How to Get More Done
Get More Done in Ministry
Does your to-do list seem bottomless? At the end of the day do you have more things added to the list than removed? I want to show you how to get more done! This is not going to be about better time management or about how you need to work harder. Instead I’m going to share 5 not so conventional ideas that have helped me to get more done and I believe will help you.
As a pastor or ministry leader there is never a shortage of things that need to get done. This is true not only for those in ministry, but for everyone. Today people are busier than ever trying to get everything done that needs to be done. As pastors we are praying, preparing, visiting, speaking, plus taking kids to school, going to games, paying bills, filling the car with gas, and the list goes on. We can start our day early with prayer and study, answer emails, return a few calls, visit the hospital, work on the weekend message, have a couple of meetings and just like the day is gone. Is there a way or something we can do to get more done?
Here are 5 “NOT” so conventional ideas for you to think about implementing into your life to help you get more done:
1) Focus on being Productive not Busy
Several years ago I was meeting with a very successful business person in our church and I asked them, “Are you keeping busy? I was asking the question not because I wanted an answer, but simply using the question as a way to keep the conversation going. Little did I know his response would change my approach to ministry and life in general. He looked at me with a a very serious stare and said, “No I I’,m not busy I am highly productive.” Within that answer lies a profound, but valuable insight. Doing things is not the same as getting things done.
One of the most misleading but commonly held beliefs is being “busy” means that you’re being productive and getting a lot done. The problem is that “busy work” for most people isn’t focused on the things that need to be done. It’s just that, busy work. You may be busy, but are you getting anything done. I hear people all time say “I’m so busy”, I want to ask them, “yes, but are you getting anything done.” Don’t get caught in the trap of just being busy and then think because you are busy you are being productive.
Keep yourself focused on what you need and should accomplish. Stop being consumed by the end-less tasks that make you appear busy. If you’re constantly just doing busy work chances are you’re going home tired and have accomplish very little. You’re always going to be busy if you follow this pattern. Make up your mind today to take control and start being productivity not just busy.
2) Do Single-Tasking not Multitasking
Multi-tasking is a huge enemy of productivity, yet most of us view multitasking as being really productive because logic says, “shouldn’t productivity increase if we are doing multiple things at once?” Researcher Zhen Wang discovered that on average, multitaskers are actually less likely to be productive, yet they feel more “emotionally satisfied” with their work (creating an illusion of productivity). It is much more productive to FOCUS on one single task until completed and then shift your full focus and attention to the next task.
Why not try being “single task focused for a month and see if you don’t get more done.
3) Create a NOT to do List
We all have are “To do lists” and we should and they are needed, but I want to suggest that you make a “NOT to do list”. Not-to-do” lists are often more effective than to-do lists for upgrading performance.
This is a list of those things that are your distractions. The things that are time robbers. They are the things that you frequently resort to in order to avoid the real work that moves your ministry, business, and life forward. They are also things that someone else should be doing instead of you. Often they are things that you like to do and are easy for you to do, but you need to release most of these at let someone else do them.
The only way to become super-productive and to continue to grow your ministry (or profession) is to periodically decide what you are not going to do. Start putting your list together now. Start by asking yourself, “What do I need to stop doing?”
4) Establish the Right Habits
A multitude of research has shown us that discipline is best maintained through habits, not through willpower. Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out. “We are what we repeatedly do.” ~Aristotle So, what kind of habits do you have? Are they habits that produce? Are there habits you need to get rid of? Are there habits you need to start? Start today establishing good daily habits to become a person who gets more done. Here are some ideas to get you started. Make starting your day with prayer a habit. Make asking God to help order your steps a daily routine. Make it a habit of measuring what you do by tasks and not hours worked. Make it a habit of doing what is important and not urgent. Make rewarding yourself a habit. These are just a few ideas. Take time to evaluate your routine and remove the habits that are counter productive and introduce new habits that increase productivity. Right habits will go a long way toward helping you get more done.
5) Apply the Secret of PACE
Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. The hare boasted he was the fastest in the animal kingdom and that no one had ever beaten him. The tortoise then challenge him to a race. The Hare laughed at him giving the tortoise no chance. The challenge was on and the race began. The Hare darted almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped and, to show his contempt for the Tortoise, lay down to have a nap. The Tortoise plodded on and plodded on, and when the Hare awoke from his nap, he saw the Tortoise just near the winning-post and could not run up in time to save the race. Then the Tortoise said: “Slow but steady progress wins the race.”
There is a valuable secret revealed in this old Aesop fable that we need, it is the secret of “PACE”. Ministry and life are a marathon not a sprint. Getting a good start is important, but it is how you finish is what counts. It’s hard to be productive if you are burning both ends of the candle through your entire day. You become fatigued, not able to concentrate as well and studies show the brain doesn’t function properly. It’s much easier for your brain to approach a 90-minute session of productivity when it knows that a 15-minute break is coming.
To be consistently productive and effective requires the right pace. This simply means you need to pace yourself. Work hard, stay focused for a period of time that works for you and then take time to rest and rejuvenate yourself and go at it again. You will be surprised how much more you will get done and how fresh you will be at the end of the day.
BONUS TIP – Be accountable
To-do lists by themselves are useless. Each task must have a time assigned to it. If you don’t consider how long things take, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Until you put the tasks you want to accomplish on your calendar with an assigned time frame, it’s just a list of wishful thinking.
Studies have proven that those who imposed strict deadlines on themselves for assignments performed far better (and more consistently) than those who didn’t.
Try these and see if you don’t GET MORE DONE!
“Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom.” Psalms 90:12 (NLT)