A Blast From the Past: Hey You! Get Off Facebook! (July 2011)

By Sandy Rees

FundRaising Success published its first issue in November 2003, making this our 10-year anniversary year. To celebrate, we're running stories from past issues throughout the year.

If you're like most people working in a small shop, you're strapped for time. There's always more to do than time in the day. Successful fundraisers know how to manage their priorities and protect their time so they can focus on the things that need to get done.

Know your purpose
First, know why you want to manage your time better. It's not so you can do everything on your plate. (You never will.) It's so you can get the most important things done. Too many people put important fundraising activities on the back burner because they think other things are more important or they don't like doing them. This is procrastination, plain and simple. Stop doing the easy things first regardless of how important they are. You can fill a whole day with inconsequential tasks that don't get you any closer to your fundraising goals.