What I always hated about holidays was how hard it was to get back into the swing of work.  The routines that I had painstakingly developed were now destroyed and I again had to find the rhythm that would allow me to get it all done.  Or as much of it all as I could.

  Computers have made holidays more difficult.  We seem to always be connected, obsessively checking emails, texts; able to take phone calls at all times.  I'm not sure this is a good thing.  This always being at work means you don't get a chance to stand back, take a deep breath, consider what you are doing and what maybe you should be doing.

  Because my office is in my house, holidays, weekends, workdays, all blend into each other.  Sometimes that is good.  I get to work when I want, and to play when I don't want to work.  But other times....

  Truthfully, it's the guilt that gets to me.   I think that I "should" always be working.  As if the nonprofits of southern California would all fold if I wasn't working.  Which brings me to my next conundrum-what, actually, constitutes "work"?  I have days-many-where I am pretty productive.  But it's all been fun and so, at the end of the day I find myself thinking, "I really should have worked more today."  Even-perhaps especially, when there was nothing else to do.

  What to do is something I find a lot of my clients have a hard time defining.  They are busy-busier than you.  I know because they tell me so all the time.  And yet, in their busy-ness, they don't seem to get done the things they actually need to accomplish.  Like raising money for their organization.  Or keeping their donors connected. 

  On my less obsessive days, I think about the difference between what needs to get done and what I might do to feel busy.  As a one-person office, I have simplified a lot of things.   I try hard to consider what gives me that proverbial bang for the buck?  What are the things that pay off, and the things that simply keep me busy?

  So this month, one of the ways I'm going to help you get more done is to introduce "Bo's Twitter Feed Picks."  As someone who is too busy for twitter, I love it when my friend and colleague Bo Morton sends me her list of must-reads that she has gleaned.  I hope you'll find at least some of this relevant.

Rebecca Beich explains the difference between outputs and outcomes.  If you are writing grants, you know how important this stuff is.  And if you're not, it is also really helpful with your individual major donors.

And I'm going to talk with you about doing your best-and why, maybe, that's not really where you want to focus.  

 Need help in increasing your fundraising capacity or getting your Board to participate?  

Help is here.  Email me or call 310-990-9151.

• Are your fundraising results down?
•  Board members bored?  
• Are you thinking about a campaign? 
• Or perhaps you need individual fundraising coaching!

Whatever your capacity building needs, Janet Levine Consulting can help.

  

 Send me an email or give me a call at 310-990-9151 to schedule a free 30-minute consultation. 

I look forward to meeting with you.

Sincerely,

 Janet