This week I will spend the better part of a morning reviewing major personal and ministry goals from the past three months and evaluating what I should focus on over the upcoming three months. I make these plans in theological pencil, recognizing that God riules over every detail in both the short and long term ““ I am desperate to avoid presumption (James 13-17). At the same time, I want to be wise and intentional about the life and ministry God has entrusted to me as a stewardship. So what will I do this Thursday morning in evaluation and planning.

Pray. This is more than an obligatory beginning step; it is a cry to an almighty God from a desperate heart that is deeply affected by His merciful grace, seeking wisdom and leadership from the one who is all-knowing. I dare not plan without a spirit of dependency, and dependency is deepened when I humble my heart in prayer.

Review my long-range goals. I base these on the providential roles I have (husband, father, pastor, etc), as well as key verses that describe God’s desires for me inch of these roles. Some of my roles have been broken down into additional categories (i.e., pastor: teacher, shepherd, staff supervisor, etc.). I often find myself revising these long-term goals, seeking greater clarity insight of providential circumstances, better understanding gained through the study of Scripture, the passing of time and gaining specific experience. My aim is to to be practical in how I apply God’s word in each of the roles God has blessed me.

Review my annual goals.  Each year I have tried to think through what I can discern as being the most significant way I could make practical progress in my long-range goals within the span of the next year.  I may make some adjustments here also. Again, I am aware that I am unaware of what may happen over the next year and how my life and circumstances can be rerouted within a moment”™s notice. But, I still have a sense in my heart that it is more faithful before God to be intentional (as far as it is up to me) with my efforts than to merely be reactive with how I spend my days.

Review the past quarter’s goals and progress. Every three months I look at my annual goals and ask what appears to be most important and achievable within the next three months. My aim here is to simply be purposeful in evaluating whether I am on the right track and how I am using my time.  Each quarter”™s goals provide me with a specific focus that actually helps to drive what I tend to focus on each week and each day. I actually review these quarterly goals on a weekly basis and determine what I will do in a given week to accomplish them. This Thursday I will evaluate how things have progressed over the past few months. I write down my evaluations, what went well, where the key weaknesses are, and what adjustments need to be made. I try to be brutally honest with myself here.

Brainstorm goals for the upcoming quarter. I will most likely list as many as I can think of. However, I will narrow down, re-write, and settle on about four to six major goals over all. In my experience, more than this is rarely achievable. I would rather be focused on a few major issues and accomplish them well than spread thin over many objectives, accomplishing only a little in each.

Evaluate my weekly schedule. I have a general plan of how I will spend the majority of my time each week. For example, I generally set aside all day Wednesday for concentrated study in preparation for Sunday; Saturday mornings I try to focus on writing the sermon for Sunday. Monday mornings are given to time with the staff. Tuesdays and Thursdays are focused on ministry tasks, discipleship meetings, and serving the needs of the flock. Friday is my day off, etc. I will evaluate whether my current approach is the most effective way to organize my week.

Review these goals with others. I have chosen a number of people with whom I will share these quarterly goals. I want their input as to whether I am aiming to accomplish too much or perhaps too little. Do these goals seem the right place to pour my energies, or should I reconsider some issues and why. I need the accountability and appreciate the honest evaluation.

Plug the goals into my task management software. I use OmniFocus for managing my weekly planning and daily tasks. It is an electronic application of David Allen”™s principles in his book Getting Things Done. So, when I sit down at my desk each day, I have a confidence on where I need to start and what I should focus upon each day.

Pray. I may plan my way, but I am very aware that God directs my every step. I submit my plans to His beautiful sovereignty. He may choose to rewrite everything in the blink of an eye. I may find out one month in that I have planned the wrong things to focus upon. So I do prayerfully and humbly submit everything to God”™s ultimate direction. I am His slave and am ready to move as He directs.

So pray for me this Thursday morning as I pray and think about how to best serve God, my family, my church family, my neighbors, our community, and our culture at large. I want to be fruitful for His glory.

Michael Hyatt”™s article on Quarterly Planning stimulated my thinking on this subject and I have adapted some of his thoughts to my life and circumstances.

The previous post looked at the background, reasons, and benefits of having a weekly planning or review in order to focus on priorities in life. In this final post, I want to look at when you should do the review, what I do, and some things to watch out for.

