Volunteer rewards?
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- October
- 25
Usually, when I volunteer to help out at my sons’ schools, in my community, or at church, I consider the basics: Can I even do this work? Do I have time to do it? How will doing this impact my family’s time and mine?
But one question that we should also keep in mind is: Does my way of getting things done mesh with how this group operates? I never thought of that, until recently, when I volunteered to help out with an event and the way that I like to work was miles off from the way the group worked.
As a working mom, my time is limited. That’s why I don’t have time for chatty meetings where “wishes” are expressed, but concrete details aren’t worked out. I’m more of a doer than a talker: Tell me what needs to be done, and I’ll do it. Want to discuss all the options for a few hours? Find someone else.
That’s what happened with this recent event. There wasn’t a lot of useful communication beforehand, and what resulted was a lot of unnecessary preparation, and in my case, some unnecessary spending. While I groused about it, I realized that part of this was my fault. I got into this without even thinking about the work style of the group. I just thought I would help out, in the way that I’m accustomed to doing things.
How do you handle your volunteer activities? Are they rewarding or frustrating? Or both?
This entry was posted
on Thursday, October 25th, 2007 at 7:19 pm by Gayle T. Williams.
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My mom used to say that “if you want something to get done, give it to a busy person.”
I’ve long believed that people do whatever they have to do to fill up their day.
If they don’t have anything pressing to do, they will take extra time to think things through and focus on smaller details.
Sometimes this extra time spent is beneficial, sometimes not.
People who operate in ‘high gear’ because they’re busier often get more done in less time.
You’re right that it’s important to make sure you’re compatible with the group you’re working with. Otherwise, yiou will become very frustrated.
I’m surprised you have much time for volunteer work at all, with working full time and having 2 children.