15 ways to become an ultra productive fundraiser! · 15 ways to become an ultra productive...

15 Ways to Become an

Ultra Productive

Fundraiser!

Alex Blake

@alexblake_KEDA

www.kedaconsulting.co.uk

http://www.kedaconsulting.co.uk/

Why is productivity important?

We have seen many fundraisers working incredibly hard

but not getting the results they seek because they are not

working at a high level of productivity.

Being busy is not the same as being productive.

Fundraisers can suffer from stress and anxiety while their

charities can suffer through missed opportunities to

maximise income and staff sickness/turnover.

@KEDA_Consulting www.kedaconsulting.co.uk @alexblake_KEDA


Challenges

Common challenges include:

procrastination over difficult tasks

identifying and sticking to key priorities

distractions from e-mails and social media

meetings that lack purpose.



15 ideas to increase productivity

Based on interviews with over 200 ultra-

productive people including:

7 billionaires

13 Olympians

20 straight-A students

200 successful entrepreneurs.

Kruse asks one simple, open-ended question,

“What is your number one secret to productivity?”



1. Focus on minutes, not hours.

People default to hours and half-hour blocks on their calendar.

Highly successful people know there are 1,440 minutes in every day and there is nothing more valuable than time.

Legendary Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller says, “To this day, I keep a schedule that is almost minute by minute.”

Fundraiser’s tips:

Think about time required for tasks – if it takes 20 minutes, don’t schedule half an hour

Block together minor admin tasks and schedule time to focus on important/challenging tasks

But maintain flexibility – in some industries it is more acceptable to ‘close the door’ to interruptions. People in the charity sector value their colleagues being approachable.



2. Focus only on one thing

Ultra productive people know their Most Important Task and work on it for one to two hours each morning, without interruptions.

Tom Ziglar, CEO of Ziglar Inc., shared, “Invest the first part of your day working on your number one priority that will help build your business.”

What task will have the biggest impact on reaching your goal?


Stop multi-tasking – studies show that we are not effective when juggling multiple tasks or when being distracted by e-mails, social media etc.

Identify your most important task and make sure it is prioritised, with uninterrupted time – work at home if this is necessary.



3. Don’t use to-do lists.

Throw away your to-do list! It turns out only 41% of items on to-do lists are ever actually done. And all those undone items lead to stress and insomnia.

Highly productive people put everything on their calendar and then work and live from that calendar. “Use a calendar and schedule your entire day into 15-minute blocks. It sounds like a pain, but this will set you up in the 95th percentile...”, advises the co-founder of The Art of Charm, Jordan Harbinger.


Find what works for you (calendar, to-do list or other) as long as it does the following:

Gets it out of your head on to a calendar, document, notepad

Prioritises tasks by importance

Schedules time – when and for how long

If your to-do list has tasks that don’t help achieve your goals, cut them out.



4. Beat procrastination with time travel.

Your future self can’t be trusted. That’s because we are “time inconsistent.”

We buy veggies today because we think we’ll eat healthy salads all week;

then we throw out green rotting mush in the future.

What can you do now to make sure your future self does the right thing?

Anticipate how you will self-sabotage in the future, and come up with a

solution to defeat your future self.

Fundraiser tips:

Set a specific goal

Make yourself accountable – by making it public or having a referee

Set a penalty so if you do self sabotage it will cost you something – use

stick.com if you need external support.



5. Make it home for dinner.

Intel’s Andy Grove says “there is always more to be done, more that should

be done, always more than can be done.”

Highly successful people know what they value in life. Yes, work, but also

what else they value. There is no right answer, but for many, values include:

family time, exercise, giving back.

Fundraiser tips:

Be disciplined about when you will stop what you are doing and leave the

office.

Switch off when you are home – be present.



6. Use a notebook.

Richard Branson has said on more than one occasion that he wouldn’t have

been able to build Virgin without a simple notebook, which he takes with him

wherever he goes.

In one interview, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis said, “Always carry

a notebook. Write everything down... That is a million dollar lesson they

don’t teach you in business school!” Ultra-productive people free their mind

by writing everything down.

Fundraiser tips:

Ensure you reflect on your notes from time to time and add any actions that

arise from them to your planning tool(s) of choice

Use tech alternatives if you prefer.



7. Process email only a few times a

day. Ultra-productive people don’t “check” email throughout the day. They don’t

respond to each vibration or ding to see who has intruded into their inbox.

Instead, like everything else, they schedule time to process their email

quickly and efficiently.

For some that’s only once a day, for others it’s morning, noon and night.

Fundraiser tips:

Turn off your e-mail, especially when working on your most important tasks.

If you only follow one idea, make it this one!

Distracting e-mails are a huge drain on time and focus. Turn … it … off!



8. Avoid meetings at all costs.

When asked for his best productivity advice, Mark Cuban quickly responded, “Never take meetings unless someone is writing a check.”

Meetings are notorious time killers. They start late, have the wrong people in them, meander in their topics and run long.

You should get out of meetings whenever you can, hold fewer of them yourself, and if you do run a meeting, keep it short.