When

Some of the principles that should govern when you do your weekly review are:

“¢ Toward the end of your work week so you can look back on what was effective, how the next week will be affected by the previous week, what needs to be adjusted, and what needs to be followed up.
“¢ Close to the beginning of your new work week. More than likely, your brain needs a break from the activity of the week. But before you begin a new one, your mind needs to gain an overall perspective of what”™s ahead. Pick an in-between time ““ where you”™ve had the opportunity to get away from the previous week and when you can mentally set the agenda for the next.

For me this is Saturday morning. Friday is my day off and I typically block the day for family activities and rest. I don”™t want to think and plan on that day ““ I want to decompress and enjoy my family. So planning on Friday would simply be exhausting and frustrating. Sunday is filled with ministry opportunities. The morning is focused on preparing to preach and teach, the afternoon generally consists of lunch with church members and preparation for our evening gathering. I also often meet with a group of men to discuss Sunday”™s sermon(s) at the end of the day, so Sunday is no day to plan. Further, I need my next week set before I go to church on Sunday. Inevitably, I will have conversations with people who I will want to get together in the next week. I need to make sure my priorities have been planned before I say “yes” to these requests.

Saturday morning is perfect. Generally, I can get up at a decent time (not as early as the rest of the week, and not as late as Friday). After a time of prayer and reading, my mind is ready to engage in thinking of the next week. Typically, my only other significant agenda item on Saturday is writing my sermon for Sunday. Clearing my mind of all the things that need to be done in the week ahead, gives me a clarity and freedom to focus on preparing my sermon. So, each Saturday, typically from about 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., I do my weekly review and planning.

How Long?

As I just mentioned, my time generally takes around an hour. Sometimes it is more and sometimes it is less. Any time I miss a weekly review (rare), the next review takes longer. More stuff has accumulated that needs to be done, more notes need to be re-digested and followed up on ““ so I will spend and hour and a half to two hours. On the whole, one hour is sufficient if I am consistent in my weekly review.

What do I do?

Here”™s my list ““ similar to David Allen”™s and Michael Hyatt”™s. I have this list set up in my task management system (Omni-Focus). I pull it up and allow it to govern my weekly review.

1. Collect everything and act on it 2 min or less. This is a David Allen fundamental principle. You really need to get his book to understand this. Essentially, papers, notes, books ““ stuff that does not require immediate attention, but will if I neglect it, gets thrown into my bottom right desk drawer at home. That drawer is my “in-box.” I don”™t like an in-box on top of my desk ““ its”™ too distracting and will draw me away from what I need to work on. So I put it in the drawer. My first step is to empty that drawer onto the top of my desk. I also look around my office, in the flaps of my Bible, through my wallet, etc., for any receipts, papers, books, cups, trash, etc. From the top to the bottom, I begin working through the pile. I use the FAT method. I may File it ““ Act on it (which may mean do it or schedule it) or Trash it. If I can act on the issue in front of me in 2 minutes or less, I do it right them. Otherwise I either file it away in long term files, or in my tickler system (that”™s probably another post ““ or read Allen”™s book).

2. Process notes from the week. I use a Moleskine notebook to keep notes in throughout the week. I can write more quickly than I can type on an iPad or iPhone and in some meetings, jotting down quick notes is easier than bringing using something electronic. So I flip through the notes from the week and act on the issues in there. They may be appointments to set, tasks to put in my management system, contact information to put in my address book, etc.  I also use Evernote for electronic note-taking. It is at this time, I pull it up and review the notes from the week and plan any tasks or update information.

3. Review previous calendar, note adjustments, or what needs to be followed up this week. I regret it when I don”™t do this. Usually there is a meeting that I need to follow up on or perhaps an appointment that reminded me that I should send a thank you note. I can also look at how I planned my week and think through how it really ended up. This will help me adjust for the next week.

4. Review/Set Upcoming calendar. I have a general plan for a typical work flow for my week (again, this would be another post). I know which day I will give to study, meetings, day off, when I will exercise, etc. This governs the general plan I have for each week. I follow David Allen“™s advice here and only put things on the calendar that are hard and fast appointments. My administrative assistant knows that where there are blank spots, she has freedom to set appointments. This means that I need to block of time for family, study and a few blocks for concentrated task time.

