There isn’t one “right” morning routine. It’s built on your values and realities. My reality is self-employed (pastor) and 6 kids. Yours might look totally different. But for some ideas and encouragement, here’s a walkthru of my morning routine, from start to finish, with tips of what makes it work better for me.
If you want to read the first post I wrote on this, you’ll need to go here: How to Build a Morning Routine In 7 Steps.
I am loving Evernote. I had an account with Evernote for a couple years, but I confess I didn’t see the benefits & uses at the time, so I didn’t start using it. Then I read a post by Michael Hyatt on how he uses Evernote, and it opened my eyes to the possibilities. Since then, Evernote has become one of my absolute favorite tools.
It’s really useful on on a personal level — I keep my budget there, gift lists, etc. But in this post, I’ll talk about how I’m using it professionally in my ministry work. Here’s what I’m doing with it, and how it’s making my life easier as a pastor:
I once heard John C. Maxwell tell a story of a man who was angry at being passed over for a promotion. “They can’t do that — I have 20 years experience!” he grouched. “No you don’t!” Maxwell retorted. “You have one year of experience 20 times!”
If you have been in church work for long, you know: Repetition doesn’t mean improvement. You can do something 20 times and not really be any better at it on the 20th than you were last time. Is there a way to change that? Is there a way to make sure you always improve, and next year really is BETTER than last?
Yes! Follow these steps and your Christmas and Easter outreaches will improve year-over-year!
There’s only one thing you need to do, and do it early, while it’s still fresh: Get people together… make lists. Done right, this is REALLY FUN. I have a blast with it every year.
I’ve heard it called in the business world AAR’s (After Action Reports). I’ve heard it called “doing a post-mortem.” (Hope your Christmas service wasn’t that bad!) Whatever you call it, here’s HOW you do it:
Want to read more books in 2016? Here’s a little tip from Michael Hyatt — Don’t feel pressure to finish: “Here’s publishing’s dirty little secret: most books are not worth finishing. Most books could be cut in half and you wouldn’t miss a thing. The key is to read as long as you are interested and then stop.”
Several books last year I read, but didn’t finish — on purpose. But there are some books that I want to finish. Here are a few books I started and want to finish this year:
There’s a running joke among preachers, where sermons are referred to as “Saturday Night Specials.” It’s one of those jokes with an element of truth. Every small church pastor knows the feeling of a busy week of ministry, outside jobs, counseling, maintenance — and an emergency crash sermon prep session on Saturday night. (Or Sunday morning!)
I know the stress & pain in that. Recently, I’ve had to a few times, with our 6th baby arriving in September.
But for some, it’s a distressing, stress-filled, regular occurrence.
Often, it’s just a function of life. But for some guys, it goes deeper — down to a fundamental doubt about whether it’s really a good thing to prep sermons in advance.
Here are 5 reasons why you should plan your sermons in advance:
I know that title is pretty broad — I can’t do anything about some of the frustrations in your life. I can’t do anything about that guy whose trash blows in your yard. Or the guy on the interstate who cuts you off with no blinker. And you really can’t do much about it, either. Just get over yourself and get over them. 🙂
But there are some larger, enduring frustrations that I’ve experienced that I bet you have too. And THOSE, I can teach you something about. It’s the frustration that comes with seasons in your life.
I know you’re familiar with the concept of seasons of the year, but you might not have thought of life in terms of seasons.
3 things you need to remember to keep from being frustrated about seasons:
Here are some examples of micro-seasons:
Examples of macro-seasons:
For micro-seasons, you just need to wait them out, and take some short term actions — medication, rest, etc.
For macro-seasons, you’ll need to adjust your attitude, check your values, and engage in personal growth.
You can’t just decide you’re not going to participate in this season any more. You can’t stop most seasons of life any more than you can stop spring or winter from coming.
So the solution to the frustration can’t be found in how to change the season… it’s got to be found in how I respond to it.
The old saying “It’s not what happens to you, it’s what happens IN you,” applies here. Author and holocaust survivor Victor Frankl said,
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom….When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves.”
Early in my ministry, when we were frustrated about a season we were facing, Liz and I would often say to each other, dramatially, “Well, in the grand scale of 30 years of ministry…” It was usually good for a chuckle, but it did more. It became a tagline that allowed us to “zoom out” and see the season from the larger perspective.
Be careful of your words. They don’t just reveal your perspective — they help create it! And your perspective helps create your reality… Create wisely.
Kids have been probably the defining season of this part our life. I have a saying my wife and I have laughed over for the last few years: “Someday, I’m going to change the world, but right now I have to change this kid’s diaper.” It helps me laugh, and remember the delicious irony of a young kid that thought he was going to change the world through his career in ministry — then had 6 kids, and discovered that he needed to change himself first.
Sam Chand says, “A leader can only grow up to the level of his tolerance for pain.” Seasons can be full of pain.
But they are also prime places for “the growth that happens before the growth.” You know what I mean by that, right? It’s what Steven Covey calls the “private victory” that always precedes “public victory.”
