Tips for the Busy Pastor
"Pastor, I know you're busy…"
The statement is well-intended and accurate. Pastors do have much on their plates. I have held the title for 28 years. We work long hours. It is draining work. How can the busy pastor carry out the work of caring for others well?
Pastors often lament about unread emails and unfinished tasks. As the pressure increases, so does the guilt. Ignoring the problem only makes the stress worse. I offer three practices to solve work productivity issues.
Get it Out of Your Head
The first practice is to write everything down: big and small. Get it out of your head and onto paper. Choose what information your brain holds. It can manage your to-do list, usually forgetting a thing or two in the process, or it can manage your creativity and dreams for the future.
Writing tasks down creates a win-win. You free up creative capacity and take the opportunity to prioritize tasks for accomplishment. It is subconscious, but your brain experiences stress until undone things are completed.
When I first started the work of pastor, I used 3 x 5 cards to record tasks, quotes, and other bits of information. Eventually, I moved to a day planner and then smart devices. I am constantly adding items to my task list.
First, to free up headspace and secondarily because what gets written down, gets done. Don't allow the stress of undone tasks to drain your energy for the more important work today.
< 10 minutes, Do It Now
Another practice is accomplishing small tasks promptly. Do not handle a 10-minute task twice. There is one exception to this rule. If you are engaged in work that should not be interrupted, then don't. Sermon preparation, creative work or meeting preparation shouldn't be interrupted.
Do not check email throughout the day. Set aside an hour at the beginning and end of your day instead. Don't waste time looking at an email for five minutes at noon only to re-read it later when responding. If you choose to look at it, respond and move it out of your inbox.
The goal should be to empty your inbox everyday by either filing email in appropriate folders or adding tasks to your to-do lists. A word of wisdom: most emails you send will produce two more in return.
Action: Review your calendar. Mark off creative work time in hours. Make time at the beginning and end of your day for email and task work. Look for your best time to push through tasks quickly. Discover the best time for you to focus on "thought work."
Separate Your Lists
Finally, put items on "Today's Task List" that need to be done today. It is a mistake to keep one to-do list with everything on it. It creates unrealistic expectations. I made this mistake for a long time, resulting in me feeling anxious or unsuccessful even when I had accomplished a lot.
Then I read David Allen's book, Getting Things Done. I discovered how my management of task lists, email, and phone calls were creating feelings of failure. I was highly productive each day but didn't feel like it because of over-planning. I set every day up for disappointment.
I now have a task list for "today" and others for: projects, personal matters, administration, people follow-up, etc. The items on the Projects List almost never make it onto my Today List. I will bring over only the individual task that needs to be done today to move the project forward. I get them done and feel the success, even though the large project still lingers on a separate list.
You can go overboard on making and managing lists. It is important to not make your system of organization so complicated that it becomes a burden. Don't fear experimenting.
Action:Work a system: Plan, Do, Check, Adjust. Only put on your today list what needs to be done today. Create other lists to track long-range projects and dreams.
The pastor should ideally be trustworthy and unhurried, faithfully accomplishing what he said he would. The Church needs pastors ready for anything, with minds and hearts free to preach the Gospel.