5. Review Action lists/Weekly/Monthly/Quarterly lists. I have a series of tasks that I want/need to do each week ““ planning time with the kids on my day off, reviewing my calendar with Kelly, copying and sending my sermon for certain folks at church, etc. I have certain tasks I want to make sure I have covered each month and each quarter. I review these lists to see that they have been accomplished and if not, what need to be put on the list to do this next week.

6. Review Someday/Maybe and Waiting For Lists. David Allen suggests that you get everything out of your head ““ especially those projects that you can”™t do now, but might do in the future. So, I keep a list of ideas and projects that will need some time and attention in the future. I review these each week and determine if they now need some action. This may also include tasks that have been delegated to others to follow up on.

7. Review roles & projects and set next actions. Here is where Franklin Covey“™s influence comes in. I have identified the primary roles I providentially play: Christian, husband, father, family member, neighbor, Friend, teacher, overseer, Shepherd. I have thought through the Scripture”™s explicit statements regarding these roles and have written out some steps and long-term goals associated with each. These are my big rocks. Reviewing these roles helps me to consider what needs to be done this week to move them forward and give attention to them. They are my priorities. I also review particular projects (these are more than likely associated with my roles) and assign tasks and appointments that are the very next actions necessary to complete these projects. In addition to an electronic list of these projects, I have a physical manila folder for each of them. In that folder are papers, notes, brainstorms, and plans for these projects.

8. Clean Computers/Sync Phones/Task Manager. By this time, everything is put away and my head is empty of upcoming plans and tasks (its all in my computer, in a file, on my calendar, etc.). I then clean off my computer screens, sync my iPhone and iPad, and sync my task management systems with all of electronic devices.

By the end of this process, I”™m prepared for another week.

Beware

Here are a few thoughts to make sure you give some thought to for a weekly planning time to be most effective:

“¢ Put your weekly planning time down on your calendar. It is a high priority appointment. If you don”™t schedule it, you will likely ignore it.
“¢ Communicate with others when you will plan. It helps them with their expectations of you and your schedule. Your family needs to know when this typically happens ““ you”™ll be surprised at the effect it has.
“¢ Approach your planning methodically. That”™s why I have a list ““ so I don”™t miss something. I need the weekly reminder.
“¢ Don”™t rush it. In a pinch I will minimally set my calendar for the next week and jot down tasks. That”™s better than nothing ““ but not most helpful. Having a methodical, unhurried time to think and plan, even if only for one hour a week, helps to genuinely clear your head and put things into a system that will readily remind you of what you need to do.
“¢ Trust God”™s sovereignty. I”™m mindful that my best laid plans are regularly rearranged by God”™s providence. No problem. I find it generally helpful to have a plan ““ when the changes come, I find that previous regularity has minimized the negative impact these abnormal changes bring.

Those are my present thoughts on how I work my weekly planning ““ and they are regularly changing and being enhanced. What are yours?

One of the most helpful tools in my time management arsenal has been the weekly review or weekly planning. That is, taking a set amount of time with a prescribed list of actions that help me think through what needs to be done according to priority during the next week. Today and Friday, I will describe this process ““ from its background to its purpose, benefits, timing, problems, and details.

Background

I was first exposed to the idea of a structured time weekly planning after attending a Franklin Covey workshop on time management. As I look back and prior to what I do now, I did try to plan out my week each week. Out of necessity and from too many weeks of being frustrated that I was never accomplishing what was most important, I would generally try to come up with some sort of schedule. However, after going through Covey”™s approach to thinking through my various roles in life and being intentional about how I would act on those important roles in the next week, I began to become much more purposeful in my weekly planning.

In the Covey seminar, we were asked to schedule a 20 minute time each week where we would review our personal mission statement, roles in life, and long-term goals. Based on these, I would put on my schedule and task list what I would do in the next week to enhance those roles and move my goals forward.

Then came David Allen”™s Getting Things Done. Covey was good for me in thinking long-term. Allen”™s book was a gold mine for me thinking through the nuts and bolts of organizing ideas into projects and making goals much more concrete. He also suggests a time to plan out your week. His description was much more concrete for me than Covey’s ““ he provided a list of things to do during that weekly review. I began with his list and have modified it since.

