Welcome to Econnect Communication’s September 2007 newsletter –
‘Maintaining the momentum’.
Have you been to a meeting where lots of exciting things
were planned…but then nothing happened?
Do you belong to a volunteer organisation that needs
ongoing enthusiasm and momentum to get things done?
Do you want to be more involved in the things you care
about, but just don’t have the time?
We don’t have all the answers; in fact we don’t have
many at all, so we’d welcome any ideas you’d like to
share with us and our readers.
Regards,
Econnect Communication
Jenni Metcalfe, Michelle Riedlinger, Mary O’Callaghan,
Melanie McKenzie, Michelle Burton and (intern) Adriana
Velez.
In this issue: Maintaining the
momentum
Keeping the momentum going—5
tips
Waiting for inspiration
Get started
Surf club
Quotation of
the month
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Keeping the momentum going—5 tips
By Michelle Riedlinger
If you are chairing a series of meetings, here are 5 tips for
keeping the momentum going between meetings:
-
Accountability – make sure a person and date are agreed upon
and recorded for each follow-up action.
-
Share the
load – don’t rely on the same people to take the lead all
the time.
-
Be
realistic – new projects can take time for momentum to
build; don’t agree to more than the group can handle before
you meet again.
-
Incentives
– offer rewards for being involved in activities above and
beyond people’s usual tasks, and celebrate achievements.
-
Follow-up
– allocate someone to follow up on actions after the meeting
to keep people on track for the next meeting (it will
probably be you).
Waiting for inspiration
By
Adriana Velez
I just had the most scary and unproductive two weeks of my
life. I was moody and cranky, and I just couldn’t see a way
out. My thesis was due in 8 weeks and I had just wasted 15
days—360 hours!—in front of my computer doing nothing.
But then, when I least expected it, something amazing
happened. I got up one day, sat in front of my computer and
kept writing and writing. I wrote 5 pages straight. I don’t
know about you, but this happens to me all the time. It is a
recurrent ‘illness’, and the silly thing is that I always
panic, even when I know that I will eventually have one of
those days when everything seems easy.
My strategy is to keep a diary of the things I did the day I
was inspired. What did I do first? What did I eat? The idea
is to really get to know yourself. It’s hard and boring, but
it’s better than waiting helplessly until inspiration
decides to arrive.
Be a joiner
By Melanie McKenzie
I know that once I've started something it's
never really as difficult as I expected it
to be. Once I stop procrastinating, I am
generally motivated to make the best of it.
So getting started is the hard part.
Here are some ideas to help you get started:
-
When writing, don't worry about the
quality at first. Just get something
down. You can make it better later.
-
Start with a small chunk. Large projects
can seem daunting, but if you set
yourself a small goal you are less
likely to be intimidated.
-
There's nothing quite like a deadline.
If you convince yourself that it has to
be done by a certain date, then it will.
-
Try making a public commitment so you
feel like you have to carry through.
Surf club
Quotation of the month
Energy and persistence conquer all things.
Benjamin Franklin
(1706 - 1790)
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