For young professionals, by young professionals. This monthly newsletter is published by Future Leaders & Entrepreneurs Exchange (FLEX), the young professionals group of the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce.
Click here or the image below for a PDF of the FYI.
Find articles from the FLEX FYI on the Chamber’s blog.
How often do you hear people say they are overwhelmed, busy, or don’t have enough time in the day? You most likely can relate. Between a career, family and friends, hobbies, and volunteerism, it can be difficult to balance it all.
We know this is a struggle that many face, especially young professionals, so that’s why we chose “Balancing Commitments” as our recent Speaker Series topic.
Erin Hanna of Bayada Pediatrics (and our 2021 Young Professional of the Year) and Erin Wincek of Drake Well Museum and Park shared their experiences with choosing when and where to get involved, how to say no to things, and how to maintain balance and good time management.
Finding the Right Fit
“Volunteering is vital to being involved in our community and giving back as young professionals. Finding a way to balance that is really exciting to think about,” said Wincek.
Finding that balance starts with figuring out which organizations to give your time to. Think about the organization—does its mission align with your own personal passions and interests? If you’re not certain it’s right for you, start by committing in a small way, like volunteering for one event. Also, do tons of research, like reading the organization’s bylaws and asking questions.
Saying No
One of the most important, and hardest, skills to learn is when to say no. “It’s important to me to give my very best, and when I say yes to too many organizations, I end up not being able to give my best because I’m trying to be too many things to too many people,” said Hanna.
Some ideas they shared for learning when to say no include mapping out how the role would fit in your current schedule, understanding the expected time commitment, and being intentional.
Learning Balance
“I’m still learning how to balance commitments myself,” said Wincek. “It’s an ongoing, lifelong process.”
As you go through the process, be sure to remember what activities are important to you. You can’t give an organization what it needs if you’re not giving yourself what you need, whether that’s exercising, getting outdoors, making art, cooking, etc.
To help balance it all, consider tools like Google Calendar, Google Drive, and Panda Planner.
Remember, too, that there are many ways to get involved and levels of commitment. You can make monetary donations, volunteer, provide subject matter expertise, sit on a board, and more.
“Build relationships and have honest conversations,” said Hanna.
This is just a small part of the presentation provided by Wincek and Hanna at our Speaker Series. We encourage you to watch the recording on our YouTube channel at bit.ly/ FLEXYouTube.
This article was published in the Future Leaders & Entrepreneurs Exchange’s (FLEX) January 2022 edition of the FLEX Your Ideas (FYI) Newsletter.
Click here to complete the survey.
Venango County Courthouse Annex
1174 Elk Street, Franklin, PA 16323
(814) 432-9577
Lunch was provided by Bella Cucina
Tyler Johnson – Panelist
School Board Member (Oil City Area School District)
Owner of Johnson Landscaping
Ryan Rudegeair – Panelist
City Council (City of Franklin)
Owner of Buffalo Street Lanes
Jason Ruggerio – Panelist
Owner of Plot Twist Farm
Owner of Spark Community Capital
Former Executive Director of the Venango County Regional Planning Commission
Derek Long – Panelist
Fire Chief (Oil City Fire Department)
Wally Page – Honorable Leadership
Owner of Emlenton Brew Haus
Venango County Commissioners
Albert “Chip” Abramovic
cabramovic@co.venango.pa.us
Mike Dulaney
mdulaney@co.venango.pa.us
Sam Breene
sbreene@co.venango.pa.us
Trenton Moulin – Boardsmanship
President/CEO of Bridge Builders Community Foundations
trenton@bbcf.org
Bridge Builders website
Kat Thompson – FLEX
Membership & Education Manager of the Venango Chamber
kthompson@venangochamber.org
FLEX website
FLEX Facebook Page
Judge Tom Kistler – Venango County Courthouse Tour
Acting President Judge, Venango County
Court Administration website
Susan’s quote: “Unspoken expectations are planned resentments.”
Notes from Wally on Honorable Leadership (coming soon)
Notes from Trenton’s presentation on Boardsmanship (coming soon)
Books mentioned by Wally Page:
• Soul of America by Jon Meacham
• Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
• Extreme Ownership By Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
• Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy
Boardsmanship – Handbook for Directors of Non-Profit Corporations
Early in December, I purchase a large paper calendar, a visual tool for planning the year. I’ve been using these for years and display the previous year, too. This allows me to plot out meetings and events.
Google Calendar is also a favorite tool. Used by our staff, this is where we schedule meetings and activities. Each of us have our own system for planning, but we’ve learned that we must have a shared platform. As we have extended more flexibility in schedules, this allows us to reference meetings or activities that impact others in the office. Having access to Google calendar from any device makes scheduling timely and dynamic.
Upon arriving at the office, my mind is often full of the things that need to be accomplished that day. To get organized, I like to use one-page, daily planning sheets. The planning pages I use have a place for my top three priorities for the day, along with sections for other important to-dos, meetings and appointments, gratitude, water consumption, and personal notes.
These planning pages really help me get everything out of my head and into a more organized, manageable format. I ordered the pages I currently use from Amazon, but you could design your own to be perfectly tailored to your business and personal needs.
Staying organized is challenging without good systems. I often travel across the county for meetings and work errands and on those trips I’m usually carrying my mini binder that allows me to insert and rearrange notes, flyers, business cards, and sticky notes.
I also rely on our office Google Calendar, along with my personal Google Calendar. Accessing both from my phone or computer is convenient for scheduling and planning. I add meetings to the shared calendar so everyone knows where I’ll be or if I’m available, and use my own calendar to list tasks, deadlines, or reminders and to schedule personal activities.
I’d add Panda Planner and Google Keep to the list of tools from others! Panda Planner is similar to Tessa’s daily sheets, but with pages for each month, week, and day. It’s the first thing I look at in the morning to plan my day, and I also like to time block in it to stay on task.
Google Keep is an app for lists and notes. There are always new ideas and things to do in my head, so I have lists in Google Keep where I jot down things to remember. Keep notes can be shared, so they’re great for collaborating. In Google Keep, I have anything from my grocery list, to things to remember for Be Here events or to-do lists for my Core Goods staff.
This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s January 2022 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.
COVID-19 vaccine boosters help remind your body and reinforce the protection you have from earlier vaccination. Adults can now get a booster with more flexibility – meaning you can choose to mix between vaccines or match what you had before in many cases. UPMC Northwest encourages patients with questions about their eligibility for a booster or the vaccine in general to contact their primary care physician, pediatrician or obstetrician. “If you have questions, turn to an expert,” UPMC Northwest President Brian Durniok said. “We are here to explain the data and science. We want to share the facts and give you accurate information so that you are empowered to make your own, informed decisions.”
This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s December 2021 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.