Calendaring by Priority

I've always been pretty attached to my calendar. Back in the day it was a "Week-at-a-Glance" paper product. 

Well, not always actually. There was a time that I tried to remember everything. But one day I totally forgot to meet someone for a lunch meeting. It was important to me, but slipped my mind at the worst time.

And that day I committed, "NO MORE!"

So now I spend time every week, and often 3-4 times a week, simply managing my calendar. While that may sound cumbersome, it actually gives me great freedom. I don't have to try to remember stuff.

I tell my calendar what I want to do, then my calendar tells me what to do. It's wonderful!

Here's a glimpse into my approach. I sure hope it helps you!

I calendar recurring events first — study time, gym time, worship services, weekly rehearsals, staff meetings, etc.

Then I calendar big chunks — vacation, prayer retreats, writing days, long-range planning sessions.

And before I get over-booked, I calendar other family events third — date nights, family day-trips, activities with the kids, etc.

And then--and this is important--I calendar goals. Some of this may have been done already, but I want to make sure I get the work that matters most on my schedule. This is where writing days, prayer retreats, long-range planning etc. help. But I will also create a (very rough) project plan by assigning times on my calendar to work on chunks of my goals.

All done! 

Well, not really of course. Because I don't do JUST the things I want to, feel led to do. I also get requests from others. Meetings, conferences, and fun stuff. So once you have YOUR work on the calendar, then you can accept or decline the requests of others. If I someone asks for a time I have blocked out, then I can see if it is realistic to move what is already showing up to an empty spot (aka margin) to make room for their request. I want to honor their time and request, but I also want to honor the ways I've felt led to work.

In fact, this just happened to me this weekend. I was invited to lead worship for an event that sits squarely in the center of the things I am passionate about. So I looked over my Google calendar for the days before and after, the weeks before and after, and decided that while it would require some sacrifice and effort, it was worth it. 

That's freedom caused by structure and calendar-awareness. 

Now, time doesn't stand still and plans often change. So we have to manage our calendars. Based on the things I've learned through the years, here's what I suggest:

• Prepare your calendar annually.
• Review your calendar weekly.
• Then live out your calling from your calendar daily.

A newer practice a friend suggested to me has a great early returns. I’ve started taking time every other month to do long-range planning. I revisit my calendar from 3-18 months out as part of that exercise. While it’s early in this new discipline, I think it is helping a lot.

This is SO different from the earlier part of my career. And these days, my recent days, are by far my best days. I’m convinced that goal setting and intentional calendaring have a great deal to do with that.

Now don’t be Pharisaical with your calendar, but be strong and courageous. Whether you are in the marketplace or the ministry, God has called you to do stuff. Being intentional helps us do the right stuff.

I'd imagine you, like me, would like to echo the words of Jesus in John 17:4: "I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do." Discerning goals and managing time seem the best ways to do that, at least in our day.

Now... share with each other: What calendaring hacks have you discovered that help you?

I Was Stuck

Early in my ministry career, I was driven to do everything all the time. I was stuck in the mindset that everything I thought was something that needed to be done. And everything that someone else thought I needed to do... well that was something I needed to do to.

That was back in the day. You know, in the 90s.

Who am I kidding... I am still that way!

But something has helped me far more than I expected. For the last six years I've been part of a staff team that does goals and shares them with each other. Setting goals has helped me narrow my focus from doing everything all the time to doing the more important things with my best time.

This process has served me in more ways than I can even articulate. Maybe a glimpse into the way I walk through this annual exercise can help you--whether you are in full-time, part-time, or volunteer ministry. They could help in school years, retirement years, or any career.

One more thing you should know: because my pastor is brilliant he gives us great freedom to choose our own goals. He seems to believe that as long as we have alignment as a staff in the big picture, we can set our own priorities in each area of ministry.

