Best Self-Care Strategies for Nonprofit Professionals

A guest post by Kyle Cannon of MassageBook

As a nonprofit professional, you know firsthand just how hectic your job is. From procuring auction items for an upcoming fundraiser, to managing your marketing strategy, to applying for grants, there’s always plenty for professionals at small or medium nonprofits to do.

However, when tasks pile up and deadlines get closer, stress builds. And with stress comes a host of negative effects, including burnout.

To combat these effects and ensure you have a long and fulfilling nonprofit career, it’s important to prioritize self-care. Let’s explore the benefits of self-care and some top strategies for staying physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy through the ups and downs in your role.

Why is self-care important for nonprofit professionals?

Self-care, job satisfaction, and employee engagement are all common priorities of businesses, but there needs to be more focus placed on them at nonprofits. Even if they’re passionate about their mission-driven work, nonprofit employees are just as susceptible to the negative effects of work stress. After all, stress can take a toll on their:

• Quality of life. Chronic or long-term stress can disrupt your body’s processes and put you at increased risk of physical and mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, headaches, and heart disease. It’s also been shown to impair memory and concentration.

• Quality of work. A lowered quality of life reduces the quality of work. Stressed employees are less engaged in their roles, have reduced focus and productivity, are more frequently absent or tardy, and generally perform more poorly than their less stressed coworkers.

With 83% of workers in the U.S. saying that they suffer from daily work-related stress and 52% experiencing burnout, it’s clear that self-care is more crucial now than ever. You don’t have to work in the massage industry to worry about self-care—start forming good habits today to stay satisfied and fulfilled in your role!

Best Self-Care Strategies for Nonprofit Professionals

Let’s start by looking at ways nonprofit professionals can take self-care into their own hands.

Time Management

Establishing great time management habits is a form of self-care—after all, these practices help you complete your tasks promptly, resulting in less stress. If you’re looking to start prioritizing time management, try one of these tips:

• Choose a top priority. To stay focused, choose a top priority you commit to completing before the end of the day. For example, if you’re tasked with looking for corporate sponsors for an upcoming event, your priority might be to schedule meetings with three sponsors today. This practice helps you stay accountable and ensures you complete your most important tasks.

• Break big tasks down. When faced with what seems like an insurmountable task, many professionals feel they don’t know where to start, causing them to procrastinate and waste time. Instead of tackling the task head-on, break it down into smaller steps to make it feel more approachable. Plus, you’ll feel good about completing each step, motivating you to continue your hard work.

• Reduce distractions. This might mean closing your email when trying to focus, buying noise-canceling headphones in a loud office, or even putting your cell phone away. Additionally, avoid multitasking, as research has shown that it actually takes a toll on productivity.

You may be called on to handle large projects or tasks that require a lot of work at certain times and much less work during other times, such as creating and sending out multichannel marketing materials for your upcoming event. Having a strong grasp of time management will ensure that you’re able to get your work done and take care of yourself even during particularly busy or stressful periods.

Work-Life Balance

Although work is an important part of our lives, it isn’t and shouldn’t be everything. You need the space to relax and do other activities that are important to you. That’s why mastering work-life balance is so crucial.

Here are a few tips to help you develop a better work-life balance:

• Take breaks throughout the workday.
• Use your vacation time.
• Don’t let work bleed into your personal time.

Set aside time to relax and engage in your hobbies when you’re finished with work. This could mean watching Netflix, reading a book, or playing disc golf with friends.

If you’re feeling any physical effects of stress, be sure to get treated as well. While some effects such as heart palpitations and high blood pressure will require a medical provider’s attention, if you’re experiencing less severe effects such as stiffness or mild headaches, a massage might be enough to help you feel better. According to MassageBook, certain practitioners accept health insurance for their services, making massages more affordable for stressed nonprofit professionals.

Best Self-Care Strategies for Nonprofit Organizations

If you’re a nonprofit leader or director, you should both prioritize your self-care and consider how you can encourage your staff to participate in self-care. Here are a few ways you can support your nonprofit’s employees:

• Add more flexible work options. Although 9-5 in-office is traditional, your employees can benefit from more flexible work arrangements that fit their needs. This might mean offering remote or hybrid work or even flexible hours. For example, instead of requiring employees to work from 9 AM to 5 PM, ask them to work 8 hours anytime between 7 AM and 7 PM.
• Establish dedicated employee wellness programs. This might mean offering a gym membership stipend as part of their compensation package, offering healthy catered food options for lunch, or partnering with other wellness businesses to promote employee wellness.

• Create a supportive workplace culture. A negative workplace culture can contribute to more stress and anxiety among employees. Take the time to create a supportive culture where employees feel empowered to do their best. Encourage employees to show appreciation for each other so everyone feels recognized for their hard work.

Additionally, if you’re serious about improving self-care for your nonprofit employees, consider streamlining their workflow with software. Just like a massage business would purchase massage therapy software to reduce its employees’ workload, your nonprofit might benefit from software that automates everyday responsibilities.

The first tech solution nonprofits should consider is a constituent relationship management solution (CRM). These tools allow you to gather key information about your supporters to improve future stewardship and marketing efforts. Check out this list of top platforms from Bonterra to get started.

Kyle Cannon

Kyle is the product evangelist at MassageBook. He’s spent the past 8+ years developing a deep understanding of the joys and struggles massage therapists face daily, and he’s committed to helping them simplify and grow their practices every step of the way.