Motivated through the summer

16 July 2022

We as an NGO experience it just like other organizations: the summer slump. Temperatures rise above 25 degrees and eating ice cream, going to the lake, and barbecuing are all part of summer. We’ll show you our tips for enjoying the summer and pursuing volunteer work motivated.

Achieve goals and sunshine 

Especially in the summer, it’s hard to stay on the ball. Motivated and productive, and with the nice weather? Of course, we want to keep pursuing our goals. And are we honest? Some things just have to get done, too. Basically, throughout the year, it’s important to bring some organization and structure to your tasks. We’ve found for us that this is a top priority, especially in the summer. 

The target is in focus. 

For the summer, it is important to write down your own goals in concrete terms. So tasks should not be called: “mucking out” or “cleaning”. For us at Taste of Malawi and also the INO brand, this means giving our tasks a precise name: such as “Update section 3 of our website by mid-August.” We all know it: step by step, we can accomplish more. Procrastinating may be much more pleasant at the exact moment, but in the long run it leads us to finish our tasks at the last minute. Sometimes there are tasks where we can look forward to the result from the beginning. Behind other tasks, we simply put a checkmark, done. 

It’s easier with two people.

Sitting alone in your room and tinkering around in Excel spreadsheets? Working through emails or planning the next few months? That all sounds somehow unattractive? – We think so, too. We as Taste of Malawi are lucky to be a group of people. That means we always find someone with us who also has something to do at the same time. No one near you or just too far away? That also works great at a distance. Just grab your laptop, sit down outside, in the park, garden, or on the balcony, and simply make a really old school phone call. 

Daily schedule

Just work on it? Will it work somehow? We have not had good experiences with this. This also doesn’t mean that you should set an alarm clock for every day to constantly get things done. Balance is the solution. Sometimes you can use the cool morning hours to work through your tasks. Then you get something done right away before it gets really warm. We have had a good experience with this. 

See you soon!

We are excited to have a new #FacesOfTom soon. Are you curious? If you have any questions for the Offsite team, we are always happy to include them in our interviews. Just drop us a line on our social media. See you soon!