Michael Hyatt is another influential voice when it comes to the weekly review. I discovered his blog while searching for time management ideas. His post on the weekly review was a good modification of David Allen”™s list and served me well in enhancing my own approach.

CJ Mahaney also influenced me. I heard him make a statement in an interview to the effect of, “every week I am going to disappoint someone by saying “˜no”™ to their request for my time ““ I need to have a good reason why.” He also suggested taking some time each week to think through roles and goals and plan the week on purpose. He also posted an excellent series of articles on pastoral productivity.

All of these influences continue to mold my approach to managing my time.

Why Plan Weekly?

Let me just bullet-point a few reasons that tend to motivate me to plan weekly:

“¢ So I can lead and not merely react. I”™m in a leadership roll ““ I need to give some direction to the issues under my oversight. When I don”™t plan ahead, I put myself in a position to merely react, and not lead.
“¢ I need to tie my week to what is most important. When I don”™t plan, I react to what is most urgent. Covey”™s time matrix is so helpful in pointing out the issues of the urgent and the important. Covey also illustrated this so well with the “Big Rocks/Little Rocks” concepts. If you plan your most important priorities, others smaller issues will find their way around them. If you simply respond to the smaller issues, you will never fit the more important but perhaps less immediately urgent issues into your schedule.
“¢ Weekly planning helps me keep up with stuff. David Allen helped clean my desk and manage my files. Papers, receipts, files, notes, are all dealt with in one way or another each week.
“¢ I clear my head. This is another helpful David Allen suggestion. I can take the notes from the week, the issues running around in my head, the papers that need to be filed and I can spend an intentional time putting these into a system that will hold them, manage them, and remind me of them when and where I need them.

Benefits

The benefits are obviously tied to the reasons behind planning weekly ““ but here are a few more thoughts on how planning weekly helps me:
“¢ I feel much more prepared to begin the week ““ prepared to address what is most important.
“¢ I am more confident that what I am doing will have long term benefit and is not merely a short-term reaction that will have little lasting value.
“¢ I have more confidence in what I say “˜no”™ to. I”™m not good at saying “˜no.”™ I”™m too much of a people pleaser ““ and I love to help in areas people desire my involvement. But saying “˜yes”™ to everything usually means that some of the more important areas of life and ministry get squeezed out.
“¢ Planning minimizes the affects of the spontaneous. Life happens, and it doesn”™t always work according to my plan. No problem. The reality is that a lack of planning guarantees that I will live by the urgent. It is fascinating to see how the issues of urgency tend to diminish the more proactive I am in planning. Also, if I have been regularly living in a way that is more purposeful, when the inevitable spontaneous issues pop up, their affects in pulling me away to the necessary distractions are not as great. The more you live intentionally the less the urgent becomes a distraction ““ the more I can confidently handle the spontaneous.
“¢ I find myself accomplishing the right things ““ not just doing good things.

On Friday, I”™ll post on when I do my weekly planning, how long it takes, issues to beware of, and a list of what I do each week.

What should an ordinary pastor glean from how the President”™s office was organized and functioned?

The pastorate is not a political machine like the White House, so many issues are simply inappropriate and unnecessary.  But I can find a number of helpful points to consider when thinking through how a pastor should think about how to make the best use of his time.

• A pastor can”™t run ministry on his own, but needs key and capable people to rely upon.  The biblical principle of eldership indicates that no one man should be directing the affairs of the church. Qualified and capable men who can collectively oversee the church”™s ministry are needed.  Ephesians 4:11-16 is a great picture of every part of the body doing its share, with pastors assuming one key role ““ that of equipping others to carry out the ministry.
• We need some regular (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual) time to think, write, plan, pray, and rest.  Otherwise, a pastor”™s time will be reactive rather than proactive; he will lose focus on what is most important for the whole of the church because he is caught up in putting out immediate fires, and he will mentally and emotionally wear himself out from trying to keep up with every conceivable issue beyond his control.
• Trust and focus are key commodities in how we work with staff around us.
• Written plans culled and vetted by key staff as opposed to spur-of-the-moment conversations with innumerable personalities provides a more proactive, and thoughtful approach to advancing ministry objectives.  Ministry needs to be thought through. What are the biblical parameters and implications of our actions ““ how will people be affected ““ how will Christ be exalted?
• We should spend tremendous time on fewer things.  Mere busyness does not mean or guarantee effectiveness.  Biblical priorities should dominate the daily schedule.
• Communication is always an essential issue and with more means of media at our fingertips, more thought needs to be given to what and how we are communicating.
• We should aim for achieving key ministry objectives that are most helpful to the church and advancing the gospel, not merely creating a buzz of activity.
• Pastors should zealously prepare not only for preaching, but for meetings and ministry events.
• Rather than reacting to appointments and in-box minutiae, pastors would do well to proactively use their time.

