A few ways to identify what drains you:
- Make a list of your regularly occurring responsibilities and tasks and write out how life-giving or how dreaded each one is for you.
- Ask a close friend, co-worker, or your spouse what they think your greatest strengths are, which parts of your role they believe you perform best, and then cross-reference those with the list above.
- Use a mood tracking app like Daylio (on iTunes), iMood Journal (on iTunes and Google Play) or Moodtrack Social Diary (on iTunes and Google Play).
Often, we’re drained because we allow too many back-to-back draining events into our schedule on one day or because we haven’t learned to say “no” yet. Many of the things that drain you aren’t bad things, they’re just “not today” things. Being healthy, mature and confident enough to tell the difference is a crucial part of leadership. The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero is a great resource on this topic.
Creating healthy boundaries in your schedule doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have fewer responsibilities. But you’ll be able to prioritize and balance those responsibilities better by stewarding your time in a more effective way that honors God, your family and your church. In Luke 10:41-42, Jesus said to Martha, “You are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is necessary…” Pastors are often tempted to juggle everything and carry the weight of the entire church on their own without much sleep or balance. Start building healthy boundaries in your schedule today to focus more on what God has called you to do and do it well.
This article on healthy boundaries originally appeared here.
