Productivity

One of the great challenges to deputation is feeling as though you have no control over your life or time. Below are some suggestions on being productive.

1. Use times of focused effort on select projects excluding all non-emergency intrusions. If you are going to make phone calls for five hours, then make phone calls. Do not try to fix something around the house after thirty minutes, take a "break" that turns into a vacation, and do not talk on the phone unless it is a pastor. Stay focused on the task at hand and you will be surprised at what you can get accomplished. (This goes for preparing sermons, devotions, familiy time, etc...)

2. Take time to plan and prioritize your day, week, month, etc. Before you go to bed, list the things that need to be done the next day. List them in the order of priority. There are times the thing that needs to be done is what you do not want to do. Do this first and get it out of the way. Plan your day and then stick to your plan. Do you have any direction for today? Do you have a list of what needs to be done? At the end of the day will you say, "I sure did not accomplish much."? As the old saying goes, "Plan your work and work your plan".

3. Stay disciplined. People who accomplish much on deputation have the same amount of hours as you and me. The only difference is that some stay disciplined and some do not. In what ways today does your life exhibit discipline? Are there areas you need to "tighten" up on? We only have one life, may we be disciplined and count.