Ed. note: the Easter Season is one of the busiest times of the year, but this advice will help you make the right time choices all through the year. At the bottom of the article is the link to Part One.
Unless you take the time to think through these issues, your time problems will only increase.
• Make yourself a priority.
Never shortchange yourself in an effort to get more done. You need a 15-minute break each morning and afternoon, no-work lunch hours, and a yearly vacation not taken one day at a time. Don’t settle for less.
• Know what matters. And what doesn’t.
Life, even life in the church office, is most often unfair. Expect criticism. Be careful not to get drawn into interpersonal conflicts or petty grievances—all of which sap time and energy and contribute nothing to your personal or professional wellbeing. Stay above and out of it.
Focus on what is positive about your work, what matters to the ministry, what matters to you. Take a stand to bring about change when you choose, but learn what not to care about too. Every issue need not be a crusade. Spend your time constructively.
• Be aware of your inner clock.
Are you a morning person or one who hits stride later in the day? Make intelligent use of your body’s circadian rhythm. Match your most challenging tasks to your most energetic times; you will perform them faster and more accurately. Use lulls in energy for routine jobs. All time can be used constructively.
• Set realistic goals
Too often in the church office the source of time problems is not that hours are poorly used, but that work expectations are poorly calculated. The most effective assistant could not possibly accomplish all that is routinely expected in some offices.
Typically, as the church grows and numbers of members and staff increase, it is taken for granted the single assistant will take on these added responsibilities. Sometimes, though not always, there is a change in title or even an increase in salary. But the fact remains that what is expected of the assistant is well beyond what any one person could reasonably deliver. Still, most try.
Placing a person in this position is not to the credit of the church. Allowing oneself to remain in an impossible position is not to the credit of the assistant. Such situations can be changed.
• Communicate.
Saying you are in over your head is never an easy thing to do. But staying in that position isn’t easy either—and is a frustrating waste of time. We don’t do our best at anything, not even ministry, when we are constantly rushed and running behind schedule.
Honest communication can transform an impossible wish to “get everything done and keep everyone happy” into doable goals. If your problem is not a lack of time but an overabundance of responsibilities, show your supervisor this article. You could say, “This is where I am. What can we do about it?” The wise supervisor listens.
If the bad news is that you already have all the time there is, the good news is that these techniques will help you use your hours wisely and well.
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For part one of this article, CLICK HERE
