managing your time | More Than Dodgeball

Josh GriffinMore Posts Church Office Hours and Youth Ministry

article.2013.01.29 Church office hours—what a great subject! And while this might not specifically apply to everyone getting the newsletter, we’re hoping there are some principles that will help everyone, whatever their role is in youth ministry. So how do you make the administrative side of ministry work? Here are a few ideas that have helped me a ton:

Make your preferred method of communication known.
If you are a phone person, put your phone number everywhere and on everything. If you hate the phone (like me!) make sure that everything points to the way you work best. In my case, email is the most effective way to manage the incoming streams of information, complaints, and requests. I still check voicemail occasionally and have learned to live with another inbox (thanks, Facebook) but I want to make sure people know where I’m most available and where they can get the best results. Otherwise someone may be expecting an immediate phone call in return when that priority is much further down on my list. Go public with how you tick.

Don’t let others manipulate your time.
Every meeting has a starting time; why shouldn’t it have an ending time as well? Meetings, committees, and unexpected drop-ins have a way of eating up an enormous chunk of our day. And I need more Facebook time (just kidding). So when you start a meeting, lay out the goals and the time they need to be met by. When someone drops by, early in the conversation let them know your boundaries to help them find their way to the point of the drive-by. Of course, the idea here is not to create an assembly line of care or artificial community, just a candid revelation that at times you have to have good boundaries in every area of your life—even office visits.

Drop everything for pastoral care.
Okay, you might read that and go too far with it. But you are never more valuable then when there is a crisis. Get to the hospital as soon as you can. Rearrange that lunch with an old friend from college so you can go to the funeral. Don’t miss the big things, and at least be aware of the small things. Of course, remember this principle has boundaries as well, but as a general rule: When a crisis shows up, you do, too.

This post was written by Josh Griffin and Kurt Johnston and originally appeared as part of Simply Youth Ministry Today free newsletter. Subscribe to SYM Today right here.

1 View Comments February 4, 2013

Josh GriffinMore Posts WINNER: Magnum Clock Giveaway

So thankful for the guys over at Magnum Clock who donated a killer TT4040-C (the same one we’ve got!) as a giveaway here on the blog. All you had to do to win was enter your senior pastor’s average message length in the comments of the post. The winner, chosen at random was Charlie!

Thanks to everyone who entered and be sure to swing by Magnum Clocks and check out their awesome gear that might help keep track of time in your youth ministry or church!

JG

2 View Comments April 30, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Managing Your Time in Youth Ministry

One of the critical skills of a youth worker is time management. The wise old saying is true — if you don’t manage your time it will manage you. We’re actually not even sure if that is an old saying or not, but we heard it somewhere, and it makes sense! We’ve also heard youth workers (ourselves included) lament about their lack of time management skills. Because it’s an important skill, and because most of us aren’t very good at it, we thoughts we’d share a few basic tips to help you out:

Write stuff down
Ah, the power of technology! You can use Microsoft Outlook, iCal or Google to help you schedule your life. They sync your computer with your phone and can even be shared with a spouse or church secretary so everyone can be in the loop on what you’re up to. Not into technology? Pick up a Moleskin notebook or Day Planner and physically write things down if you would like. The point is time management starts when we start trying to remember everything and we start writing stuff down! As the great time managers, En Vogue, would say: “Free your mind, and the rest will follow.”

Manage your meetings
When someone asks for your time, it is helpful to get an idea of what the conversation is going to be about so you can be prepared for how long it will take. Don’t assume meetings need to be a full hour (like Outlook, etc all do by default). Instead, get in the habit of scheduling meetings that vary based on the specific need. Be generous with your time, it is a valuable gift to give someone else. At the same time, don’t be afraid keep meetings on track and timely.

Make meals matter
One of the best opportunities you have in your schedule is lunch! You have to eat — and so do the people you want to meet with or want to meet with you. If you’re looking to meet with a mentor or ask for time with your senior pastor or supervisor, get them to food and chances are it’ll help you get to them!

Be OK with a day that got away from you
Recently we have both had days that got away from us. At dinner that night, or even later in the evening, you ask yourself “what did I accomplish today?” and you can’t really put your finger on anything significant. These kind of days are part of youth ministry, and will never be completely eliminated. Managing your time and schedule is important, but make sure that you are listening to God’s leading and asking Him to show you who needs His love through you today.

What are other best practices to help manage your time? We’ll be back tomorrow with our favorite tools that may be helpful for you, too!

This post was written by Josh Griffin and Kurt Johnston and originally appeared as part of Simply Youth Ministry Today free newsletter. Subscribe to SYM Today right here.