Costello: Look, you gotta pitcher on this team?
Abbott: Now wouldn’t this be a fine team without a pitcher.
Costello: The pitcher’s name.
Abbott: Tomorrow.
Costello: You don’t wanna tell me today?
– Abbott & Costello
Here at the frontend of the new year, with high turnover caused by the new coronavirus, be proactive and avoid confusion. Build or update your administrative checklist.
Your checklist is not just for you. It is the single most helpful document you will leave for your replacement and for your organization when you are out sick or move on. The legal counsel at a small nonprofit where I served as business administrator advised me to build a month by month administrative checklist summarizing my responsibilities, project timelines, and deadlines.
At the next organization I worked for, we built a team timeline for review at staff meetings. After our capstone event, we discussed the reality that our timeline for preparing had been too short. We agreed to move the start date up by three months. As a result, the next year’s event planning went more smoothly and we secured more corporate sponsorships. Yay!
Include everything that helps your job or team run smoothly like:
- deadlines for licenses
- grant application schedules
- performance reviews
- the date your sponsor “thank you” message should be published
Your checklist will help your organization focus on “important but non-urgent” task management, which according to Stephen Covey and my experience can be revolutionary.
Here’s a bonus tip: Add a reminder to update your website and other online giving portals every fall to prepare for year-end online giving.
As always, I am hoping for your every success!
