Practical steps to get more done
March 31, 2009
There are skills you can learn to be more efficient, to get more done. While our focus thus far on time management has been on the theology of time and underlying causes of time mismanagement, it is also appropriate to learn practical skills to get more done. Here are some steps to take to help you be more productive.
First, improve your management skills. As a ministry leader, you may be a “people person.” That’s great! It may also mean you don’t have natural management skills. These can be learned by reading, learning from other managers on our leadership team, or attending training conferences. You can learn to manage yourself, your workspace, your workload, and your work associates more efficiently – thus improving your personal efficiency.
Second, create and use a time use plan. While you may have a written budget for your money, you may not have applied those same principles to using time. Time is a limited resource. It must be allocated to the most important activities. Get a planning tool – there are many good ones – and start listing, prioritizing, and doing your work in an orderly fashion.
Third, make a time log. For one month, keep up with how you spend your time in 15 minute blocks. You may think that’s impossible. It’s not. We require doctor of ministry students to do this for three months! When you write down how you spend your time, you will be amazed at how much time you are devoting to trivial pursuits. A time log is the quickest way to get to the cold hard facts.
Fourth, plan your work using the “six hour rule.” What is this? A ministry leader should expect the unexpected – the drop in visitor, the crisis phone call, the staff member who drops in with a problem, the project that takes longer than planned, the sick person you have to cover for. When you schedule your day “wall-to-wall” you don’t have any time to absorb these problems (or opportunities!). So, plot out six hours of work per day and trust God to fill the other two hours with divine appointments.
Fifth, groups tasks and make bumper appointments. Read all your mail at one sitting. Answer your email once, or at most twice per day. Block out time to study, to plan, to have meetings, to do counseling. Try to keep things in their time slot so you can be more efficient. Make bumper appointments, meaning if you allot an hour for a meeting or a counseling session, put something else right behind it. It’s amazing how people will get to the point when they know you have another obligation and will be leaving soon.
Sixth, use your cell phone to return calls and email. Routine matters can be handled while you wait in line, are waiting for your next appointment, or have other down time. Answer email promptly and directly. If it requires more than a few words, it’s usually more efficient to call the person.
Seventh, work all the time you are at work. The office is for work – not shooting the breeze with your associates, working on your putting stroke, or (and this is the worst one) surfing the Internet. When you are at work, work! People often ask me how I get my work done since I travel so much. I get it done because when I am on the road, I work! All the time I am away from home is “work” time. I don’t sit around hotel rooms wasting time. I read, write, answer email, and return calls. When you are “on the clock” work hard. Then, when it’s time to go home, you can leave your work behind knowing it is complete (or at least caught up).
Finally, and this is my favorite, every day when you get to work “grab a root and growl.” A retired iron worker taught me that phrase. He said, “How do you get a stump out of the ground? You grab a root and growl!” What he meant was, when you have a complicated pile of work and you aren’t sure where to start, “JUST START.” Don’t waste time sitting around stressing about how much you have to do. Get moving – and the whole mess will start sorting itself out along the way!
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Root Causes of time mismanagement-Part 2
March 23, 2009
Last week, we considered two causes of time mismanagement for leaders. We have previously learned that God created time and called it good – so time isn’t the problem. We are the problem. Now let’s consider two additional reasons leaders have a hard time managing time.
The third reason is poor leadership self-esteem. When a leader feels inadequate and tries to compensate through work, destructive behavior often results. For example, some leaders work long hours to try to gain approval from people (and by extension, from God). One pastor told me he would drive his car to the church, leave it there, and walk home so his parishioners would think he was working all the time. Sad, but faking busyness to feel appreciated isn’t that uncommon in ministry. Another example is working hard to justify our role, particularly since we don’t produce a product. We don’t make anything or sell anything so it is hard to quantify our work. So, some ministry leaders count the hours, miles, or contacts to prove they are working hard.
Solving these issues isn’t about finding more time. In fact, more time would only exacerbate the problem if you fill it with more and more unproductive activity. The solution is solving your esteem needs in Jesus Christ. He has established your value, your worth as a person. Your identity is in him, not in your accomplishments. No person is ever defined by what they do for God. We are defined by knowing God through Jesus, not by what we do for God.
A final reason, really a set of reasons, for time mismanagement by leaders is believing myths about the ministry. These are truisms “everyone knows” are valid, but really aren’t. The emperor has no clothes, so to speak, and it’s time to debunk these myths.
The first myth is “I must always be available/am indispensable.” Have you noticed how the most esteemed professionals in our culture – doctors, attorneys, executives – aren’t very accessible? If you think your availability to every person who has a whim to see you validates your importance, you are wrong.
The second myth is “I must please everyone/keep conflict to a minimum.” Wrong. You can’t please everyone. Conflict isn’t always bad. Trying to be a peace-keeper on steroids is a blind path leading to ever-increasing frustration. Some people don’t like each other and some won’t like you. No amount of time spent on some relationships makes any difference.
