Getting Things Done (GTD)

”The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting with the first one.“ - Mark Twain

Mr.Twain was definitely before his time when it came to getting things done. I'm sure we've all been in the same place, overwhelmed with "stuff" and thinking that working harder, faster and longer was going to get more done. In my life, that style of productivity has only led to more stress. So, here at Church Staff 101, I'm going to walk through a breakthrough (for me at least) method of getting things done. I've borrowed some ideas from the book of the same name by Mr. David Allen along with a brilliant web article titled, Getting Things Done in 60 Seconds.

I came across the idea of GTD through the website, Lifehacker. I was intrigued and started doing some research along with purchasing the book. GTD was an interesting read. The overall concepts of the book were appealing to me, it was the methodology that slowed me done. It was then I found the website article. These two pieces enabled me to put into place my system of GTD; a system I've been using for almost eight months and has improved my productivity with lowering my stress load.



Yep, that's it. This pic is actually my desktop pic. I know, "Dork!" But it's a great reminder of what I need to do.

Stuff - is all the stuff I need to get done. Everything I can think of, lists I already have, new ideas, etc...
Inbox - I do use my Entourage (Mac version of Outlook) inbox as the central place for all to do items. Emails sent to me, emails I've sent to myself and Jotts all park themselves in my inbox. I do empty my inbox daily by sending all items into one of six folders; projects, someday, this month, this week, today, waiting on someone and trash.
Is it actionable - I ask this for every item every day and depending on the answer, I'm routed to the next step. I have found the "two minute rule" to be a lifesaver. I really had no idea how quickly I could work through stuff realizing if I could get it done in two minutes, then I needed to just do it.
Projects - I categorize to do items into subfolders here. For instance, a VBS item gets placed in a VBS folder here if it's not actionable right now.
Delegate it - I am blessed to have an awesome team around me. Casey and Brandon are easy to delegate to because I know they'll get it done.
Calendar - this is a future post, but Google Calendar is the BOMB!

And lastly, here's a six step plan to help you set up your own GTD.

6 Steps to GTD

• Read the book. You can purchase it right on this website. Read the parts that will apply to you.
• Online research. Google search "getting things done." Check out the article Getting Things Done in 60 Seconds.
• Implement your system.
• Stick to the rules. Determine to follow your rules.
• Don’t beat yourself up if you slip. We all slip up, no problem, just get back in the groove. Also, ask yourself why you slipped up. Maybe you need to tweak your system because it's not fitting you.
• Plan how you’re going to spend your extra time.

”Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its shortness.“ - Jean de la Bruysre

Wayne Geer

God Moving

I think it’s neat how God orchestrates situations. Tonight, my son invited two neighbor boys to the Jr. High student ministry service. One lives next door, a family we know well. The other boy is from a few blocks away and has just recently started hanging around all the kids on our street.
I got out of the car to greet the dad of this new friend and he and I started chatting. Well, lo and behold, they are looking for a church, a non-denominational church that’s laid back. We talked and I gave him my business card, I knew there was a reason I lug those things around. He now has a piece of contact info for me and we have a connection; our sons hanging out with each other and attending Jr. High ministry tonight.
I don't know that on my own I would have hooked up with this family. I like how God moves.

Wayne

WOW - Pre-design Meeting

Six hours. Have you ever been a part of a six hour meeting? Most of the extended meetings I've had to endure, were just that, meetings that I had to endure. The six hours I spent with Reagan, his wife, and the rest of the children's ministry staff as we discussed pre-design for our new children's ministry environments truly was exhilarating.

I am not kidding.

Reagan's company, Worlds of Wow, is designing our rooms for our new building. We've had a couple of meetings but the one on Monday was a first for me, a pre-design meeting that started with us filling out the Master Pre-design Visit Questionnaire. Of the four companies I've worked with in the past, WOW has been the first to have us put our thoughts down on paper (well, electronically via Google Docs) and discuss them at length with probing questions from Reagan. And it was a great time. I loved the give and take between all six of us, along with Reagan's insight into what's engaging to not only children but to families as well.

I am chomping at the bit to hear from WOW about the prelim ideas for our room environments. I'll post as soon as I get some updates. Until then, take a couple of minutes to read the first two installments about my journey with Worlds of Wow, Worlds of Wow and WOW - The Process Begins.

