Meet this deadline. Put out that fire. Get ‘er done. So often these are the modes communications directors and other church leaders find themselves in.

Meet this deadline. Put out that fire. Get ‘er done.

So often these are the modes communications directors and other church leaders find themselves in. Add in Thanksgiving and Christmas craziness full of advent series preparations, outreach events and much more, and it can be plain overwhelming.

The intense pace and workload of ministry jobs can bog us down any time of the year. It's easy to leave work feeling exhausted, frustrated or even defeated. Worse than that it's easy to forget why we're doing the job in the first place. 

Paul Spilker, Communications Director from College Park Church, shared that a little personal planning can go a long way in reducing stress and increasing productivity at work.

Personal planning is a God-honoring and effective way to steward our gifts, time and resources, said Paul. And it just makes good sense.

7 Personal Planning Tips to Help Maintain Sanity

  1. Pray and plan for 30 minutes at the beginning of each week.
  2. Wrap up for a few minutes before you leave the office at the end of the day. Cool down. Write down reminders. Leave your work at work.
  3. Purge emails monthly. It tidies your inbox and is therapeutic.
  4. Make a schedule for the “ideal week.” See what fits there and what doesn’t.
  5. Set some realistic annual goals and values.
  6. Consider meeting with a mentor once a month. Discuss your goals, vision and life’s challenges.
  7. Identify one project/initiative/change that you can implement immediately. Go for it. The sense of accomplishment will get your wheels rolling.

Ministry careers are tough. We often work too hard. Stay up too late. And feel appreciated too little. With a little personal planning we can hopefully stay focused on what's important. And hopefully maintain a little sanity in the process.