Do any of you volunteer too much?

[L Sass]

I need to cut it back and I don't really know how. I'm a lawyer who put the career thing on hold to raise my wonderful children. But I still wanted to stay active in my community for when I re-enter the legal field. So now I do these volunteer positions:

Chair of our local zoning commission
Sect/treasurer of county planning commission
Legal advisor for local high school mock trial
Coach a 50-girl junior drill team (this is new)

All of these take so much time that I feel as if I interact less with my kids than if I were working full time. UGH! For those of you who have ever over extended yourselves, how did you correct it? Just scale back a little at a time? I'd appreciate any thoughts. Thanks.

Lorrie

Pain is temporary - quitting lasts forever
Candace Grasso, CC-V-6

 

[teddy16410]

Lorrie: i re-evaluate my volunteer duties about ever 6 months. I just look at how my life is changing and see where I need to cut back - give more - or change volunteer groups.... I just make a call to supervisor and let them know 30 days in advance of changes to make to upcoming requests/schedules.
Good Luck!

 

[onedayatatime]

Lorrie--
I have definitely felt overcommitted before and found it helpful to sit down and think through "what's most important" and go from there.

I recently volunteered to help at an event my kids participated in and ended up feeling badly because my volunteering made me less available to help my kids during the event.

I think scaling back a little or as much as is possible based on where you feel your time is best spent is a good way to go. I sometimes think through what's most important in different time frames, immediate, short-term, medium term, long term when I have trouble making decisions. Breaking anything down into parts helps me -- e.g. the mix-match features on DVDs is one I use a lot!
-HTH,
Barb

 

[dorothyrd]

What is hard is that organizations recognize good volunteers and you get asked time and time again. No is a valuable word to learn. Saying no is not a bad thing. If you say yes and do a poor job, because you said yes to, too many things, then you feel bad. Sometimes I say no, but qualify it with, think of me in the future when such and such changes.

For instance, I am President of the swim team board, and the President of Illinois Master's swimming wanted me to help with a fitness committee she is starting. I would love, love, love to do that, but I said no to this year, but maybe next year when I am not President of the swim team board. Since I am also on the YMCA board, working full time, going to school, I have to be careful about over extending. So I think very carefully what I say yes and no to.