Office Organization
I knew where everything was until I cleaned my office!
Does that sound familiar?
This section is coming online slowly - I'm still working on my office! To see what I'm doing and using, you can check out the book, Youth Ministry Management Tools, from Youth Specialties. If you are using the NSpire program mentioned in the software section, than this books has a useful CD-ROM with loads of pre-made forms you can use for all types of office organization and ministry tasks.
Trying to cut out the clutter
If you are in full time Children's Ministry than a filing cabinet is a must.
I try to keep most things on my computer and backed up on CDR's (if you've ever
had your computer crash, you'll know the importance of making backups) however,
I still generate a lot of paper. I tend to keep everything and am now working
on getting rid of anything I haven't used in the last two years. If you're like
me, catalogues arrive weekly. Be sure you only keep ones you will order from and
only keep the most recent copy on file. Most companies have web pages, so if you
bookmark your favorites, you might not even need the catalogue!
Phone Log
I have created a phone log for myself. It is a simple form I created on my
computer that has spaces for the caller's name, phone number, the date and time.
Also there is a spot for notes and action steps. At the bottom I have a space to
record future action that needs to be done, when to do it by and if I need to
get back in touch with the caller. I get so many calls daily, it's nice to know
exactly where I wrote my notes from the call, important numbers given to me and
so on. Plus, it can give you some added accountability to your phone calls and
communications with people if you have a written record. I made about fifty
copies of this form and bound they with a plastic spine. I keep this book on my
desk. Click here to see my phone log in PDF
format and here for an editable copy in Microsoft
Word.
Binders
I create a binder (3 Ring Binder) for all my events. A binder allows me to keep
everything together. Using dividers, I can easily find lessons, budget
information, staff or volunteer info and so on. This is by no means new,
original or revolutionary. But, it's great to be able to walk to a shelf and
grab "summer camp" and know you have everything at your finger tips. I
usually have stored in the binder a CDR with everything generated for that
event. Binders travel well and are easy to work with. Be sure you label your
binders. I typically will create a design or logo for the event and put that on
the front of the binder and also on the CDR. Be sure you label the spine as
well, so you can find it easily when it's stored on a shelf.
Using Software to Organize
I've got a couple of specialty software programs that help me stay organized and
keep up with loaning books, music CDs and DVDs. They are all great programs
because, they are cheap or free, simple to use and they interact with the
internet to fill in all the information for me. I have barcode scanner I
purchased to use with our check in/check out process, but I also use it to keep
up with books, music and videos. The programs create databases of my books, CDs
and DVDs that contain all the information, plus cover pictures and they are
exportable to websites if you want. They use the internet to look up the
information based on the UPC Barcodes found on the backs of the books, CDs and
DVDs which I can scan with my barcode scanner or just type the number in. Each
program will also let me loan out and manage who's got what and when it's
returned. Also great for having current inventories incase of disasters or just
going to buy some new stuff. I purchased the book and CD database programs from www.collectorz.com
and my DVD database came from DVD
Profiler (I use the free version).
More coming soon.