It’s summertime and for many in NextGen ministries this is not a time to kick back and relax, but the busiest time of the year. You have more and bigger events over the three summer months than you have for the rest of the year. Add to that you have vacations, volunteer turnover, absences, and overall lower attendance, it can be exhausting and overwhelming.

So, what do you do? How do you juggle all the things and still grow the ministry or at least survive the summer?

I’ve been there. It’s tough.

One June I had something church related every day of the month except two. I was exhausted and needed a break. Thankfully, I’ve learned how to manage all of it and find a healthy pace.

So, here’s 5 steps to managing your time this summer.

1. Balance is a myth.

For years, I’ve heard people talk about work/life balance. They’re looking for some magical Zen moment when work/family/God is all in perfect equilibrium.

However, this is a myth. The scales are always swaying back and forth between according to the needs of the moment.

So instead of looking for balance, think in seasons. If your summer is a really busy time, set vacation time or at least a day off at the end of it. That way when you or your kids are complaining they have to go up to the church, again, you can remind them that in two weeks we’re going to do something fun. And by something fun, I mean something specific that you and your family are looking forward to.

If you’re intentional with your time, you’ll be far more successful accomplishing what you’ve set out to do. So, before everything gets really crazy, sit down with your calendar and figure out where you can do some fun things that aren’t church related. Your family will thank you.

H/T to Frank Bealer and his book The Myth of Balance

2. Set your priorities.

I used to set my priorities and consider them fixed. No moving up or down. They are what they are.

And for the most part, that’s correct. However, I’ve learned that some flexibility is necessary. There are sometimes when work overtakes family time, or a family crisis overtakes your time spent with God. That’s ok... for a season. When it’s over you need to go back and realign yourself.

Not everything can be important all at once. Determine what is going to bring you the most impact and work on that first.

Usually during VBS season, especially the week before and the week of, Sunday morning services go on the back burner. I’ll plan these way in advance and put those ministries on autopilot. I’m not trying anything new or special during those 3 Sundays surrounding. I’m just getting through them so I can focus on VBS.

Take some time to write out your priorities in order. Then post them somewhere you can see them on a regular basis. For years, I had them posted on a bulletin board above my computer so when I looked up, I’d see them. It’s a good reminder to keep things in the right order.

3. Prioritize your week then your day.

Setting your overall priorities for your life is great, but what about week to week and day to day?

I’m a huge fan of to do lists. I’ve been using Microsoft OneNote to keep track since my college days, but there are a lot of other great programs out there like Evernote or Asana or the good old-fashioned pen and paper.

At the beginning of my week, I’ll write out my to do list. But this list is not just a list of tasks. It’s broken up by day. In addition, each task is written in the order in which they need to be done according to my priorities.

The beauty of using a digital system like OneNote is I don’t have to reinvent the wheel every week. I simply copy/paste from the week before then add and subtract as necessary.

If you really want to take the priority planning to the next level, assign different days a theme. For instance, Monday is meetings and metrics, Tuesday is project day, Wednesday is meeting planning, that night service prep, and projects, and finally Thursday is weekend service prep.

Having these divisions helps me to focus on what needs doing that day. So, if I have an awesome idea for Sunday and it’s only Tuesday, I don’t get distracted from my current project. I simply add it to my Thursday list and get back to work on Tuesday's tasks. When Thursday rolls around, I’ll have the time and mental energy available to make my idea a reality.

4. Replenish yourself.

You don’t have unlimited energy. You'll need to rest and refresh at some point.

A few years ago, I had a coach walk me through a life plan. One of the activities was to develop a replenishment cycle. I had to identify a different activity that replenished me physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially. These were things that if I didn’t do them every day, I would do them most days and definitely within a week.

Now that I have this cycle in place, I find I’m far less likely to burn out. When I start to feel tired or overwhelmed, I can look at what I’ve done over the last few days and usually find I’ve been skipping one or more parts of my replenishment cycle.

I discover I’m running low on gas.

Since I know what will bring me energy, I make time for one those activities and almost instantly feel better.

Find an activity that brings your energy in these four areas:

physically
mentally
spiritually
socially

And then make sure you do them regularly, especially when things get really busy.

5. Evaluate how you’re doing and adjust.

It’s great to have a plan, but if you never look up to see how you’re doing, then you might end up somewhere you never wanted to be. That’s why you need to evaluate.

At the end of my week, I look back over my to do list and note what got done and what didn’t. I’ll make tweaks like adding more information, moving the task to a different day, or removing it altogether.

Ask yourself,

What did I do this week that replenished me?
What did I do to make things a little bit better?
What am I doing that I should stop doing?
What do I never want to do again?
Are my priorities aligned or do I need to adjust?

This doesn’t have to be a long process, just 5-10 minutes, but it makes sure that your tasks are done, and you can go home and relax instead of worrying about all the things you haven’t done.

The summer is a busy time and things will never slow down unless you make the time.

But if you put your priorities in order, push for a season and then relax, regularly replenish your energy and evaluate your results, you’ll be far healthier and able to serve year after year.

I’ve said before that ministry is a marathon. The summer is that last 5k that separates the amateurs from the pros. With God’s help anything is possible. You can do this.