Yesterday I spent 2 ½ hours with a grieving mom. Those 2 ½ hours were the most rewarding and least stressful hours of my whole day. Those 2 ½ hours reminded me why I do what I do. Those 2 ½ hours also reminded me what I am, and more importantly, what I am not supposed to be doing with my day.
A few months back Randy & I were challenged to
dramatically cut back on the “busy work” of church life. There have been several
days that I wanted to ask this messenger if he wanted to come deal with the
nonsense I deal with every single day. Every. Single. Day. It just doesn’t end –
ever.
But you know what? I don’t have to give it my attention all
day long. I get to choose what I give my attention to. I get to choose when and
how often I read my emails. I get to choose to read that text or answer my
phone. I get to choose to control my day or let everyone around me control it.
Ohmygoodness. Haven’t I taught that principle to subordinates
over the years?! Freakin shoot me now. I know better than to let anyone control
my time. For crying out loud, as a very young adult, I learned at the Burger
King PTWE class (People, The Winning Edge) to not even do what your BOSS tells you
to do the first time he tells you to do it. Not to be disrespectful but because a lot of times, a boss will come
up with some great idea in his head but later change his mind and decide it is
crazy . . . after you are already off running with his “great idea.” Now you
have wasted time on your hands. So when you are asked a second or third time,
then most often, it won’t become a crazy idea. Most often.
So Michael, Scott, Pete
or Cass – if you ever read this, please know that if at any time I seemed or seem
to ignore you the first time, it’s not my
fault. Blame Burger King. (We’ll cover taking responsibility for our actions in
a later blog. LOL)
Here’s the thing – when what should be 20% of your job
becomes 80% of your job, it is time to relook at your schedule. Sure, there are
“have to’s” that are busy work. But you and I get to schedule those into our
days. Every job has aspects of it that might not be in our talent or desire
tool box but we still have to do those things. But for crying out loud, let’s
not give those things our best hours. And yes, eventually we have to answer our
emails. Even the stupid ones. But we get to schedule when we do that too.
If my job is people – people should have 80% of my time. At
the same time. if your job is administrative – paperwork should have 80% of
your time and you might need to tell a co-worker that you have work to do.
You and I get to control our schedules and if we choose not
to – someone else will. I don’t know about you but I am tired of letting the
craziness control my day. Once I am done kicking myself in the you-know-what for
failing to take my own advice the last few months – I am taking back my
calendar.
So if you are waiting on an email from me – you might just be
waiting til Monday!
