Question: I’m finding it hard to juggle all my tasks, especially in a remote environment. It seems that 15-minute tasks pop up throughout the day and my long-term projects get pushed to the back burner. What are some tips to help me stay organized, and to help my team stay organized, when on a project?

Answer: One of the challenges I’ve seen is that some of our association’s annual schedules have been disrupted by the pandemic. Our volunteers and staff had been used to the predictable cadence of elections process in the winter, annual conference in the spring, certification training program in the summer, etc. This past year, we’ve been moving events around in the year, making some events virtual with totally different planning timelines, and adding on a whole lot of new programs like webinars and town halls in the mix. It has been hard to catch our breath when we’re doing more and these project timelines are colliding. With my teams, it has helped to develop clear project timelines especially for the brand new programs, and to talk through our priorities regularly. If we have to push back one deadline to focus on another, we can make the conscious decision as a team. It’s OK to push back some long-term goals as long as we don’t lose track of them entirely. We’ve in survival mode and we’re innovating, so flexibility is a good approach right now.

For me personally, this time has certainly been a test of juggling, especially when my two-year-old daughter was home with us last spring and summer. My best tip is to divide my to-do list by category – I group by project and include my personal to-do list. More than ever, my personal and work lives blend together so it helps me to have it all in the same place. I’m still a pen and paper person so nothing fancy but I do live and die by that list to keep me organized.

 

Meredith Taylor, CAE, Vice President, Kellen
NYSAE New Star Award, Association Trends Young & Aspiring Association Professional Award, Association Forum’s Forty under 40