These seem obvious and there is much more that could be said about how an ordinary pastor makes wise use of his time. My notes here are a simple reflection inspired from the Nixon lecture.  I can attest that unless intentionally pursued, the urgent will drown out the essential.  The pastorate is a different animal from the presidency, yet, effectively using our time in leading an organization of people has a number of fundamental similarities regardless of the venue.

Richard Nixon”™s approach to running the West Wing reshaped the role of the Chief of Staff to the point that it is still largely used to this day in the Office of the President.  Interestingly, Eisenhower had a Chief of Staff, but most decisions were made by Cabinet Secretaries.  Kennedy did not have a Chief of Staff and operated in a more free style with no intentional chain of command as to how decisions were made.  Nixon changed the approach so that decisions were made in the White House and executed then by Cabinet Secretaries.  He divided White House responsibilities into 3 areas:  Domestic Council, National Security Council, and the Office of the President.

• Nixon wanted information mostly in written form and received it only from a few people with whom he would discuss it.  They created the position of the Staff Secretariat who distributed the paper work appropriately.
• Trust was the most important commodity.
• Nixon was a very private person and preferred to consider succinct written proposals, summaries or analyses, with a few people.
• Decisions were made in the White House and Cabinet Secretaries executed those decisions.
• 7:30 a.m. was the start time for most White House senior officials.
• Nixon was careful with his public activities and focused on what would be the most significant issues.
• The president spent a tremendous amount of time on fewer things.
• Haldeman had a lack of ego, a passion for anonymity, but a self-confidence in his own ability.  Trust and focus were his emphases.
• The story of the day, everyday, was “Think it Through!”  Everything was thought through to the maximum.
• Every day at 2:00 p.m. the staff met for a communications strategy session on how to communicate their message through the media.
• The principles the staff used in organizing the President”™s time were
  • One key public event per day
  • Say “˜no”™ to everything. “˜Maybe”™ means yes.
  • You can always reactivate an invitation.
  • Generate your own events and ideas (Nixon”™s team was the pioneers of Photo ops).
  • Arrive & Depart.  Never stay for a whole event.
  • When possible, use the Vice President or Cabinet officer vs. the President.
  • Tone & Demeanor must be “presidential” at all times.
  • When Possible, use the White House.  No one else can.
  • Most executives”™ time is driven by appointments and an in-box.  Instead, Nixon focused on every event being a means to communicate something about his policies.
  • A goal was to always seek achievement, not just a lot of activity.
  • No one prepared harder than the President. Winston Churchill was Nixon”™s role model for preparation. “The hardest work he ever did was to prepare for spontaneous remarks.”
  • Telephone calls were treated as formal appointments.  Each had a purpose, talking points, outcomes which were outlined in a memorandum.

Nixon is obviously remembered for his extreme faults that led to his public demise.  His inner demons eventually defeated his staff”™s efforts.  But I think it is worth noting that Nixon entered the White House at a transitional time in Presidential history.  In 1960 he had been defeated by Kennedy”™s more deft use of media and public persona, and when he eventually reached the White House, he understood the need to rework an ever increasing bureaucracy so that decisions could be streamlined and more effective.

He walked into the Presidency as means of media were exploding, when political maneuvering was escalating, and the need to maintain a handle on the message was tantamount in making political progress.  In short, Nixon”™s administration may be remembered for its ultimate failure, but the changes he brought to the daily operations of the West Wing, the focus of the President”™s time, the use of media, and the reorganization of how the White House operated is still mimicked to this day.

