My Weekly Routine
Here’s the weekly routine that’s currently working for me:
Sunday
- Attend one service and engage two more services at NewSpring.
Monday
- Conference call to debrief Sunday with campus pastors.
- Daily check-in meeting.
- “No meetings” time in the morning to work on projects.
- Meet with senior management team (SMT) minus Perry in the afternoon to discuss operations issues.
Tuesday
- Daily check-in meeting.
- Creativity meeting in the morning to help Perry with upcoming messages and plan future series.
- SMT with Perry all afternoon to hit the “big picture” and future of NewSpring.
Wednesday
- Conference call first thing in the morning to discuss strategic/operational issues with campus pastors.
- Daily check-in meeting.
- Communications/Web strategy meeting.
- IT strategy meeting.
- Wednesday afternoon is reserved for random conference calls and other conversations.
Thursday
- Daily check-in meeting.
- More scheduled conversations. Jennifer, my assistant, handles all my scheduling. These Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning slots usually fill up.
- Another “no meetings” slot is blocked off in the afternoon to work on projects and follow up on items that have stacked up during the week.
- Date night with Emily.
Friday
- It’s get-work-done-at-home day. I try to stack up personal appointments, writing projects, yard work, home finances, etc. on Fridays. It’s easier to run around town on Fridays when the rest of the world is working.
Saturday
- Typically Saturdays are my day off, but there are occasions when I swap Friday and Saturday because of family priorities.
Here are a few things that you might notice:
- Before you send me your nasty emails, there are lots of things I haven’t detailed like eating, sleeping, showering, reading my Bible, praying, etc. I’m just trying to give you a sense of the rhythm of my week.
- I’ve tried to block my time out to maximize my focus.
- Most of my time is spent processing ministry strategy with others. That’s what I get paid to do.
- I can’t keep tasks on my plate. I have to empower others to handle day-to-day functions because my commitments don’t allow for that focused attention.
- Jennifer rocks! She manages my schedule, and it would be difficult to navigate life without her support.
- I used to be a “check things off my task list” type of guy. That was success. I’ve had to redefine success through the years. Now the process and the outcomes (“life change”) are the success.
Do you have a weekly routine? How is it different or similar to mine? How would you coach me to improve my schedule?
I am working on this. I do not have a Jennifer. :) I do have some boundaries right now. I don’t go in until about 9:30-10:00 to enable me to start my day quietly, catching up on reading, exercising and hearing from God. I am NOT a morning person and work alot at night. This enables me to “begin sanely” and work in my peak times. I don’t schedule meetings on Wed. because that is my prep for Sunday and I conduct rehearsal that night. It’s a big day for me. I take Friday as my sabbath. (or Sat if I have to swap)
You only have one day off a week. How do you feel about that? I used to do that (we had Sat services at one time – which is very stressful) and over time it about fried me.
Hey Tony
When do you blog? Do you schedule it or do you allow it to slip in between your weekly routine as and when..?
It seems so easy to get distracted by blogging, reading others blogs, facebook, twittering… etc.. etc… just wondering how you manage to keep it a resource and prevent it from being a distraction to jobs at hand..
Chris
Tony- great information but a little bit more would have been helpful. For instance- how many people are involved in your daily check-ins and how long do they take? How many people on the conference calls? How long do they take? How many people have direct, unimpeded access to you? About how many hours per day are you in the office (or in route on job related meanderings)?
Ok…opposite end of the spectrum here…what do you do when your church is small, and there aren’t that many meetings to be a part of, and you’re trying to figure out how to be productive with your time. I want to be responsible with the small things, but I’m trying to figure out the best way to spend my time when there aren’t a lot of things on the table! Suggestions? Thanks.
“Most of my time is spent processing ministry strategy with others.”
I’m jealous of that a lil bit.
Here’s my routine:
Monday-Mesa campus, morning meetings, afternoon open for following up on weekend connection requests.
Tuesday-Mesa campus, morning connection staff meetings, afternoon open for scheduled conversations
Wednesday-Gilbert campus, scheduled project time in morning, afternoon open for conversations
Thursday-Mesa campus, morning scheduled project time, afternoon, mostly open for catchup
Friday-Off!!!! Both campuses closed.
Saturday-Two services at Mesa
Sunday-Two morning services, either Mesa or Gilbert, sometimes a Gilbert evening service.
It’s so important to schedule your time…or someone will schedule it for you!
Daily check-in meeting? What are some of the details of this and who is involved? Would love to investigate this more for future reference.
I think you have a great grasp on your purpose at New Spring. I would like to know when you “get out” in to the community. Do you see this as part of your job? Or do you “do” this as part of your Christian walk?
I notice the “daily check in.” I’m assuming this is a Lencioni thing (Death by Meeting). If in fact it is, how have you implemented his weekly, monthly, quarterly, and ad hoc strategic meetings?
Dude, thanks for blogging. You are a gold-mine of information and insight. Slobberfest over.
Curious about the daily check-in meetings. Can you expand?
I think it’s time for a Jennifer – I’m beginning to realize the importance of having a gatekeeper.
hey tony, this is great for aspiring ministers. it gives a sneak peak into the behind the scenes of church, never knew it was that jam packed. i find myself having no time for things, do you manage by priority or go through life just by routine? what are your top 5 priorities, daily? yah i think i need a jennifer too, haha.
Daily check-in meeting? Please explain.
Tony – what goes on during your Tuesday afternoon meetings with Perry, as you hit the big picture and the vision?
Take a vacation haha! thanks for all your insight and listening to the call God has put on your life!