Wayne

Dan Cutchen - You'll Laugh So Hard You'll Cry

"Pastor Dan is awesome!"
"I had a great time in service today!"
"I don't want to leave, can I stay for the next kid's service?"

These were the comments I heard after Pastor Dan Cutchen guest led our kids services for a weekend. Dan is one in a million. I've known him quite a few years; having invited him to guest lead some services for me at another church. At the time we had two or three other children "evangelists" come out because we had a month of extra services and wanted different people to come and lead them. Since then, I've only known a handful of people who have ability like Dan.

He is truly engaging. First through fifth grade were focused. And yes, fifth grade boys were engrossed. Teen and adult volunteer leaders came to me and remarked how good Dan was at leading from on-stage. He definitely has a gift.

If you are in need of someone to come and guest lead children's services or guest speak to your congregation about inter-generational ministry, please consider Dan. From total silliness to toe-tapping songs to inspiring stories, he will bring God and His Word. And you will laugh so hard you cry.

Click here to go to Future Hope Ministries, Dan's website. You'll find his contact info along with pics, testimonies, cd's and dvd's and a ton more. Dan is definitely endorsed by Children's Ministry 101!

Wayne

Jott Update

This just in from Jott.com:

"We’ve been working hard on the official release of the Google Calendar Jott Link, and we’re happy to announce it’s finally here. Why is this cool? Because you can now create a Google Calendar event in a single step, from anywhere, simply using your voice. Just call Jott, say “Google Calendar”, and then the time of the event and what it’s about….and you’re done. We’ll take your voice, convert it to text, and insert it into your calendar for you. “Meet Cathy at 9 am next Thursday” is no longer a to do that needs another step, it’s something that’s recorded in your Calendar."

I'm really excited about this new release for the Google Calendar Jott Link. I've seen other work-arounds to get Jott to send an event to my Google calendar, but this route is much easier.

I posted about Jott a while back (Jott). It's a great way to not have to take notes or try to remember items, just use your cell phone.

Wayne

Turning 40

Turning 40 quotes:
“Life begins at 40 - but so do fallen arches, rheumatism, faulty eyesight, and the tendency to tell a story to the same person, three or four times.”
“Forty isn't old, if you're a tree”
“At 20 years of age the will reigns; at 30 the wit; at 40 the judgment.”

Yep, that’s right, yesterday I turned 40. Woo hoo! I took the day off, spent it with my precious family and ate a lot. It was good to be the birthday king.

My lovely wife and I were talking about history yesterday; the historical account of my turning 30. I had forgotten how traumatic it was for me. I did not take it well. But interestingly, entering a new decade yesterday was a great day. No fuss, no stress, no hand wringing and no trauma. I stumbled upon a “turning 40” blog today and I got to tell you, either those folks are not doing well or I’m the most well adjusted human on earth.

I would imagine it has something to do with my love for God having grown, my love for my wife having grown and my love for my children having grown. I don’t get warm fuzzies very often (my wife can verify), but that last sentence brings them.

At 40 I realize, maybe more than ever, what’s truly important.

Have an awesome day today!

Wayne

WOW - The Process Begins

My first thought was, “Oh great, I hope this isn’t some company that thinks they can decorate a cool children’s ministry room.”

I was “encouraged” to call Worlds of Wow because the design/build company our church is using for an expansion had used them in the past. And since I’d never heard or seen anything about WOW in my research for the other building projects (read the post, “Worlds of Wow”), I thought I’d give them a call just to fulfill the obligation.

Wow (no pun intended) was I wrong about WOW. Truly, God’s divine hand was working out this relationship because when I called, lo and behold, Reagan Hillier and Kyle, another team member, were finishing a project locally. We set up a meeting and from the get go, I was impressed. Reagan and Kyle have a gracious air about them, they're very easy to like and talk with. Needless to say we had a great meeting.

My assistant, two others and myself also took time to check out work they've done at local churches and were again impressed. The environments they've created are beautiful and are kid and family friendly. And to top it all off, all the churches we visited spoke highly of Worlds of Wow.

So, the contract has been signed and with WOW, the process begins. Come back to Children's Ministry 101 for the next post as I'll be writing about the "questionnaire" and the pre-design visit; probably the most insightful design meeting I've ever been a part of and we didn't even come up with a design.

