5 Time Management Tips For Busy Church Staffs

In my time on a church staff, I often caught myself saying, “When things slow down, I’ll _______,” (fill in the blank with whatever task or responsibility I didn’t have time to accomplish but had dreams of one day doing). After awhile, I eventually came to discover that life is usually busy, and I’d never have time to do any of those things if I didn’t make time for them.

Here are a couple ways I’ve learned to combat this ever-increasing problem in our fast-paced society. I hope they are helpful for church staff members when you go through particularly busy seasons.

1. Prioritize.

Everything has its own time and place. When you’re in the thick of planning and prep for church events or busy seasons like Easter, it’s sometimes hard to remember that even the “small” duties or goals have a large part to play in the bigger picture of what you’re doing. So don’t neglect them. Discover the best way for you personally to keep track of these different kinds of projects so you don’t lose any great ideas, and then prioritize them. I often keep multiple lists, separated by the type and size of the tasks/projects. Even just writing a list can often make you feel less stressed about the work you need to accomplish.

2. Time block.

It might feel like a tedious use of your time, but make time for the things you’ve been neglecting by time blocking, or setting aside a certain chunk of time for a specific task or type of task. An hour a week or even an hour twice a week will make a big difference in the things you’re able to accomplish. And although you might feel like you lost that hour doing something that felt less pressing, I promise, you’ll feel so much better about the job you’re doing overall. Which of course leads to a happier work life, more successes, etc. It’s really a win, win, win.

3. Delegate.

I am admittedly horrible at delegating responsibilities. If it’s my idea or something that may fall into the realm of my “job,” I’m more than a little hesitant to ask someone else to do it. Will they do it correctly? Will it be as good as what I would have done? Will it be better and someone else will receive the credit? The list of internal questions goes on.

But here’s the bottom line: As humans, we cannot do it all. And God puts us where we are and gives us teams to help us with that. Sure, you could do that project. But would everyone involved be better off if you empowered someone else to do it? Probably. The ability to teach and delegate is much more important than any of those questions in your head. Let your time work for you and allow your team, coworkers, volunteers, to run with some of these projects.

4. Collaborate.

True, some projects cannot be delegated. But it’s also true that almost all can be collaborated. You don’t need to have all the answers, and sometimes choosing others to help you collaborate actually saves you time, contrary to how it may feel. You’ll get more accomplished and a better product in the end if you utilize all the people and resources available to you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and opinions. It takes a village!

5. Just let go.

I’m a little late on the “Let it Go” bandwagon, but I’m going to maintain that I’ve actually been banging this drum far longer than Frozen. In the course of life, at some point we have to come to realize that we’re incapable of doing everything. And that's okay; don’t beat yourself up about it. After you follow the other suggestions listed above, some things will not be worth your time or energy to actually keep on your list. My suggestions to you: keep it on a “one day” list, or just cut your losses.

Do you find yourself overly busy in your job? What are some things you’ve found are useful in helping you accomplish everything?

If you liked this, you'll also enjoy: 6 Ways For Church Leaders To Become Effective Delegators