Last year on President”™s Day, Kelly and I took a trip down to Yorba Linda and the Richard Nixon Library and Foundation.  Admission was free, so we joined some 5,000 other people taking advantage of the opportunity.  The highlight of the day was the panel lecture on “The Effective Use of the President”™s Time.”  The panel was made up of four men who served in the West Wing of the White House and, more specifically, worked directly under H. R. “Bob” Haldeman, Nixon”™s Chief of Staff.  They discussed the climate of which Nixon assumed the presidency, how foreign trips were staffed, and most importantly, how they helped the President make the best use of his time.

Nixon”™s end is usually where we begin in thinking about his time in office and tends to dominate the flavor of the entirety of his presidency.  That is unfortunate.  Many, initiatives, policies, and governmental advancements that remain in place today were initiated during his years in the White House.  In fact, the entire structure of the modern day Office of the President was essentially created during his tenure and remains in tact today.  The lecture was a fascinating look into the Presidency.

Today and Friday I”™ll post my bulleted notes from the lecture.  On Saturday, I”™ll give a few thoughts on how these themes could bring helpful consideration to an ordinary pastor”™s ministry.

• Nixon was friendly, but we were not friends.
• Nixon lost the 1960 election because he tried to run the campaign himself.  In 1968 (the year he won the Presidency), he put key managers in every position.
• Haldeman issued a memo in the 1968 campaign that became central to how the Presidency.  Because of the greater use of television, it was not as important for the candidate or President to make multiple public appearance.  The 30 second sound-bite for the evening news became more important.  Haldeman said, “The candidate and the press must be given time to stop, rest, reflect and write.”

During President Nixon”™s time in the White House, he secured an office across the street from the White House in the Executive Office Buil ding, where he would take a 40 minute power nap (suggested to him by President Lyndon Johnson who was renown for his unflagging energy through each day), eat lunch, think, and write.  Many of Nixon”™s major speeches and agendas were planned out during these times.

• Working in the White House is 100% intensity.  Everything matters, or it would have been handled somewhere else.  Everything is important and has consequences.

Values impact who you are and what you do. Roles and goals define who you are and what you need to do.

What roles do you play in life? Husband, father, pastor, teacher, son, friend, neighbor? You know what they are. Think through the following questions in determining the roles you have in life and the biblical injunctions that best speak to how those roles should be lived out:

1. List your roles.

2. Assign specific Scriptures appropriate to each role.

3. List any key people associated with these roles.

4. Write a clarifying statement that describes specifically how you would want to fulfill this role

If you have listed more than 7 roles, you may need to consolidate a few of them. Or you may even need to consider letting go of some of them – especially as you see more and more what is most important in your life and ministry.

The Franklin-Covey approach to defining roles and goals suggests that you consider four other areas in addition to the roles you have listed. Covey calls them “Sharpening the Saw.” These are the areas of mental, physical, social, and spiritual priorities you should pursue and keep sharp. These roles/relationships will have a significant impact on the next step in the process of becoming more focused and hopefully more productive in life and ministry: Weekly Planning (more on that next week).

Goals follow your roles. Ask yourself in regard to each of your roles, “What do I want to see accomplished in this role?” “Why?” “What would be a reasonable timeline in which to accomplish this goal?” Think long term. You can then set more timely benchmarks such as 10 year, 5 year, 3 year goals. I tend to set annual goals based on these other benchmarks, then I set some 90 day goals and evaluate how I’m doing each month.

Here’s what has happened in me doing this. My long term goals caused me to think more strategically about what I have been doing with my life and ministry. I set some pretty aggressive 10, 5, and 3 year goals, all of which are more than likely going to change a bit in the months to come. Why? I’m not convinced that my long term goals were wrong – I’m more convinced today that they are on track. However, providence in my pursuit of these goals is proving to reshape how I first envisioned them playing out. No problem. It’s actually very helpful, clarifying, and liberating – a bit exciting that these goals will take on an even more focused life in the months and years to come. All of that to say, the more the goals reflect biblical priorities and personal giftedness, the less these really will change. Circumstances may change, but living out who you were made to be in the context God providentially provides is more than likely going to fit within biblically centered priorities.