Since I think better in structure, I decided to create some for my goal setting. I find it extremely helpful to think in three broad categories:

• Spiritual - To be more like Jesus
• Personal - To act more like Jesus
• Professional (church) - To help people walk with Jesus

Of course the boundaries between these categories are not fixed. The healthiest among us are the most integrated. So the goals I set spiritually affect my personal and professional life. Whether or not I thrive in my professional life impacts my personal and spiritual journey. And so on.

Over the years that (intentionally) first category has included things like:

• Take 4 prayer retreats in a year
• Focus on specific spiritual practices (prayer, confession, journaling, fasting, etc.)
• Read the entire Bible aloud

And some of the things that made the personal list were:

• Lose 50 pounds
• Write 2 articles for publication
• And one of my favorites -- meet with 6 guys a few years ahead of me, asking 3 questions. One of these questions is always about how to be a better husband or father. I've already written about that particular practice. You can read more about it here.

And within the professional realm:

• Create and host a worship conference
• Hold a Worship Ministry Summit with key leaders and a guest clinician
• Create and distribute a worship ministry handbook

It is impossible for me to describe how the growth in all three of those areas of my life in the last 6 years has outpaced the same in any previous season of my life. 

Now to be transparent, I seldom meet all of my goals. In fact, I usually only hit about 70% of them. But 70% of carefully thought through goals has gotten me much farther than 100% of not having goals.

I'm eager to see, what are some things that have helped you with goal setting?

How to Worship When Worship Is Hard (from a very special guest)

By special guest blogger, Tricia Brown

“Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God.” -author, Mark Batterson

On Tuesday, September 18, 2018, my twenty-year-old son, Brandon, died. Just two days before, we stood next to each other and sang in worship. Less than a week after, I stood in front of his casket and sang again.

Raising four sons in a Christian home, my husband and I tried to make church a regular part of our lives. Even more, we tried to make worship something that we didn’t just do at church. And while worship is about so much more than music, music often played a part in our worship. We danced to Christian worship songs. VBS and its music were consistent parts of our summers. Veggie Tales music played on our television, and Christian radio played in our car.  

In the days following Brandon’s death, worship was not hard. I didn’t worship because I wanted to worship. I worshipped because I was compelled to worship. It was as if God was pulling me so close that I had no alternative but to bow. So, I did, face down in front of my son’s casket, perhaps more humbly and honestly than ever in my life. 

But, in the days and months after, as I struggled through the fog of grief, as my mind reeled from the reality of it all, as I pulled myself out of the Lord’s embrace and began asking the “whys” and arguing the “what ifs,” worship became harder. Music became a double-edged sword, speaking to my soul, whispering into places that mere words could not penetrate. 

Every song “spoke” to me, and every song hurt, but worship music was especially difficult. Worship is, after all, to give praise to the One who created me, the One who saved me, the One who gave me my son, and the One who allowed him to be taken away. 

Worship during Sunday morning became excruciating. Even now, there are times that my mouth cannot voice the words. There are times that tears flow down my face. There are times when my knees shake, and my heart breaks, and I want to plug my ears and scream. And in those times, the worst times, when I shut my eyes, and my knuckles turn white from holding myself in place, then, I worship with the only thing I can give at that moment—my presence.

Because even in the hurt, even in the battle, even in my darkest, hardest days, I still know that God is God, and I am not, that He is my Creator, my Redeemer, my Savior, the keeper of my Salvation and the keeper of my son. The Bible tells us that if we don’t worship Him, the rocks will.

So, how do I worship when worship hurts? I remember what is right about God instead of what is wrong with me, and like the Nike slogan says, I “just do it,” because God alone is worthy, and God alone deserves my praise.


Tricia K. Brown is an author, teacher, and speaker. For 26 years she has worked as an editor and freelance writer for organizations and individuals including the United Methodist Church, Mailbox magazines, breast cancer specialist Judy C. Kneece, RN, OCN, and psychiatrist and best-selling author, Ari Kiev. Through her business, The Girls Get Together, Tricia shares stories of life, loss, and laughter to encourage women in their walks with the Lord and each other. Connect with her on Facebook or on her website, where you can subscribe to her free weekly newsletter.