Volunteering is a very noble use of your time, and it can be an exhilarating experience right from the beginning.
However, as time goes on and responsibilities in your personal life start to require more attention, finding the motivation to continue your volunteering may become more difficult. Perhaps other pressing matters are starting to fill your schedule, or it could be that a draining work-life has sapped your will to do much else the moment you get home from your job?
Whatever your reason, these struggles are not uncommon. If you want to make sure you remain committed to your goals here, this article should help you. Down below, you will 5 find different ways that may help restore your motivation for all your volunteering. Have a read after the jump.
Be Proactive
Sometimes, you may need to endure a bit of a grind before you see the light at the end of your motivational tunnel. Motivation may only come as a reaction to something you experience, and only being proactive will give you access to those moments in life.
After all, some believe that there is a correlation between making plans and having hope for the future, and it could be that volunteering may play a part in that equation for you. Therefore, the biggest hurdle you may need to conquer may just be putting a plan to volunteer in place, even when motivation is low. After that, your dedication may build as your experiences grow and your future takes a new and exciting turn.
Having personal projects in the pipeline, or even just a date on the calendar to look forward to after numerous lockdowns, might help stir your motivation and enable you to get back out there too. A constant routine might better things also. Sooner or later, productive energy should invigorate you by your efforts, and then anything will be possible.
Tailor Your Experience
It might be that you need to approach volunteering a little bit differently to really maximize your motivation long-term.
Fresh ideas may help you in this endeavor. After all, there is more than one way to volunteer, so exploring the full range of available volunteer opportunities may help you get back in touch with your giving side more willingly. Who knows what exciting experience you will stumble upon in your search?
In doing this, you may also find something that more feasibly fits into your schedule. Many of these roles do not require experience, so you can do something like answering phones and providing customer service if you feel more in keeping with your capabilities and existing commitments. Otherwise, you could instead choose to take on something like creating DIY projects, which might stimulate your creative muscles when time allows.
Additionally, volunteer application forms tend to have a section where you can tick your interests, from office admin to teambuilding exercises. Tick one box or several, play to your strengths or try something new – you are in control of your preferences when you volunteer, so tailor things to your liking to better maximize your motivation levels.
Facilitate Equal Opportunities
Your motivation for volunteering may come more easily to you when you fully realize what could be at stake in your efforts.
Some communities are depending on the results of volunteering projects more than ever today. For instance, certain volunteers are going to great lengths to help people of color get vaccinated safely. Taking matters into your own hands may come easier when your volunteering is a direct response to ensuring people are treated equally and have access to the same level of support.
Furthermore, you may sometimes feel disillusioned with volunteering if you feel underrepresented within the schemes themselves. However, there are volunteering initiatives that ensure different demographics receive a platform for their efforts. This was the case with last March’s Women Build event, where girls could group and build something wonderful together. Partaking in such efforts, chipping away at a few stereotypes, and setting a good example of inclusion for the next generation could be useful motivators as well.
Teach Values to Your Family
Of course, while you could set a good example for those in your community, your volunteering could set a precedent in your family too.
Volunteering can be a matter of principle, in that it is an upstanding citizen’s duty to better their local communities. Therefore, giving back can be a great family activity, too, potentially teaching your kids important lessons about integrity, responsibility, and kindness. If you are in the process of raising your own family, then volunteering can provide many organic learning moments that may otherwise be difficult for your kids to conceptualize in their minds.
It may also be a good way to keep your kids busy on weekends from staring at phones and playing video games. After all, a parent’s ultimate motivation is often the well-being of their kids, so perhaps volunteering could factor into that objective.
Organize Your Life
Once your family affairs are in order, other elements of your life could soon begin to fall back into place by your volunteering.
For example, donating and shopping for old furniture at the Restore can help change people’s lives for the better too. You will do your part to help the community and the volunteering project, and at the same time, you could better arrange your home, either by clearing space or introducing new decor. They also accept various other building materials and home goods, so working with them can be a great win-win situation for all.
There are other ways to reduce your household waste to benefit your community, such as only shopping for products you will routinely use or repairing goods that become broken instead of replacing them immediately. Ultimately, these endeavors can help get your act together and put some more positivity out into the world simultaneously, and this synergy could help your motivation.
If you would like to find out more about how you can help the Dorchester community, do get in touch with us today. We look forward to hearing from you.