Next week we’ll consider how to plan each week so that goals become a more intentional focus of your behavior.

The big picture is where productivity begins, whether for a pastor or really anyone. What’s the biblical rationale for life? What are your biblical values and how are they What roles do you providentially have in life? What does the Bible say about each of them? As you analyze your life circumstances, biblical priorities, and personal giftedness, what do you believe would be the best end product to shoot for in each of these roles you have in your life? That’s where goals come in. Goals will shed light on how you plan each week and evaluate how your doing as time goes on. Weekly planning helps to guide how you think about each day. Overly intentional? Maybe. But I think these are merely practical ways to look at life and ministry and make sure you are aligning life and ministry along a biblical track.

So in this post I want to concentrate on identifying and defining biblical values. What are the core principles that govern your thinking and your behavior? Perhaps you could ask yourself, when I die, what do I most want my life to leave behind that were the obvious commitments of my life and ministry? Answer that question with a list of one word responses. Then begin to clarify those words in a short sentence or two. Here’s a few steps to take in defining and clarifying your values:

1. Brainstorm a list of one-word standards, ideals and priorities that are biblically based and very important to you.

2. List each one word value and then write a present-tense, first person affirmation statement about how you envision that value being lived out.

3. Think about which of these values is universal for all believers and which are somewhat specific to you, your gifts and the providence of God in your life.

These values may not be true of you every day, but they are those elements of a biblically faithful life that you passionately desire to pursue. They comprise the sort of biblically driven legacy you pray you could leave behind. More than likely, over time, you will continually be refining the way you state these values. The more you learn about yourself, ministry, and the word, the more you will tweak how you express and pursue these values.

Here’s a few examples:

A Follower of Jesus Christ: I will seek to have my life reflect the focus and priorities of Jesus Christ.

Transformation: Jesus Christ changed lives; I will be a tool used by Christ to change the lives of others through the gospel.

Loyalty: I will be self-sacrificially committed to the people most important to me.

Christ-centered: My thinking, passions and actions will be run through a grid of Scripture.

Christ-likeness: I will work and be dependent upon God for my character to be conformed to that of Jesus Christ.

Love God with Heart, Mind, Soul, Strength: I aim for every aspect of my life to enjoy God as my highest priority.

Love My Neighbor as Myself: I seek to meet the most important needs of others as much as my own.

Focused Discipline: My life will be radically centered upon what is most important and undistracted by what is of less importance.

God’s Glory: My every motive will be driven by the excellency and joy of God’s supremacy in all things.

So what are the potential pitfalls every pastor (really anyone) will face as soon as he is committed to becoming more productive? Here are a few suggestions:

Strangling Sovereignty. As one who believes in, values, and enjoys a robust understanding of God’s sovereginty, I understand the tension that can often be felt when trying to become more focused and productive. I understand that God guides every step despite by best intentions. As someone (I can’t remember who) has said, we write our plans in pencil and understand God owns the eraser. Never think that our goals, plans, projects, tasks, and ultimately our productivity is either up to us or accomplished in our own ingenuity. Furthermore, when providence destroys the perfectly planned productive week you sketched out, rejoice! Don’t fret or sweat in frustration. God is sovereign. Our productive desires can never strangle his perfect providential plans.

Frustrating Friends. Another pitfall when we aim to be productive is that we will inevitably frustrate some of our friends; especially those not given to our bent for greater productivity. I do this to the best of my friends. I need to be less self-focused and considerate of others. Yet, I can plan my work and work my plan, running right over those I consider ministry partners and friends. Be careful of this. Neither frustrating them by our precise planning, nor succumbing to other’s lack of planning needs to cause us any lack in being effective at what we do. Flexibility is required – but not so flexible that we are useless.

Projects Above People. Sometimes this is a false dichotomy. Often times my responsibilities (which can be called a project) are people related – people focused. Yet, I can approach my day and my responsibilities as if it were merely a box to check and a task to complete. Kindness, consideration, and patience must prevail and pervade all my activities. Futhermore, for those of us who are considered very ‘task-oriented’ people, we can often spend all day behind the desk and little time in fruitful and necessary conversation with the flock. This is a constant pitfall to be watchful of.

