Stop procrastinating and increase the impact of your ministry
Saturday, June 23, 2007: Tips, Lists, Ministry, Productivity
Ask my wife, I am the king of procrastination. So take these suggestions from someone who is in the process of unlearning the bad habits that cause procrastination. I found that putting off something until the last minute was a sure-fire way to kill my ministry.
Here are some of the causes of procrastination:
- Task is too complicated - Often we just think that it is too complicated because we do not take the time (meh) to break it down into simple next actions. When I take the time to actually think through the task at hand; it ceases to be so complicated. And if I find that it is really complicated and I can not get it done in time, then I need to tell someone as soon as possible. Remember it is what it is.
- Seeking perfection - As spiritually minded servants, we often want to do things perfect. We need to get over that — ministry is full of “good enough”. If you only do things perfectly, you will get little done and so burn out.
- Indecision - Usually making no decision is a worse experience than making the wrong decision. Pray and trust God and get moving.
- Wrong priorities - In ministry, it is easy to address the squeakiest wheel to avoid conflict. But you know what’s important, you know what God values. Do those things first.
- Boredom - This is one thing that always got me. I got bored easily with the details of ministry, like keeping attendance or counting offering or organizing the craft room. But getting the details right is one key to success in ministry. If you find yourself bored, see if you can trade with someone else on your team or maybe use a new tool to do the task.
- Focused on to many things - If you are passionate about your ministry, I know that you are being asked to take on more and more responsibilities. This dilutes your focus and can lead to procrastination simply because you just do not know what to focus on first. To prevent this, decide on what your focus is and just do that.
- Being a slob - I am a slob when it comes to the physical world (my digital life is well organized). If you are a slob, then admit it and find someone on your team who can organize stuff.
- Laziness - To prevent laziness, I just need to schedule more time for myself. Often I’m lazy not because I’m really lazy, but I choose to be lazy because I’m overworked and do no have enough time to recharge.
- Being tired - I do not need a lot of sleep, but I also stay up to late. When I’m well rested I get more done.
- Breaks - Next time you take a break at work or church, be aware of how long it takes to ‘get back at it’. If you take an honest look often our breaks are much, much longer than we think.
The trick for me is to be aware when I’m practicing the bad habits of procrastination, so I can change my point of view.
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Ask my wife, I am the king of procrastination. So take these suggestions from someone who is in the process of unlearning the bad habits that cause procrastination. I found that putting off something until the last minute was a sure-fire way to kill my ministry.
Here are some of the causes of procrastination:
- Task is too complicated - Often we just think that it is too complicated because we do not take the time (meh) to break it down into simple next actions. When I take the time to actually think through the task at hand; it ceases to be so complicated. And if I find that it is really complicated and I can not get it done in time, then I need to tell someone as soon as possible. Remember it is what it is.
- Seeking perfection - As spiritually minded servants, we often want to do things perfect. We need to get over that — ministry is full of “good enough”. If you only do things perfectly, you will get little done and so burn out.
- Indecision - Usually making no decision is a worse experience than making the wrong decision. Pray and trust God and get moving.
- Wrong priorities - In ministry, it is easy to address the squeakiest wheel to avoid conflict. But you know what’s important, you know what God values. Do those things first.
- Boredom - This is one thing that always got me. I got bored easily with the details of ministry, like keeping attendance or counting offering or organizing the craft room. But getting the details right is one key to success in ministry. If you find yourself bored, see if you can trade with someone else on your team or maybe use a new tool to do the task.
- Focused on to many things - If you are passionate about your ministry, I know that you are being asked to take on more and more responsibilities. This dilutes your focus and can lead to procrastination simply because you just do not know what to focus on first. To prevent this, decide on what your focus is and just do that.
- Being a slob - I am a slob when it comes to the physical world (my digital life is well organized). If you are a slob, then admit it and find someone on your team who can organize stuff.
- Laziness - To prevent laziness, I just need to schedule more time for myself. Often I’m lazy not because I’m really lazy, but I choose to be lazy because I’m overworked and do no have enough time to recharge.
- Being tired - I do not need a lot of sleep, but I also stay up to late. When I’m well rested I get more done.
- Breaks - Next time you take a break at work or church, be aware of how long it takes to ‘get back at it’. If you take an honest look often our breaks are much, much longer than we think.
The trick for me is to be aware when I’m practicing the bad habits of procrastination, so I can change my point of view.
Add your comment0Comments
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