Ten Time Management Tips for Social Service Workers

Photo Credit: Discoveryschool.com

In some jobs, the worker is left alone to complete paperwork and has a relatively predictable day. This is not the case for many helping professionals or customer service representatives. In fact, these jobs are almost defined by constant interruptions and urgent requests.

So how do you cope with all this? In any social services job, paperwork is an important part of the job, and usually can't be ignored or delegated. It has to get done, and YOU have to do it – no matter how many people are standing in front of you demanding help right now.

First, some resources: If you haven't already read them, Stephen Covey's 7 Habits books are a must read for anyone wanting to learn how to manage her time. A lot of people also swear by the Getting Things Done or GTD program, by David Allen. Allen even offers a number of resources free at his website. Both systems have a lot of excellent general time management advice, and both are comprehensive systems backed by a philosophy that guides it all.

However, and this is a big however, lots of us social service types find that reading about organizing our time takes too much time from actually organizing our time – which is actually an excuse, not a reason – but really, we find reading a whole book on organizing more than we can handle. With that in mind, here are some quick tips for organizing around the urgent needs of social service.

1. Use your early morning time (or your 'when you first come to work' time) to do daily important but not urgent tasks. Come in a few minutes early if you need to in order to avoid the crowd. This is a good time to check and respond to emails and phone calls.
2. If you have paperwork that corresponds to each person you help (progress notes or data entry, for example) either complete or at least start each note before you help the next person. Be sure you cover critical information in that short 'reminder note'. For example, let's suppose you just helped Joe set up an appointment with AA and he has asked you to help him remember. In your note you would put both the bare facts about what you talked about, and a reminder to yourself to call him that day.
3. Keep a planner or notebook. I've seen several variations of this, from a simple spiral bound notebook that you keep lists in to an expensive planner with sections for everything under the sun. Some people just print off the daily agenda from their Outlook and 3 hole punch it. Some people have digital notebooks or planners, too. Just make sure you cross off what you have completed and move forward what you still need to do.
4. Don't overwhelm yourself with tasks. At the beginning of the day, list no more than five (three is better) 'must do' items for the day.
5. Do that one thing (you know the one) first. The thing you hate, dread, don't want to do. Get it over with and move on. Nine times out of ten, you'll find it wasn't that bad, and the tenth, you'll still be glad its behind you.
6. The perfect is the enemy of the good. Get it done – don't get it done perfectly. Move on to the next task and don't fret over whether the last task is good enough. Deep down you know the answer – if you gave it your best, it is.
7. If you are absolutely worn down by the crowd in front of you demanding help, ask a co-worker for a respite, and find a quiet place to work for a half hour or so. Make it count.
8. Treasure lulls in the action and make them count. First, give yourself a few minutes to slow down and appreciate the quiet, then quickly get a note completed or a phone call made or an email returned.
9. Every time you switch from one task to another, you will lose momentum. It's a biological thing, and there's no getting around it. So in those 'lost moments' be gentle with yourself and bring yourself into the task at hand by taking a moment to breathe and consciously 'reset' yourself to the new task.
10. Ask for help. Everyone is busy in social service – but this is a double edged sword. So long as you are good about helping others when they need a moment, you will usually get help when you need a moment. If you have a grant due in under a week and you have pages of data entry to complete by then, by all means ask someone else to cover the front desk, put a message on your phone diverting your calls, and forward your emails to someone else. But be prepared to return the favor.

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