Now I’m sure I’m not the only church pastor in the world to have struggled with controlling their diary. I have propensity to get involved in lots of things because I like to be busy and enjoy it. However it is easy to get caught up in things that are not essential and therefore no matter how good they are they are not necessarily something that I need to be involved in!
One of the things (amongst many) that has come out of my meetings with my mentor is the need to define my role as pastor because if I do not everyone else will and it will not be helpful or ultimately fruitful. So I have added a word to my vocabulary that had not been present for some time and the word is a powerful word – NO. Learning to say no to opportunities no matter how good helps us to stay focus on the task/call that Jesus has given to us whatever and wherever that might be. So I have taken to saying no to things that do not fit with my calling/gifting/role as a pastor and also to things that no matter how good would be a distraction to ministry in West Bromwich.
In the coming days I will be reviewing my personal mission statement and allowing that to shape my diary and hopefully help in keeping it under control in 2010. I came across the following via a tweet from Mark Batterson which I think will be helpful as I organise my life. You may find it helpful too.
It comes back to this simple truth: if you don’t control your calendar, your calendar will control you.
Here are seven margin maxims:
1) Put Your Family First
2) Guard Your Day Off
3) Don’t Check Email During Peak Productivity Hours
4) Get Out of the Office Whenever Possible
5) Start Your Day With Devotions
6) Put Together a Stop Doing List
7) Use All Your Vacation Days
Iain Hesketh 