Museums & Productivity

Whether you work in a large or small museum, historic site, science center, aquarium, or any of the other myriad places we represent, we all face the exact same challenge - we have just 24 hours in our day.  And, just a portion of that time are the waking hours we spend as professionals on the job, trying to get everything done.

Thus, we need to make strong choices with the time we have.   As museum professionals we face some unique challenges in getting organized and being more productive:

1. We collect and thus we like to save things;
2. We often share spaces;
3. We may suffer from a lack of resources;
4. We always have a hard time saying 'no'

So what can we do to be more organized & productive?
Here are 3 ideas to get you started:

1. Establish routines.   Adding structure to your schedule provides clarity of purpose.
2. Prioritize.   You can't get to everything.  Choose the essentials.
3. Use a tried and true "To Do" list - You would be surprised how many of us try to keep a running list of what we need to do in our heads.   Don't clog your mind - write it down.

My toolbox is full of these tips and much more...And, after 14 years of working with you to educate the public through programs, curriculum materials, advisory boards, research & evaluation, I am now focusing on educating YOU - museum staff, volunteers, and board members on how to work smarter, better use your time and resources, and overall, how to be more efficient and effective at what you do each day....

Creative Simplicity Organizing & Productivity 
www.csimplicity.com ~ csimplicity@comcast.net

Here's to a productive day!

There's A Big World Out There

We don’t look beyond ourselves and our field enough.   

Recently, while on a conference call with a design firm and several museum professionals, we were reviewing sample layouts for a web based museum activity.    The conversation was strong and though the layout still needed user feedback and a bit more tweaking, our homework had been well done.   We had looked at other web sites for ideas and direction.   But not just museum sites – sites of all types, shapes and varieties – preschools, publishers, zoos, libraries, you name it.    It allowed us to explore a range of options and apply the best practices.   It opened our eyes to the larger world out there.   It helped us to do our jobs well and it made me think – we’ve come a long way.

Several years ago I presented at a workshop where I proposed that museum staff look to several for profit industries for ideas and latest trends in evaluation.   Some of the industries recommended included high tech, entertainment and retail.    Participants were enlightened, if not a bit surprised.     At the lunch break, several commented that they had never done this and it was a practice they needed to consider more often.    

Just a few days ago an event listing passed my desk.   The topic was customer/visitor service and the core message was that they would be ‘looking to other fields’ to inform the content of the event.      You’ve got to do it to stay fresh, stay relevant and apply big ideas.    Sometimes it gets you a bit off track, but as museum professionals, we know how to pull ourselves back, and the journey will have opened our eyes.