As a one-person communications shop for my department, I wear a lot of hats. Some days I’m 100 percent focused on writing, web projects, or developing a strategy for a key audience. Other days I focus 20 percent of my day on five different areas and/or projects. This is both the best and the worst thing about my job.
No matter the hat I’m wearing on a given day, I find myself repeating certain tasks on a regular basis. Even on days when a given task doesn’t feel particularly exciting, I try to remember that being faithful to these tasks — developing routines and sticking to them — matters.
How can you better engage with your organization’s social media audiences if you’re not posting regularly? How can you make donors feel valued and appreciated if you’re not thanking them promptly? How can you maintain a great website if you’re not reviewing top-level content on a regular basis?
These are just a few examples. Your examples may be entirely different. Whatever the routine tasks look like in your work, go out and do them with excellence, even if it’s the 100th time around. It still matters.
Libby Dowdall 