Quittin' Time (part 1 of 2)
Finding More Work/Life Balance in Ministry
I worked at Ponderosa Steakhouse while I was in Bible College. I started out in the dish room, and let me tell you, we had mountains of dishes to wash! One of the main reasons was that everyone received the buffet at Ponderosa. There were days and nights when I was buried in dishes, pots and pans, silverware, and cups. We had to keep digging out of this pile to keep these dishes circulating for the next customers walking through the door. Eventually, closing time came. We washed the last fork and then went home.
It was crazy busy, but then we were done.
This is one of the greatest challenges pastors face - closing time never comes! In my decades of ministry, there has not been one day when I could say there was nothing else that needed to be done. In a real sense, we are never finished. There’s no clear Quittin’ Time!
In my early days of ministry, I had never heard the term “knowledge worker” before. I grew up in a family of blue-collar workers and did that type of work myself. Now, I was faced with figuring things out on my own. When do I start, what do I do, and when do I stop? Without a time clock, things got quite confusing.
To be transparent, I still struggle with this. There are days when I feel I am never really entirely off. The boundaries between Rodney the Pastor and Rodney the Person get quite blurred. It doesn’t help that I pastor in a small town where I will likely see church members everywhere I go. I love them, but ministry often comes with these encounters.
So what do we do?
I want to suggest 3 Steps To Finding Some Work/Life Balance:
Have a Routine to Begin Your Workday
I owe Michael Hyatt the credit for introducing me to this concept of creating routines. In his book Free To Focus, he refers to these routines as rituals. He observes that “You can build a ritual around any repetitive task in your life” (119). He suggests that we figure out the exact steps to get our workday off to a great start, put them in order, and then follow them each day. In addition to the productivity aspect, this process also helps to get us in a working mindset.
Anna Dearmon Kornick, in her excellent little book Time Management Essentials, adds, “It (a workday startup routine) pairs mental boundaries with physical activities to send a signal to your brain that it’s time to get down to business.” (92) She also notes that this is especially helpful to remote workers or those who work from home. (93).
Need help taking the next steps in becoming more productive in your ministry? I’m starting personalized coaching next year. The page is still being built, but you can learn more at productivitycoaching.life
What would a Workday Startup Routine look like for you?
Some possible examples might include checking email, planning the daily “Big 3,” confirming appointments, reading upcoming sermon passages, praying, and returning texts or phone messages. The idea is to do the same items in the same order each day so you don’t have to extend any extra mental energy. This ensures that your day gets off to a great start!
Why not set aside some time today and think through what this would look like for you.
What needs to be included in your Workday Startup Ritual?
Next time, I’ll send the additional two steps and a bonus or two…
I also write devotionally. You’ll find my devotions at rodneyclements.com
Michael Hyatt, Free To Focus (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2019).
Anna Dearmon Kornick, Time Management Essentials (New York: McGraw Hill, 2023).