Fundraiser tips:

Ask what the purpose of the meeting is, what your role is, how long it will last, what the agenda (with timings) is etc. – if its not helping meet your goals, explain what you will not be doing to be there.

If you need to hold a meeting, structure it with clear time limits and chair it well. Use a visible timer if necessary.



9. Say “no” to almost everything.

Billionaire Warren Buffet once said, “The difference between successful

people and very successful people is that very successful people say ‘no’ to

almost everything.”

James Altucher colorfully gave this tip, “If something is not a “hell, YEAH!

Then it’s a “no!” Remember, you only have 1440 minutes in every day. Don’t

give them away easily.

Fundraiser tip:

When asked to do something that does not contribute to your goal, say “I

could do that, but if I do, it means not doing x”



10. Follow the 80/20 rule.

Known as the Pareto Principle, in most cases 80% of outcomes come from only

20% of activities.

Ultra-productive people know which activities drive the greatest results, and

focus on those and ditch/delegate the rest.

Fundraiser tips:

Think about what really helps you to achieve your goals – focus more time on

this and less on tasks that have less impact.

E.g. in trust fundraising, focus more time on major bids and less on small

scale applications

Perfection is not always something to strive for – if something is at 9/10 its

done.



11. Delegate almost everything.

Ultra-productive people don’t ask, “How can I do this task?” Instead they ask,

“How can this task get done.” They take the “I” out of it as much as possible.

Ultra-productive people don’t have control issues and they are not micro-

managers.

Fundraiser tips:

Who you should delegate to – your line reports, volunteers, people in other

teams, external support (e.g. virtual PA).

What to delegate – what do you really need to do yourself?

Over a week, keep a list of tasks you do that could have been delegated



12. Theme days of the week.

Highly successful people often theme days of the week to focus on major areas. E.g. Jack Dorsey (CEO of Twitter and Square):

“The way I found that works for me is I theme my days. On Monday, at both companies, I focus on management and running the company…Tuesday is focused on product. Wednesday is focused on marketing and communications and growth. Thursday is focused on developers and partnerships. Friday is focused on the company and the culture and recruiting. Saturday I take off, I hike. Sunday is reflection, feedback, strategy, and getting ready for the week.”

Themed days can create efficiencies by grouping similar tasks and establishes a clear rhythm – if your marketing team know you will be focussed on them on Tuesdays they won’t interrupt you on Mondays and they know you will be asking for an update in a week.

Fundraiser tips:

Set one day a week for all recurring internal meetings

No Meeting Wednesdays – dedicate one day to working on x without interruptions

Set one day to focus on your donors – call them, meet with them, get their feedback

If you have a lot of admin set a day for it (but ideally cut it out or delegate!)



13. Touch things only once.

How many times have you opened a piece of regular mail — a bill perhaps —

and then put it down only to deal with it again later? How often do you read

an email, and then close it and leave it in your inbox to deal with later?

Highly successful people try to “touch it once.”

If it takes less than five or ten minutes — whatever it is — they’ll deal with it

right then and there. Reduces stress since it won’t be in the back of their

mind, and is more efficient since they won’t have to re-read or evaluate the

item again in the future.

Fundraiser tips:

This is a really great and easy to implement one.

Again, e-mail is a big one – decide what to do with it and reply, delete, file

etc.



14. They practice a consistent morning

routine. Kruse’s single greatest surprise was how many of the interviewees wanted to

share their morning ritual with him.

Most people nurtured their body in the morning with water, a healthy breakfast and light exercise. They nurtured their mind with meditation or prayer, inspirational reading, and journaling.

Fundraiser tips:

If you don’t have time, get up earlier

Find what works for you so you start the day with energy and focus (even if you’re not a morning person!)

What works for you might be exercise or meditation but it could also be clearing your inbox, or it could be seeking fundraising inspiration from other charities, sectors, countries.



15. Energy is everything.

You can’t make more minutes in the day, but you can increase your energy

which will increase your attention, focus, decision making, and overall

productivity.

Highly successful people don’t skip meals, sleep or breaks in the pursuit of

more, more, more. Instead, they view food as fuel, sleep as recovery, and

pulse and pause with “work sprints”.

Fundraiser tips:

Increased energy does not mean you can work for longer, it means you can

work better.

Know what effects your energy and be mindful of this – do you have more

energy if you go to sleep earlier, eat healthier, drink more water / less beer,

leave the house without shouting at the kids etc.



Questions and Reflections




My Favourites

Focus on one thing – close e-mail and turn off social media

notifications

Process e-mail three times a day

Avoid crap meetings and/or hold great ones (and say no to

other stuff that gets in the way)

Make it home for dinner

Touch things only once

Be mindful of what boosts or drains your energy

Be proactive about being productive.


Stay in touch…

Contact me directly - [email protected] or 07707246862

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter - @alexblake_KEDA

Sign up for our newsletters at www.kedaconsulting.co.uk/contact-us

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.kedaconsulting.co.uk/contact-us

15 ways to become an ultra productive fundraiser! · 15 ways to become an ultra productive...

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