People Above Projects. Let’s be careful of the reverse as well. Spending time with people can become misspent time if we are not careful. Shooting the breeze can be good; and it can be bad also. If you neglect the necessary study of the word and thus become so shallow that you have little to feed people in preaching or more personalized shperding, you have ill served them. Simply filling your week with appointments with people does not mean you have done what is best or most helpful, even for the people with whom you have met. Make sure you have a good sense of biblical, purposeful direction in why, how, and when you are giving time to others. We have to always guard against a lack of productivity with the excuse that were were simply “with people.”

Merely Getting Things Done. Some are “get-things-done” sorts of people. They have no real plan, nothing is tied to greater priorities or biblical responsibilities. They simply see something that needs done and they “get’er done.” Great. But that doesn’t necessarily make them productive. Some things should be done by others. Some things should be left undone become other responsibilities are more important. Again, being driven by a sense of God-given priority is essential.

Self-Centeredness. This is me. I can excuse my arrogance with the veil of productivity. Oh how this sin needs to be regularly checked in my heart. I must make sure that when I have said “no” I have a God-focused, Christ-honoring reason for doing so. Every week I need to think through my actions and activities to ensure that they are not merely me-pleasing, but helpful for others, fulfilling what God has called me to.

What else would you add?

So, this series is all about the negative side of pastoral productivity. Next week, I plan to say more about the more productive side of pastoral productivity – the positive stuff. But, before we move to the positive, let’s be a bit more negative (why do the negative articles always get more press?).

Here’s a few thoughts on unproductive approaches in addressing productivity:

Goals without Strategy. Goals are great and I have them – I have some for myself, my family, and my ministry. But if you have no practical way to apply them, remind yourself of them, or even hold yourself somewhat accountable to them, goals are useless. Goals without a strategy are a strategic way to become more depressed and obviously unproductive. If you are going to set some goals, you will also need to think through a process by which those goals are continually evaluated, regularly reviewed, and practically applied to how you work week to week.

Strategy without Goals. Many people fall into this trap. These are those who are mesmerized by the latest time management tool, whether electronic or paper, or those who are continually looking for a new productivity system. They love to think about how to be productive and are always shifting systems, but their day-to-day functions are never tied to any long-term, higher altitude goals. Strategy without goals is a good way to feel productive, but not necessarily be productive in the long run.

Time-Driven Tasks. It really is a myth that you can manage your time. It marches on despite our goals and management plans. I do agree with David Allen‘s take on managing tasks, that due dates are rarely effective. I understand that a few tasks are time sensitive. Sure. However, our most important responsibilities are rarely due-date driven and are not always the most urgent issues on our plates. So, when we sit down to think about our week we generally write down a list of tasks, we may even prioritize those tasks and then we begin to assign them to days of our week. Yet, as those days come and go, we find ourselves shifting these assigned due dates to new due dates and up climbs our dissatisfaction. Due dates do not necessarily make you productive. I’ll say more about how to manage tasks later. I am simply not convinced that assigning due dates to every task is helpful. It generally fuels your feelings of guilt.

Projects without Purpose. David Allen suggests that anything that more than one tasks associated with it becomes a project. If so, how many projects are on your plate? Do you have a clear purpose for each one of those projects – especially those that have many tasks necessary to complete? Furthermore, where in the list of your God-given priorities for life and ministry do these projects fit? Projects without purpose make us busy but not necessarily productive. So we can pull off an event, fill up our calendar, and meet a certain group’s expectations. Have we really accomplished what God has laid out as our primary responsibilities? Even those projects falling within our priorities need a clear purpose, or we will have great difficulty in determining what is the next most necessary action to take in accomplishing the project. Every project needs a clear purpose.

Purpose without Projects. Is this possible. Sure, it’s like having goals with no strategies. You can have a series of purposes for being, priorities that need to be achieved and no practical way to accomplish them. It is great to sit down and think through the purposes behind your preaching, shepherding, teaching, visiting, calling, etc. But how will you keep these purposes in front of you? More importantly, how do you plan to accomplish these elephant sized purposes? How do you break them down in to one-bite-at-a-time projects, responsibilities, and tasks? Every purpose needs to have clearly assigned projects associated with it. Being purposeful without being practical does not a productive pastor make.

More negative to come – pitfalls to productivity is next.