With so many moving parts at camp, it is a task in itself just to stay organized. You have to constantly engage with your campers and parents, supervise staff, manage schedules, coordinate activities, keep track of equipment, worry about your facilities and maintenance, and much more. Don’t get too overwhelmed there are several things you can do for yourself and your camp operation to stay organized to make those things much easier. Make staying organized a priority by doing the following:
- Make sure you have a plan for everything! Putting the work in ahead of time will free up more of your time to enjoy camp.
- Communicate with your staff daily while delegating tasks. Give your staff more responsibility and empower them to do great things at camp. Taking on too much on your own is a recipe for disaster.
- Get feedback from your staff daily so you can get ahead of any concerns or potential incidents. Keep daily logs to communicate incidents and reminders to parents.
- Ensure all areas of your facilities are clean before and after every activity. Get your campers in the habit of cleaning up after themselves throughout the day to save you and your staff constantly having to follow up behind each group.
- Put equipment back in the proper location at the end of each day. It does not take long for things to start to pile up and will take more time to fix later on.
- Have clear and concise daily opening and closing procedures for your facility that includes clean up, taking out trash, and putting away equipment.
- Keep essential paperwork centralized in one area or in one camp binder.
- Make yourself to-do lists regularly to stay on track with what needs to be accomplished.
- Stay on schedule for your activities and limit time transitioning from one activity to another.
- Be responsive to parents and resolve any incidents that occur to make sure there is nothing you have to deal with ongoing that will detract you from other important tasks.
- Be forward thinking. Once an activity or task has been started, let your staff take over so you can start getting ready for whatever is next and make sure you are always one step ahead of your daily schedule.
- Give yourself plenty of time ahead of an activity or trip to organize your campers to make sure you stay on track. Organizing large groups of kids always takes longer than you expect. Trying to squeeze it in too quick will always make it feel like you are rushing or falling behind.
- Set aside office hours to keep up with paperwork and administrative duties. If these things are pushed aside they will pile up and take more time to do later on.
- During down times make sure campers are seated or in a line. Minimize down time as much as possible. Getting the kids organized and where you need them will free up your counselors to start whatever is up next.
Have plans, think ahead, empower staff, and stay on task are just a few things you can do to keep your camp operations organized. Keeping yourself and your operation organized will show to your staff and participants, give you the free time you never thought you had, and allow you to enjoy your camp even more than you do now.
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