The third myth is “I am responsible for everything.” No you aren’t. You are responsible for a lot – but not for everything. Others can make decisions. Others can lead programs. Others can sing and preach and pray. Others can visit the sick and evangelize the lost. Good leaders empower others, to minister and make mistakes. You can’t guarantee success for every effort, no matter how much time you invest.
Rather than believe these myths about the ministry, look to better models for the truth about ministerial effectiveness. Look honestly at the ministry of Jesus. Take a good look at healthy ministry leaders who seem to have a more balanced life than you. Emulate them.
Sometimes, trying to manage time better isn’t the best solution for your problems, stress, and frustration. Look at the underlying issues. Time mismanagement may be more of a symptom than a root problem. Fix the real problems and time management issues become much more easily resolved.
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The root causes of time mismanagement-Part 1
March 16, 2009
So far, we have learned in our brief study on time management that time is not the problem! We are the problem. As I have observed leaders who struggle with time management, the solution isn’t usually a better calendaring system or more efficient work patterns. The solution is often much deeper, dealing with core issues that drive us as leaders. Here, then, are some true sources of time mismanagement.
First, leaders mismanage time because of personal insecurity. For example, you may have a difficult time saying “no” without feeling guilty. You want people to like you so you commit to unnecessary activities. You have a low failure threshold so you overcompensate by taking responsibility that really isn’t yours. You are unable to trust others to make decisions, so you attend every meeting. These are symptoms of personal insecurity. Time management tools won’t help you solve these problems.
The solution is developing a deeper security in your relationship with Jesus Christ. He has secured you eternally, and currently, and established your value and identity. You don’t have anything to prove to anyone. You can relax. You aren’t perfect, your work will include mistakes and failures, and others will occasionally make bad decisions (for which you will be responsible). As your security increases, your frantic pace will decrease. As your security increases, managing time will become much easier. Check out my chapter on “Finding Security” in
The Character of Leadership if you need more help on this important matter.
Second, leaders mismanage time because of poor self-discipline. For example, you may have emotion-driven work patterns. You work when you feel creative, or inspired, or spiritual. Basing your work schedule on how you feel is a recipe for inefficiency and wasted time. You may also make the mistake of over-spiritualizing your tasks. Our work is spiritual, but it is also “work.” God knows, for instance, that Sunday is coming! It amazes me how many pastors work on their sermons on Saturday night, mistaking adrenaline induced panic for the Spirit’s leading, claiming God didn’t inspire them until the last minute. It seems an omniscient God could inspire just as well on Tuesday or Wednesday if you knuckled down and got to work on your message. We also waste time by avoiding or putting off distasteful tasks. Thinking about something for a long time, fretting over it and worrying about it, won’t make it go away.
The solution to this problem is recognizing self-discipline as a Spirit-produced fruit and taking the initiative to develop a disciplined work schedule. As you take those steps, the Holy Spirit will join you, empower you, and sustain you. He produces self-discipline, in response to leaders who discipline themselves. Sounds contradictory, but it isn’t. The Spirit comes alongside those who attempt a more disciplined life, enabling it in supernatural proportions.
The simplest step you can take in this area is to submit yourself to a schedule. Write out a time use plan and follow it – whether you feel like it or not, whether it works the first time or not. By trial and error, you will learn how to appropriately allocate your time. And, as you focus your energy on tasks, the Spirit will meet you in surprising ways to enable your effectiveness. For more help on this subject, again, consider reading my chapter on “Practicing Discipline” in
The Character of Leadership.
Next week, two more root causes of time mismanagement.
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Establishing the Habit of Rest
March 9, 2009
I was a workaholic. Not anymore, thank God. But my zeal to prove myself as a pastor, my misguided attempts to earn God’s favor through performance, and my perfectionism ingrained in me by my upbringing all contributed to a very unhealthy perspective on work.
How bad was it? While in my first ministry position, my supervisor asked me to read
Confessions of a Workaholic by Wayne Oates and discuss it with him. My reply to him was, “Sure, I didn’t know that was a problem for you. I’ll be glad to help you if I can.” I was oblivious (and a bit arrogant, don’t you think?). Imagine my surprise when during the first meeting I learned it was
me who had the problem.
Despite his best efforts, however, those meetings didn’t fix the problem. It was about three years later, after becoming a pastor and a father, when my wife forcibly confronted me about my workaholism. As a result, I went to the leaders of my church and told them I was going to begin taking one day a week off from ministry to spend more time with my family. To show you how warped my perspective was, I actually dreaded the meeting thinking I might lose my job. On the contrary, those good deacons said, “We get two days a week off from work, why are you only planning to take one?” They backed my wife totally. That night, about 25 years ago, the practice of Sabbath rest took root in our lives.
