F - Focus

Focus on one thing at a time. When you have a lot of things that need doing, its easy to feel overwhelmed. Instead of trying to deal with a little bit of everything at once, narrow your focus to one thing at a time. Being able to cross things off your list will give you a sense achievement, and you will feel like you are actually making headway.

E - Evacuate

Literally.  Remove yourself from the office, centre, house, or whatever else your stress is centred.  If it is absolutely necessary that you keep working, at least do it in a different environment.

D - Delegate

We all fall into the trap of thinking 'it's easier to do it ourselves'.  While in the short term this may be true, it does nothing to prevent stress overload in the future.  Go through your 'To Do List' and delegate at least 10% of your jobs to someone else.  There may be a small amount of training to do but the chances are not as much as you think.

C - Count Your Blessings

I know it sounds incredibly cliche, but when you focus on all the good things happening around you, it really does change your perspective of things. I'm not suggesting you wear rose tinted glasses, but if you stop and literally 'count' your blessings, you'll find you have more to be grateful for than you think.

2 Corinthians 12:10 - For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

B - Breathe

How you breathe makes an enormous difference to your stress levels, yet most of us are totally unaware of our breathing pattern.  When things are starting to really stack up, stop and consciously take several deep breaths.  In through your nose, out through your mouth, in through your nose, out through your mouth...

A - Acknowledge

Acknowledge that you are not indispensable.  Sometimes it feels like you are the only one capable or willing to do specific tasks, but often that is because no-one else has had the opportunity to have-a-go.  When you take a step back, you may be surprised by who comes out of the woodwork.

Fundraising Friday

Often a topic with any community group.  I bring to you Fundraising Friday - ideas, tips, check-lists, planning, sponsorship, and grants.  Just a list of a few ideas today - check back next week for more thoughts on Fundraising.

1. Auctions
2. Discos / Dance Parties
3. Food stalls i.e. BBQ's, cake stalls
4. Raffles
5. Coffee Connoisseur Evening
6. Event clean-up
7. Online auctions
8. Photo sittings try Frogprints or Pixifoto
9. Quiz nights
10. Scavenger Hunts

Theme Thursday - Olympics part 3

This week we continued our Olympic theme - can't believe that its raining again!  So we're indoors again.
Round robin of 4 events (this took half an hour):

1. Volleyball - how many hits in a row before it drops to the ground - best in 5 minutes
2. Weight lifting - holding a can in each hand with arms out in line with shoulders, and for older girls do this while doing wall squats, time each girl up to a max. 5 minutes
3. Handball - same scoring as volleyball - best in 5 minutes
4. Table tennis - same scoring as volleyball - best in 5 minutes

Then had half the teams doing traditional gym routine and other half doing rhythmic gymnastics, prepare a routine which must include 4 items plus they can earn extra points for doing other items.  Prep, then performance and then the teams swapped over and did the other event.  Again another half an hour.

Our gorgeous Juniors made sock chicks for Easter - adorable

Wednesday's Word of the Week - Sling It

On Wednesday's I bring you 'Word of the Week' - a devotion you can use with your girls at GB.

Sling It

Materials:
2 tube socks - roll up one sock and place it inside the bottom of the other sock.
Copy paper - write the following references on separate sheets of paper: Philippians 4:13, Exodus 15:2, Psalm 28:7, 2 Timothy 1:7.

Tell the Bible story "David Fought Goliath" (1 Samuel 17:1-50)
Display the tube sock sling to the girls.
Demonstrate the proper way to wind the sling in the air several times before tossing it at one of the verse pages on the floor.
Invite each child to identify a time when she feels scared or troubled and to toss the sling at a verse.  If the sling lands on a reference, guide all the kids to find the verse in their Bibles and read it aloud together.  Repeat the activity until all the verses have been read.
Debrief by explaining that by trusting God to give them power, they will experience peace and joy.

Toolbox Tuesday

Today's blog comes courtesy of Exult, from Tonic magazine, this article from Issue 7, August-October 2010.

Top Tips for Attracting Time-Poor Volunteers

Get to know the members within your organisation personally.
Its not enough to know about their skills or hobbies - you need to understand what makes them tick. Some people volunteer out of a sense of obligation, some because they want to 'make a difference', and others because it makes them feel important or valued. Regardless of how little time people have available, you will always get them involved if you can give them what they need in return.

If people are really busy, it is unlikely they will respond to a call for help in the newsletter or on the notice board, because they assume someone else will take up the challenge.
When the event goes ahead or the job gets done, they assume that someone else volunteered or you didn't need them after all. They have no idea that one person ended up doing the whole lot! If people aren't coming to you after a blanket call for help, pick up the phone and ask people one-on-one. You'll be surprised by how many people will 'find time' when they realise you're still looking for help.

Break the jobs you need done into smaller 'bite-sized' tasks, so that people only need to commit to small periods of time.
The more specific you can be about what needs to be done, the more likely you are to get people involved. Break everything down, and then if necessary, break it down again. Even committee roles can be shared. For example, you could have a Minutes Secretary and a Correspondence Secretary.

Let people know what needs to be achieved, but provide some flexibility in how they make that happen.
People know their schedules and commitments much better than you do, so let them have control over how they use their time, provided the job still gets done.

Support time-poor people in managing their time with you.

You can do this by:

- Giving them contact lists so they can get in touch with everyone they need to, when they need to.

- Allowing them access to specific information using passwords or codes, so they can work to their schedule not yours.  Constantly waiting for someone to get back to them only eats in to the precious little time they have available.

- Allowing a degree of authority so they can 'get on with the job'.  If they have to check in every step of the way, they will soon get frustrated by the hold-ups.

If you need people to do a specific task at a specific time, make sure you are organised and communicate with potential volunteers early.

Time-poor people need loads of warning to fit things into their schedule, therefore asking for helpers one week before they are needed is bound to fail.

Genuinely appreciate how precious time is to time-poor people - and don't waste it!

If you invite a time-poor person to attend a meeting, make sure that meeting is run efficiently otherwise they will never come back.  If a time-poor person volunteers to help with a specific project or event, make sure the event is well organised and they don't spend time twiddling their thumbs.  If they feel like their time is being wasted, they will choose to spend it elsewhere.

Give people the option to make a cash donation, rather than a donation of time.

Most time-poor people would rather tape a $5 note to a plate, than bake a cake for a cake stall.  (And let's face it, the result is the same.)  Your time-poor members may not be able to help mow the office lawns, but they may be prepared to pay for a lawn mower once a fortnight.  Don't assume it's volunteering or nothing - make the ask.

Recognise your time-poor volunteers in ways that give them more time - not take time away.

For example, instead of inviting a time-poor volunteer to a thank-you dinner, give them the gift of a pizza voucher that they can use when their day has been extra frantic.  Instead of only having volunteer get-together in person, set up a Facebook page where your volunteers can connect with each other online.  This can allow your time-poor volunteer to feel like part of the team, without asking for more if their precious time.