67% of social workers who responded to Community Care’s survey said they often miss their lunch breaks. While this happens to everyone now and again, it should not be a regular occurrence, even in a high-pressure, high-workload role such as social care.
It is important to organise your time well as a social worker, so you do not burn yourself out, especially with increased caseloads and responsibilities. Using a planner is often simple, but an overlooked solution when it comes to organising your time. But the benefits can really have a positive impact on how you approach your work and how you manage the importance of your tasks. Read our easy planner tips, so you can give yourself some much-deserved breaks.
Write everything down
As soon as you get assigned a task, write it down in your planner! Ensure to write some details about what you need to do, the deadline and any other important information you need to remember. Then schedule some time in for that task, so you know you have time to complete it before the deadline. This will make sure you won’t forget about anything or have to rush to complete something. It is also a good way to visualise your workload and see how much extra time you have for last-minute tasks.
Make a to-do list every day
At the beginning of each day, write a to-do list of everything you have to do before the end of the day in priority order and complete the list in that order so then when you do get extra responsibilities or tasks that day you know that the most important ones have been done. You can then carry less important tasks over to the next day. Click here to view our post about how to manage your to-do list.
Keep a time diary
Spend a week timing yourself while completing each task, see how long it takes you to do those tasks and evaluate whether some tasks are taking much longer than they should. Use those reflections to perhaps change your approach to those tasks so you complete them quicker. Maybe ask your co-workers or manager about an approach that could be faster.
Remember, breaks help your productivity, so take at least a 15-minute break to eat, go on a walk, relax, or just take a breather so you can come back with more energy and motivation after.
For more support, work tips and career advice, check out our blog here.
67% of social workers who responded to Community Care’s survey said they often miss their lunch breaks. While this happens to everyone now and again, it should not be a regular occurrence, even in a high-pressure, high-workload role such as social care.
It is important to organise your time well as a social worker, so you do not burn yourself out, especially with increased caseloads and responsibilities. Using a planner is often simple, but an overlooked solution when it comes to organising your time. But the benefits can really have a positive impact on how you approach your work and how you manage the importance of your tasks. Read our easy planner tips, so you can give yourself some much-deserved breaks.
Write everything down
As soon as you get assigned a task, write it down in your planner! Ensure to write some details about what you need to do, the deadline and any other important information you need to remember. Then schedule some time in for that task, so you know you have time to complete it before the deadline. This will make sure you won’t forget about anything or have to rush to complete something. It is also a good way to visualise your workload and see how much extra time you have for last-minute tasks.
Make a to-do list every day
At the beginning of each day, write a to-do list of everything you have to do before the end of the day in priority order and complete the list in that order so then when you do get extra responsibilities or tasks that day you know that the most important ones have been done. You can then carry less important tasks over to the next day. Click here to view our post about how to manage your to-do list.
Keep a time diary
Spend a week timing yourself while completing each task, see how long it takes you to do those tasks and evaluate whether some tasks are taking much longer than they should. Use those reflections to perhaps change your approach to those tasks so you complete them quicker. Maybe ask your co-workers or manager about an approach that could be faster.
Remember, breaks help your productivity, so take at least a 15-minute break to eat, go on a walk, relax, or just take a breather so you can come back with more energy and motivation after.
For more support, work tips and career advice, check out our blog here.