We defined Sabbath rest, using a phrase a friend from seminary taught me, as “one day a week not advancing your own cause.” That meant Sabbath rest wasn’t complete inactivity, but it was pulling back from the grind of ministry leadership (my “cause”) and focusing on God, my family, and other rejuvenating activities. Of course, as parents, complete inactivity was impossible. But we have developed some patterns, healthy for us, that might help you. Here are some suggestions.
When our children were young, and my wife was a stay-at-home mom, we took Thursday off each week. On Thursday, there was almost never any church scheduling conflicts. It was a good day to have a mid-week break and gear up for the weekend. It worked well for us. Later, when the children were older and Ann was working a part-time job, we switched to Friday. That gave us part of a day alone before the children came home from school. There were occasional, unavoidable church schedule conflicts, but not too many that we couldn’t manage to still rest. Now that we are empty nesters, we usually make Friday or Saturday our rest day, but we have more flexibility these days. The important thing is we designate a day and both of us work hard at keeping it a rest day – a day when we don’t “advance our cause.”
What is the day like? First, no phone calls. Second, no email. Third, no work talk (with each other or anyone else). My office can reach me in a true emergency but we disconnect from the normal chatter of our lives. Third, we do what we like to do. I still get up early. Ann sleeps late. We eat simple meals. We do something (shopping or a movie), or not, depending on the mood! About the only rule we have about what we can “do” is it can’t be work related.
How often do we really do this? We haven’t kept records but we estimate we have taken a Sabbath rest day about 40-45 weeks per year for the past 25 years. Yes, we miss some weeks because of our schedule or legitimate emergencies. But, the benefits of rest (and we feel it when we miss it) are so profound we quickly re-establish this discipline when we miss a week or two.
The biggest problem to establishing Sabbath rest isn’t lack of knowing how to do it. The biggest obstacle is your pride. You think you are indispensable, that your ministry will fall apart if you aren’t on duty 24-7. Get over yourself! Stretch your faith. God can do more through you in six days than you can do in seven. Obey him. Get healthy. Watch God work!
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A Theology of Time
March 2, 2009
For many leaders, complaints about not having enough time are about as common as breathing. Yet, God isn’t a harsh taskmaster, making unreasonable demands or giving us more to accomplish than there is time to do it. For the next few weeks, let’s consider the issue of time management for leaders. Let’s start, not with learning how to program an electronic calendar, but with developing a theology of time. In summary, what does God say about time?
First, God invented time and called it good. God demarcated days and nights as part of his creative work and called the result – time – good (Gen. 1:3-5, 31). Time was part of the pre-Fall creation, thus time is good! This means time isn’t your enemy. There is nothing sinful or evil about time. So get over making so many negative comments about stress, fatigue, and hurry caused by a “diabolical force” called time.
Second, God established the time of your life. God placed you at the appropriate time in human history (Psalm 139:16). Your birth was perfectly timed for you to be part of this generation. Stop complaining about the times you live in. One friend repeatedly told me, “I was born about a hundred years too late” as he longed for a supposedly simpler, more moral era. My friend was not untimely born. He was born at the precise time God intended… and so were you.
Third, related to number two, God’s plan for your life also includes appropriate timing. He has a timetable for you. Your most productive life isn’t life lived “in a hurry.” Your most productive life is life lived in pace with God’s plans. Jesus’ birth came at the fullness of time, paraphrased “when the times were ripe” (Gal. 4:4). God’s timing is always perfect.
Fourth, God has called us to the stewardship of time. He instructs us to “redeem the time” (Eph. 5:15-16). This doesn’t mean life is a frenetic contest to see who can get the most done. Redeem the time means to make the most of it, to use time most wisely. Sometimes, the best use of time is rest, vacation, reading to a child, walking a beach with your wife, or enjoying a beautiful sunset. Redeeming time means making responsible choices to make the most of the time you have, not just checking things off your to-do list.
Finally, God models a pattern of time use for his people (and expects them to follow it). The pattern is simple – work six days, rest one day (Gen. 2:2, Ex. 20:8-11). Sabbath rest is setting aside one day each week without work (without advancing your own cause). Doing this requires faith God can do more through you in six days than you can do in seven. This is so important (and so difficult), that next week we will devote the entire column to establishing Sabbath rest for ministry leaders.
There are other types of “rest” mentioned in the Bible. There is the rest in the land of Canaan (Josh. 1:13) and three annual week-long rests associated with Jewish feasts and festivals. Sounds like a good reason to ask for three weeks of vacation each year! Good luck with that! There was also rest associated with the Year of Jubilee. In the New Testament, there is of course the rest we have as believers in Jesus. Clearly, God intends his people to follow a pattern of work and rest.
So, here’s a summary of a Theology of Time. God invented time and called it good. He places us at the right time in history and has appropriate timing for events in our lives. We are responsible to use time wisely, including following God’s pattern for work and rest. So, let’s celebrate the gift of time and make managing it a positive part of our leadership role.
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