I know what it’s like to be dealing with a season while wishing to be out “kicking behind and taking names.” But while you’re waiting, don’t waste the time. This is captured beautifully in John Waller’s song “While I’m Waiting” from the movie Fireproof. Check it out if you need some encouragement:
Choose your attitude. Watch your words. Create your plan. You’re going to get through this.
The Christmas season is wonderful — and incredibly busy. The programs, the gifts, the family time, the sermons, the special events, the dinners, the last-minute details… it can all add up to a huge stress load. What if you could take 15 minutes and lower your stress level — feel less overwhelmed, more in control, and ready to get something done? Would that be attractive?
I’m not talking about a massage, a medication, or the proverbial ‘stiff drink.’ Those are attempts to escape stress. I’m talking about looking that giant hairy stress monster in the face & cutting it down to size.
Is that really possible? Don’t doubt me until you’ve tried these 5 simple steps:
“Pastor.” The word may have lost some of its respect over the years, with high-profile scandals, Hollywood hit jobs, and TV cariacatures. But the title still conjures up good things in many American minds. A 2011 study by Rasmussen says 70% of Americans view pastors favorably.
But pastors, honestly, through all of their healing, restoring & guiding work, can live with a lot secret pain.
According to a survey by the New York Times in 2010,
“Not my pastor.”
No, I hope not. But some pastor friends of mine have reached these points.
I recently surveyed pastor across several denominations and asked them what was most frustrating in their ministry. I gave them multiple options to choose from, as well as the ability to write their own answers. Here’s what they told me about their greatest challenges:
Tomorrow across America, families will gather, turkey will be eaten, football will be watched, holiday shopping will start… and in places, gratitude will be expressed. Zig Ziglar famously said, “Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions.” Sounds nice… but is it really true?
Researchers are discovering that Zig really wasn’t that far off! Here are 4 benefits of being thankful that surprised me:
Mornings are crucial. And they are fragile. They can serve your greatest values, or they can feed your greatest weaknesses. You can live your life getting up at the last possible second, racing around the house, speeding to work … or you can be intentional about mornings.
I think the single greatest, most impactful change I’ve made in the past 5 years in my life has been developing a routine for my mornings. Here are the steps you need to build one for yourself.
To have a good morning routine, you must start the night before. A morning routines is not built on some sort of Spartan ability to sleep less and less. It’s built on recognizing sleep as important, so you don’t stay up forever watching pointless late night TV or browsing the internet.
Your body needs sleep. (I can’t get by on less than 7 hours for many days in a row.) Your problem with mornings might not be self-discpline to get up when your alarm goes off — it might be to go to bed at a decent time!
3,000 years ago, Solomon wrote “do not love sleep or you will grow poor” (Prov. 20:13). But in his day, people went to sleep soon after the sun went down, instead of staying up with electric lights and TV. (Check out this chart of average sleep for Americans just since 1942.)
Mark Twain quipped, “I can teach anyone to get what they want out of life; the problem is, I cannot find anyone who can tell me what they want.” Do you know? Do you have a time slot for things you value? Is that time slot early in the day?
Here are the values that I base my morning routine on:
Here’s why 5 minute ideas: Your mornings are not everlasting. You don’t have hours before going to work. So jot down ideas of how you might live out your values in a quick way. For help in this area, try SJ Scott’s Kindle book, Habit Stacking.
When do you have to leave for work? What’s your get-up time? What’s your go-to-bed time? Which ones need to be adjusted?
Aim at a solid hour of routine. If you can become efficient in that hour, you can put in a lot of things that will make a difference in the person you will be in 10 years.
My morning routine in Evernote
Keep it somewhere that you can see, somewhere accessible through the morning. After a while you won’t need to look. But at first, you’ll need to see what’s next between every step.
For a long time, I kept mine in Evernote. To avoid using all my phone battery looking at it, I emailed a copy to my Kindle. You might want to print it out & post it on the fridge or coffeemaker.
I use Morning Routine Alarm Clock for Android, which automates most of my timing through the morning. But maybe all you want or need is an alarm clock. But to make sure you’re moving foward, and not dragging, a timer is a great thing.
Credit: Lightstock.com
I can assure you — It won’t work 100% right the first time. Some mistake will come to light. You’ll have too much time for one activity, and not enough for another.
That’s OK! Tweak it and do it again tomorrow!
You will miss a day — no problem. Do it again tomorrow!
Hint #1: Don’t forget commute time as part of your routine. Can you listen to an audiobook? Encourage someone? Write a thank you note at a red light? Pray and memorize a verse of Scripture? Encourage yourself with some great music?
Hint #2: Find a way to fill “mindless time.” There are some activities that don’t require a lot of mental energy and decision making. You don’t have to think deeply to brush your teeth. I hope. 🙂 So, can you fill that time with a growth habit that matches your values? Personally, I listen to the NIV Dramatized Audio Bible for about 30 minutes each morning, while dressing, eating, starting laundry…
In the next post, I will share my own personal routine to give you some examples and share some things that have helped and inspired me along the way.
Who do you know that needs to read this? 🙂 Share it with them!