What To Do When You Have A Full Plate

Every Thanksgiving I tell myself, “I’m not going to overload my plate.” I don’t want to do it because I know I’ll feel lethargic and totally useless.

In ministry the same thing happens when we overload our schedules and to-do lists. When we overload our plates we end up tiring ourselves out and become totally ineffective. If you are tired of that then you need to:

START SAYING “NO” AND FOCUS ON THE IMPORTANT

The first reason our plate gets full is because we don’t know how to say, “No”. We don’t say it because we have trouble:

• Letting others down
• Discerning between what’s important and what’s urgent
• Understanding that busyness isn’t the path to success

If you want to unload the plate you need to understand what are the tasks you have to do, what you can pass off and what you need to eliminate.

Anytime I lose sight of what matters most I review Stephen Covey’s Big Rock analogy, which you can check out HERE.

DELEGATE THE RIGHT WAY

When you delegate you are not only giving someone a task to do, you are giving them OWNERSHIP over an area of your ministry. When you can share the responsibility you can increase your capacity.

To delegate properly you need to make sure you are:

• Clear with what you want them to accomplish
• Sharing with them what you’ve done and what works
• Learning from them and touching base regularly

Most importantly you have to be okay with people messing up, at least at first. Delegating your responsibilities takes time but it’s worth it in the end.

LOOK INTO AUTOMATION

The beauty about technology is that it can expand your capacity to do more and empty your plate at the same time. I use apps like:

• Acuity Scheduling to regulate my calendar
• MailChimp to schedule emails ahead of time
• Boomerang to regulate my inbox
• Basecamp to organize my projects
• Sprout Social to schedule social media
• Not all these applications are free, but they get the job done.

Next time you wonder if there is an easier way of doing something look at automation software.

To discover more methods check out entrepreneur guru Tim Ferris’ site: The Four Hour Work Week

FOCUS ON YOUR PRAYER LIFE

When we lose sight of our relationship with God we lose sight of what’s most important. A commitment to daily prayer and spiritual accountability will keep you focused on what matters most.

If you can find a spiritual director who can help you discern what you should be doing and what you need to stop doing. Trust that God has given you enough time and focus on what matters most.

Don’t let an over crowded plate prevent you from being effective. Slow things down by assessing what you should be doing and what you can pass on to someone else. It’ll be a little painful at first but the payoff is worth it.

What’s one thing you can stop doing so that you can focus on what’s most important?