I do not work in a clinic on Fridays because I have chosen to work 4 ten hour days instead. It is lovely to have a 3 day weekend, but the 10 hour day can be grueling. I realize as I am writing this that as social workers, we really do need excellent time management/organization skills. I had a social worker spend the day with me last week learning about how to balance our workload and organize. Before this new social worker came to my clinic, I spent the prior day reflecting on the way I structure my work life so that I don't burn out. Our caseloads are huge and the documentation is overwhelming. This is the battlecry of all social workers! However, I have found a way to minimize the impact of the crazy-making on my life. There are time management skills that I suppose I have just picked up over the years. One thing that I must have...a paper calendar/planner. I am using a Filofax for my work life and an Erin Condren planner for the rest of my life. Without these two tools, I would seriously be lost. Don't get me wrong: I do use my Outlook calendar too and depend on my iPhone to remind me of appointments and meetings! But for some reason, I am more comfortable relying on my planners to keep me organized. And there is something to be said for being able to check-off items from a list. I used to believe I was just "old school", but then I am seeing the popularity of all the planners.
My Filofax is professional looking but in purple...just because it's me. I use the page per day layout. I have extra pages for adding lists of organizing meetings, addresses of clinics in my region, music I need to download, restaurants I want to eat at, and of course...any helps/aids for obtaining my LCSW license. And yes, again, I can have all of this available electronically. But there is something about the visual that helps me. Filofax is definitely not a cheap system. However I focus on the investment. And if you have something that is beautiful, you just may enjoy using it!
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