Putting Margin in Your Schedule for Writing Sermons
Recently I asked two people on our staff to do a complete top-to-bottom audit of my life and to-do list and help me create a manageable schedule for my life built around my top priorities.
Here’s how we did it:
1. Data Dump
First, we went off to a room and I listed out the 50 million things that sit on my to-do list staring at me each week. They asked questions. We looked at my past year’s calendar. I talked. We wrote. Finally after one hour we got every single thing that I touch on a regular basis down onto that whiteboard. The board was filled.
2. Pick Five
Second, I told my friends that I can only realistically focus on five priorities, and asked what they thought those should be. We then each took turns going to the board and listing what we thought I should focus on that (1) only I could do and (2) would exponentially move CCV forward as a church.
Collectively we agreed on these five priorities:
- Vision-Casting
- Sermons
- Staff Leadership
- High Capacity Leader/Donor Evangelism/Leadership Development
- Personal Care And Development
3. Place Your Top Five Priorities Into Your Calendar
Now, if you’re asking why in the world I needed two other guys I trust to help make that list, you are correct, I could have generated that list on my own.
The real value of this exercise was what they forced me to do next.
They made me go day by day, hour by hour, and figure out what priority would be done when and actually put the appointments into my Outlook calendar. When we were done every hour was accounted for.
Have you ever done this?
That was helpful, but that wasn’t the most important step.
4. Put Five to Eight Buffer Hours in Your Schedule Every Week
Yes, I’m suggesting you take a half-day to a full work day’s of hours and spread them across your finely orchestrated schedule just because.
Just because what?
Just because you’re going to have a funeral.
Or a wedding.
Or a family crisis.
Or you’ll get sick.
Or a whole myriad of issues that happen every week to foil our well-laid plans.
I’m finding that this, besides writing well in advance, is the key to not procrastinating.
Procrastination happens because I don’t make room for surprises. Since I don’t have room for surprises, and these “surprises” still have to get done, I put off the only thing I have to do that’s under my control—writing messages.
The key is to plan for surprises.
I’m finding that helps.
So far.
Senior pastors, what have you learned that has helped you not procrastinate on sermon writing?
This article about writing sermons originally appeared here.
