What do you do if your volunteer work is taking over your personal life?

My experience volunteering has been fulfilling; if you're considering doing the same, check out my suggestions below: Understand why you do things. Be the first to share a personal story. Make a schedule. In any situation , acceptance play very important role.. Regain equilibrium. Ask for help. Be adaptable. Be the first to share a personal story. Evaluate your development. Here's something else to think about.

If volunteer work overwhelms personal life, set boundaries by scheduling dedicated volunteer hours. Communicate limits to volunteer coordinators, prioritizing self-care and personal commitments. Delegate tasks, streamline responsibilities, and seek support from fellow volunteers or supervisors. Regularly reassess commitments to maintain balance and prevent burnout while still contributing meaningfully to the cause.

Before starting a volunteer activity, it is important to make a previous evaluation of the time available, thinking mainly about the time dedicated to leisure, family, sleep, work and extra activities. It is important to size up the time and resources that will be consumed by the activity in order to adjust it within our usual schedule. It is also important to contemplate the days that the attendance will require as well as the possible attendance at unusual hours. And obviously the workload. If after having done this examination and already in the middle of the process or development of the activity we realize that we are leaving obligations that are a priority, we should talk to the PM about the possibility of optimizing time&resources.

We know that there is a need to carry out this optimization of time and resources. From that moment on, it is important to set boundaries. Based on our rol in the volunteering it is necessary to determine the level of criticality that exists within the sub-processes of which the activity consists and see in which of them our presence and execution is necessary no matter what. For those sub-processes of lower priority, it is possible to negotiate with the PM the possibility that another member of the team can do them in a complementary way or contemplate the possibility of incorporating another person to cover them. It is very important to keep a balance between work-life balance and volunteering. Otherwise our performance will be affected.

Schedules!!! Sometimes as a lead in the social and tech department, certain tasks may take longer than expected. However, with schedules, it will be easier to block out specified time for particular tasks. Even if you don't finish in time, you can allocate time to the next day's schedule. Removing volunteering altogether is not a good idea, as volunteering is actually beneficial to your overall health.