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How Church Creatives Can Get Things Done

When it comes to church communication, nobody cares more for the outcome or delivery than church creatives. But when it comes to creatives being organized and on top of their “to-do” lists, that’s a different matter.

Writer Jeff Goins is a creative’s creative with a neat understanding of how people who have creative tendencies think. In his recent blog post Jeff shares A Creative’s Guide to Getting Things Done. I’ve listed a summary below (click HERE for Jeff’s full post).

1) Keep short, disposable to-do lists.

Creatives identify what is tangible. As archaic as it sounds, having a notebook or physical means of writing down your tasks is important.  My personal habit is to write out a list of 10 items, get them all done, then start a new list.

2) Limit inbound communication.

For many of us, this means email, which you should not be checking every few minutes. Have a few specific times to check it and try getting your email down to zero every day. I like using the Michael Hyatt system of doing, delegating, or deleting whatever is in my inbox.

3) Have one project management system.

A friend once told me that he uses Basecamp, a Facebook group, Google calendar, Skype, and IM to communicate with coworkers and manage his workload. I told him I felt sorry for him and all the lost time he spends checking each one. If you can relate to this, please stop now. That is not efficient. Just pick a system and stick with it.

4) Show up.

This sounds ridiculously simple. But many artists struggle with this. The typical eight-hour work day feels rote. And it is. But that doesn’t excuse you from putting in the hours. The fact is that some breakthroughs only happen when you show up to to do your job. There’s nothing glamorous about it, but it has to be done.

5) Commit to shipping.

This is an important lesson for a creative to learn. If it’s your vocation to make a difference in the world through creativity, then you need to develop a bias towards action. Send the email. Launch the website. Do it now. Stop procrastinating and start sending stuff out the door. That’s not to say that there isn’t a place for refinement in this process, but most creatives hesitate too much. They’re scared of rejection.