Help isn’t always easy to ask for, and often not easy to recognize, even when desperately needed. As an association executive, you can get used to spreading yourself pretty thin, and it can be challenging to admit or acknowledge that you need support.
The first thing to go out the window when you’re spread too thin is your administrative tasks. When you are beyond busy, keeping track of member survey responses or scheduling a meeting doesn’t seem so important. In a world where we are constantly trying to prioritize high-return tasks over low-return ones, it can be hard to make the time to see how far behind you are on data entry.
So how do you know when enough is enough and you need assistance with those pesky administrative tasks?
You Dream About Data Entry
The second that work enters your dreams, you know you’ve got something to worry about. If you are dreaming about your members’ annual renewals or the invoices for your event, things have gone too far. Wake up from that nightmare and realize that you need a little help.
Triage your data entry tasks by clearly and concisely mapping out what needs to be achieved and when. By creating a timeline with all tasks shown, you’ll have a better idea of your current progress and what resources you’ll need to access to make those deadlines.
You’re Making Rookie Mistakes
Did you accidentally tweet something personal from the work Twitter account? …Again? When you make rookie errors, it’s because you don’t feel you have the time to focus and check your work. Your mind may be elsewhere, but you need to keep it in check so the quality of your work does not decline during busy periods.
Luckily, most errors can be easily fixed. To err on the side of caution, take each task one at a time and focus on it. Exit Outlook, turn off your Facebook notifications, and just focus on the task at hand. Sometimes we are tricked into thinking that multitasking is a time-saver, but when you are busy, it is just distracting and leads to more time lost fixing mistakes.
