Battling Busyness
I recently had lunch with a leader in our church who made the comment about me, “I think you are the busiest guy I know. How do you do it all?”
Now, admittedly, I still have a lot to learn in this game of time management, and I’m learning more everyday as I step into new roles, new opportunities and new pressures, but I have learned some things along the way.
Below are the big pieces of what I shared with my friend over lunch.
When it comes to managing time, start with asking yourself 3 questions. (With a tip of the hat to John Maxwell who originally came up with these I believe…)
3 Questions for Busy People:
1. What is Required of me? (Or… What is it that only I can do?)
This begins with taking care of myself and my family. After all, I’m the only one who can do that. In other words, If I don’t exercise and take care of my physical body, nobody else can do that for me. When it comes to my marriage, I’m the only who can love my wife. And I’m the only dad my kids have (or should have) so if I don’t cultivate those things, nothing else matters.
We have all seen far too many leaders who don’t focus on these all-important “Only-I-Can” priorities and end up losing everything else because of it.
Second, then, when it comes to work life, I always think about, “What is required of me?” In other words, what are the things that if I don’t do them, no one else can? For me, in my role as Lead Visionary Pastor of Next Level Church, I am the only one who can deliver life-giving, vision filled messages for the people in our church, a majority of the time. Yes, we have other communicators who are amazing at preaching and teaching with me, but when it comes to casting the vision of the church, that’s ultimately my job. I’m the only guy who can do that.
So, if I don’t do that well, then I’m not fulfilling my responsibility. It doesn’t matter what else I’m doing, if I don’t do that well, I’m not spending my time wisely.
2. What brings me the most joy? (Or… What fills my tank and makes me feel strong?)
The 2nd thing I consider is what fills my tank, or to use a phrase by Marcus Buckingham, what makes me feel strong? The opposite of this is, “What are the energy drains, or things I feel obligated to that I’m not excited about?” How do you begin to find a way to phase your way out, delegate, or kill quickly these things?
For me, these are things like writing and speaking. Creative Problem solving and brainstorming. When I’m doing these things, I’m filling my tank and refueling my energy levels.
3. What gives me the greatest Return on Investment? (Or… Where do I get the most bang for my energy/time/attention?)
A third question I ask centers around the greatest return for my time, energy and attention. What are things that multiply my time and energy? For me, this involves coaching other leaders, consulting with churches and businesses, writing and developing leaders. When I do these things, I multiply, not just add value to the world around me.
The Sweet Spot:
Now here’s the ultimate goal of time management: Discovering those few things that line up in all three! When we find those things that are required of us, fill our tank and bring us the greatest return, we’ve found our sweet spot. This is the zone of optimum impact for a leader. May God grace each of us with the ability to find that place in our lives!
One final filter I use from time to time…
If I had to cut 3 things out of my schedule Right Now, what would they be?
Force yourself to answer, here’s why…
Because at some point you reach a level where everything you’re involved in is “Good.” In other words, the more successful you get, the less “bad” things there are in your life. So just “eliminating the bad” doesn’t work anymore. It’s all at least good.
Which means you have to play the hard game of cutting the good so you can maximize the best in your life.
After all, its not the good or the average things in your life that will change the world, it’s only the best.
Focus on those things. Trust me, its worth it.
#AddngValue