keep up. A little time management might be just what you need to have your cake and eat it too….
Mary has served as the Director of Development at the All Saints Catholic Newman Center at Arizona State University since 1997 and recently completed a $6 million capital campaign to build a new chapel. She has consulted with many campus ministry centers across the country and has served as a member of the Development Committee for the Catholic Campus Ministry Association.