jordan muck

Some people will tell you they are good at managing their time.  In reality, most people are lying.  Being a pastor, I set my own schedule.  This has numerous positives but can be extremely negative if I don’t manage my time well.  Time management is crucial and we all need to work on it.  My dad (a pastor of 40 years) always tells me, “If you don’t manage your time well, someone will do it for you.”  There are several things you can do to get the most out of your day.  Stop procrastinating and get things done!

• Filter Information - In the ministry we are under the information attack.  The massive amount of information we give and receive is mind boggling.  In a message driven generation, we live and die by text and e-mails.  The real secret here is asking yourself, “How well am I managing my incoming information?”  One thing I work extremely hard at is keeping church and my family completely separated.  Start by separating church and personal e-mail accounts.  Respond to your church related material at the office and family related material at home.  We think that in the ministry we are at work 24/7.  This is a true statement but there are things we can do to minimalize the stress of being “on call”.  This is so hard in ministry but if you can master this, you are on your way to a peace.
• Organize Everything -  Organization is crucial in ministry.  If you’re bad at organization, go find someone right now to get you organized.  You must develop a organization system for everything.  The goal is to reduce the amount of clutter on your desk, in your office, at your house, and in your head.  The more organized you are, the more you can work efficiently.   Organize everything and keep it that way.  Make sure everything functions for you, not you functioning for everything else.
• Take Time Out - Whenever you are in your office cranking away at that new idea, digging into that message for Sunday, or working with people, you’re concentrating.  It’s good to remove yourself from people and go to a quiet place for a few moments to clear you head.  Jesus retreated all the time to a quiet place to reflect on God and to make sure He was hearing the voice of His father clearly.  People will always be there when you get back.  Sometimes we become so focused on getting things done that we forget to give ourselves a break. Walk around, go outside, and remember to breathe.  When you take a break, your able to stay on task better and you don’t feel as fatigued.  This will help making your goals and vision easier to accomplish.
  
• One Thing at a Time - As new projects and people continue to pour into your life, take one at a time.  We all can multi task but giving your full attention means giving your best.  So often we feel compelled to be there for everyone all the time.  Your human, people will understand when you tell them you want to focus all your attention on one person or project at a time. Unless it is an absolute emergency, avoid handling everything at once.
• Understand the Importance of Scheduling - If you don’t have a blackberry, pocket calendar, PDA, or some sort of personal calendar, get one.  Scheduling is a staple to time management.  Write everything down with an starting and stopping  time. Allow enough time to accomplish your goals and meet the needs of your people.  Allow time to be flexible so that you don’t feel overwhelmed (remember, it’s good to take a break).  When you managing your time, you manage your schedule.  Schedule your important phone calls, meetings, and events ahead of time and stick with it.

One of the greatest rewards of time management in ministry is the ability to spend more time for God.  The whole point of filtering, organization, and scheduling is the reward of having more time to spend with Christ and my family.

How are you managing your time?

-Jordan