How to fit volunteer work into your busy schedule (Video)

National Volunteer Week is celebrated during the third week in April, and it’s an opportunity to thank all the volunteers who provide assistance and services to help organizations run their programs and keep communities safe. You may be donating to a charity of your choice because you want to show your support, but when you’re able to make a commitment to do volunteer work is even better. If you are volunteering, you know the feeling: it’s fulfilling, rewarding, it gives you a sense of purpose, it adds meaning to your life. Being around people and being helpful to them makes you feel happier.

Unfortunately, not many people are able to fit volunteering efforts into their busy schedule, although they would love to do that. Maybe you are one of them. However, there are ways that you can still give back without disrupting your career or current lifestyle, and that’s in part good time management.

In the video above, our coach expert Sabrina Cadini shared some useful tips to make time on your busy calendar for volunteer work and create goals to measure your impact in the community.

1 - Decide what type of volunteering you want to do

What are your talents, your strengths, your skills? Are you a teacher, a product manager, an expert in social media marketing, or a financial advisor? Think about how you can contribute to a cause or organization, what type of services you can provide. There are always a lot of roles available to fill in the non-profit world, from tutoring to caregiving, administration, budgeting, and so on.

2 - Decide how much time you can dedicate

Ask yourself when you have free time during the week: Saturdays and Sundays, or Wednesdays?

Then, look at what time of the day you can take a break from your activities - Early morning? Lunch time? Evening?

Also, are you able to volunteer every week or maybe once a month? Would this be every week or every month indefinitely, or during the summer time? Or when the kids go back to school in September? Maybe during the holiday season?

After that, think about how many hours you have available and, once you have a clear idea of your commitment, block that time on your calendar to make it official and you won’t forget about it.

Keep watching the video for more tips and a tutorial in our app, Mana, to create a goal for your volunteer work and see how your efforts benefit your favorite organization.

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