Giving a Few Hours Away
For wanting to give some time but never getting past the thought. It starts from a skill you already have, turns a cause into one specific shift, counts the real cost in travel and hours, and allows the whole thing to be for you too.
Volunteering · Values · Loneliness · 8 items · once a week
The checklist
- Start from what you already do — a skill you have beats a cause you only admire.
- Pick a shift, not a cause — two hours on a Saturday is a decision you can keep.
- Ask how long they need you for — a trial month is a fair thing to ask about.
- Check what it will actually cost you — the travel and the hours come out of your week.
- Say what you cannot do up front — being clear now saves resigning later.
- Expect the first session to be awkward — not knowing where the mugs are is normal.
- Let it be for you as well — company and a reason to leave the house both count.
- Stop if it turns into another duty — a volunteer who dreads it helps nobody for long.
Use this checklist Free account: tick items off and keep each day's record.
How to use it
Run through it once a week, honestly and without scoring yourself. A checklist is a way of noticing, not a test: an item you cannot tick is information about the day, not a verdict on you. Over a few weeks the pattern of what gets ticked and what does not says more than any single pass.
With a free Theraglee account the checklist remembers each pass, so you can look back. Without one, you can still read it here and keep your own copy.