9 Time management tips for student fundraisers

From Vicky Wallace, Fundraising Manager

I don't know about you, but when I was at university, fundraising felt like a break from my degree. It refreshed me so that when I came back to my uni work, I felt ready for it - if I hadn't had anything outside of my degree, I think I would have gone mad!

That said, taking on any extra commitment means balancing your time, so here are some tools I've picked up that I hope you can use towards achieving great things alongside your degree!

Learning about time management

Learning to manage your time effectively will help you to succeed in many areas of life. Keep reading for some helpful tips and videos!

First of all, here are some books/blogs I've found helpful...

 

Don't feel you have time to learn about time management?

Tell me about it! Even though you know it's beneficial in the long run, finding the time to improve your skills is difficult. But what are you at uni for, if not to further your knowledge and develop as a person?

For me, the solution has been listening to videos and audiobooks so I can learn on the go, wherever I am. I've just heard about an app called Libby, which allows you to borrow audiobooks from your local library - check it out!

We've also managed to secure you a discount for Audible, Amazon's audiobook platform, so you can join using the link below to get 50% discount for the first 3 months and Amazon will make a small payment to Hope for Children!

3 MONTHS HALF PRICE 1 MONTH FREE

For more personal development, consider joining our Ambassador Programme for more personal development grounded in concepts of NLP. Email Katy on teamhope@hope4c.org to learn more

Keeping procrastination at bay

"Mark Twain once said that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long.

"Your “frog” is your biggest, most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do something about it. It is also the one task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results at the moment."

Learn more in Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy

Learning to say 'no'

In order to prioritise the things that will help you accomplish your goals, you'll have to learn to say 'no' to unnecessary tasks.

It can be scary to be honest if we also want to be nice. If you feel this way, watch this video on Radical Candour - a way of being honest with others, without being mean.

Learn more in Radical Candor by Kim Scott

How "to do" a to-do list

Have one list of all tasks you need to complete, including deadlines for each. Once they're written down, you're less likely to forget about them or wake up in the middle of the night worrying that you might forget something!

Each day, make a list of the tasks you will complete today, and consider how long each one will take, giving yourself time for other activities like emails, travel, breaks and interruptions

Visit Smarter Not Harder to learn more and download a template daily list

SMARTER NOT HARDER

Parkinson's Law

"Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion"

By assigning the right amount of time to each task on your daily list, you can gain back more time and optimise your own productivity. Research Parkinson's Law and how you can use it to your advantage.

Please note that this is not an invitation to try and complete your whole dissertation in three days!

Managing emails

Being efficient with your emails can make everything else run smoother and reduce stress. The key to this is managing your inbox. Don't use your inbox as a place to store emails, nor as a to-do list.

Emails should sit in your inbox for a very short time and every time you go to your inbox you should empty it, then close your emails and move your focus to your task list

Watch this video to see how it's done!

Getting into "flow"

You know that feeling of being 'in the flow' and really zoning into a task? The ability to access this state of 'flow' or 'peak performance state' can make all the difference.

Find ways to get yourself into this state: personally, I use anchoring - associating a particular action or stimulus with a state. For example, before making a big presentation I'll listen to a particular song to put myself into the most resourceful state and perform my best! Guess I owe a lot to Patti LaBelle...!

And finally... Be kind to yourself

We all know that not taking care of ourselves can have many negative consequences, impacting our health amongst other things. So why is it so easy to get caught up in the mindset that we should be working all the time?

One thing I've found useful is to remind myself that taking time to rest actually makes me more productive. This reduces the conflict between "I need to get things done" and "I need to take breaks" because I remind myself that rest time is productive. Many people are more productive the day before they go on holiday. Why? Because they work to a deadline and reward themselves afterwards with a break.

Taking proper breaks has also been shown to increase creativity and improve memory, among other benefits. So make sure whilst you're out changing the world, you stop to smell the roses!

And above giving yourself proper down time, avoid being too harsh on yourself. Keep a check on any perfectionist traits or overly-critical thoughts and instead be kind to yourself. You're going great!

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