What Does Pastor John Do All Week?

Several years ago I taught a course on productivity at a local Bible college and the reading we did together as a class literally changed my life. In preparation for the course I found Matt Perman’s book What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done. There are thousands of books on productivity, but not many like this one. Perman approaches the topic theologically rather than pragmatically. The first part of the book is “First Things First: Making God Supreme in Our Productivity.”

But there is a lot of practical help in the book as well! After laying the theological groundwork or the “why” of our work, Perman has several sections on the “how” of our work. These sections contain numerous good and helpful ideas on everything from processing email to managing projects to weekly planning.

It was his section on weekly planning that changed my life. I was a new pastor with multiple jobs and a young family and lots to do. My schedule was full and I felt overwhelmed. But then Perman introduced me to the idea of planning my week with different “time zones,” or what some call “block scheduling.” These ideas are not original to him, but they were new and amazingly freeing and life-giving to me.

In his chapter on setting up your week, he says that we work best from routines not lists, how a basic schedule can keep us from overloading ourselves with too much, how it helps us integrate our roles (such as husband, father, pastor, etc.), and how a basic schedule fosters creative thinking. As my family and responsibilities grew, I needed help and God provided that help through What’s Best Next. I strongly recommend the book to anyone else needing help thinking through how to manage your time.

So how did Perman’s book change my life, that is, how I structure my life? How do I shape my week? Below is an outline of how I apply what I learned from Perman to my schedule. You’ll notice that I think through my schedule in “blocks” of morning, afternoon, and evening. My hope is not that you’ll do what I do, but that you’ll be encouraged to think about your own schedule and how it either helps or hinders you as you pursue God’s callings in your life.

Every week is a little different but barring any emergencies my “time zones” stay relatively fixed. My “study” blocks are focused on prayer, reading, and writing sermons, but also include things like preparing the order of service for our Sunday worship gathering, writing newsletter articles, and preparing for funerals or weddings. Anything I need to give sustained thought and attention to falls here because, for me, mornings are when I do my best thinking.

My “administration” blocks are for processing email, texts, and phone calls, for meeting with church members, visitors, and other pastors and ministry leaders in the community for lunch or coffee (if you ever need to meet with me, please don’t hesitate to call or text me so we can get it on the calendar!). This is also when I have monthly elder meetings and weekly meetings with our administrator, and when I give attention to facility needs, prepare for member meetings, look at church finances and ministry schedules, and do long-range planning. Anything “extra” that comes up that needs my attention typically falls here. This ensures that my best hours go to my most important work, namely, preparing to preach God’s word.

My “family” blocks are for playing with my kids, helping with homework, eating dinner together, family worship, and date nights with Suzy. Suzy and our children are my first ministry, so I intentionally guard our evenings together by not planning meetings during evening hours and by putting my phone away when I am at home.

My “rest” blocks are for sabbathing, or intentional time where I stop working and focus on things that refresh my mind, body, and soul. This includes reading the Bible, journaling, praying, running, reading books on things I’m interested in, and doing fun things with my family.

Every week and every block looks a little different, but blocking my weekly schedule like this helps me give my various callings the necessary time and attention that they need. It also helps me get the main things done that I need to get done each day. Perman quotes Peter Drucker, who said, “If there is one ‘secret’ of effectiveness, it is concentration. Effective executives do first things first and they do one thing at a time.” Though I am not an executive, as a leader in my home and in our church, I need concentrated time to get the most important things done. Block scheduling allows me to do this.

Life is too short to be haphazard in how we spend our time. I agree with John Piper’s sentiment: “My regret is that I do not have five lives to live for Jesus. I would live one of them visiting the unreached peoples, one writing books on theology, one creating ministries for the physical needs of the poor and one doing just what I am doing.” There is so much work to do for Jesus! Though I would love to do more for him, what I must do are the things he has called me to: follow him, love and serve my wife and children, and pastor his people.

What callings has God given you? How do you structure your week to ensure that you are faithful in them? Our lives are like a mist “that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Therefore, as Paul says, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16).

Seeking to Make Good Use of My Time, With You and For You,

Pastor John