Wayne

The Golden Compass

It’s all the buzz in Christian circles lately, the fact that The Golden Compass will be in theaters this month. TV, movie trailers and the internet are doing their normal blitz of ads promoting the movie. Here at Children's Ministry 101, my goal is to partner with you, so I wanted to take time to give some wisdom as you help your families with their decision whether or not to see the movie. And I do believe this is one of the opportunities for us as children's pastors to encourage parents to take the lead rather than push our own thoughts or agenda.

Search. I would encourage you and your families to do a Google search about the movie. You may also want to include in your search the words “Christian” and “review.” You will definitely come up with quite a few hits that will give you plenty to read. Wikipedia is another site worth checking out. Both Christianity Today and Plugged In Online have insightful previews of the movie along with pertinent information about the author, Phillip Pullman.

Pray. Knowing how vital it is for us to be dependent on God, take time to pray about your decision concerning the movie. Encourage your parents to be in prayer about this decision and to pray with their children about making wise choices as well. God not only hears and answers, but also gives wisdom.

Act. Instruct your families to take time to talk about their decision with their children. Most definitely the movie is going to be a hot topic for elementary age kids the next few weeks. Have them prepare their children with solid biblical and parental reasons for their decision. Also, remind parents to use this opportunity as one more teaching moment about God, His Word and wise choices.

Wayne

Worlds of Wow

3 ½. That’s how many times I’ve been given the opportunity to do something not a lot of children’s pastors get to do. And no, it’s not sky diving or racing in the Isle of Mann TT.

Are you ready?

I have the privilege again of being able to spearhead the environment creation for new rooms our kids are getting in a building project. I am so excited! It’s an incredible opportunity, and seriously, I thank God for allowing me this kind of experience.

What separates this time from the others is the company we’ve contracted with, Worlds of Wow. WOW is headquartered (for the time being) in Austin, TX and is run by a great guy, Reagan Hillier. The reason I’m so excited this time around is Reagan and his team are partnering with us to “create an environment,” not just “decorate” the rooms. I’ve worked with wonderful companies in the past who have done amazing work, but WOW’s philosophy has really resonated with me.

I’ll be posting about this journey with WOW as we move along and my hope is you will benefit from reading about the process somewhat “live” on Children's Ministry 101. Check out their website, Worlds of Wow, to see some of the work they’ve done and learn more about the company.

Wayne

Are You Connected?

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."
Jane Howard hits the nail on the head concerning networking. Are you connected? No, I'm not talking about being connected to the internet or to "Americas best network" cell phone plan, I'm talking about a children's ministry network.

For probably the last eight or nine years, no matter where I've lived, I've been a part of a cm network in that location. And in every situation, it's been time well spent that has been life giving and encouraging. Just yesterday I attended a local cm network meeting, and I came away from it with great stuff to pray and think through.

I feel strongly about this one aspect of my own spiritual and vocational growth. In fact, I wish that in the first six years of ministry someone had pushed me to join a group. I can't even imagine the mistakes I would not have made had I been around peers who had already been through what I was experiencing. Below is a list of CM Network To Do's for you, so don't waste another minute, get hooked up, plugged in, and encouraged.

Eight Children's Ministry Networking To Do's
1. You need to look for a group! I went out of my way to find and join these peers, they probably aren't going to come looking for you. Use the internet, call local churches, denominational district offices and local schools of ministry, someone is going to have some insight to help you connect to a group.
2. Put it on your calendar, make it an appointment. If you don't, something else will come up or you'll forget.
3. Force yourself to attend. Again, make it important. Think about it as another way to continue to be a learner.
4. Go with the attitude you're going to take at least one great nugget back with you. Focus on learning at least one thing that will help. Someone is bound to say something that can affect you, just be willing and attentive to receive.
5. Exchange contact info. This is one of those reasons we have about a million business cards. Make a connection with someone.
6. Ask questions. Speak up. Don't just sit there, ask away, that's why you're there anyways. If you're intimidated to ask in the large group setting (Chicken!), then wait until the end of the meeting time and pull someone aside.
7. Answer questions! Again, don't just sit there. No matter where you're at in your ministry journey, you have experiences, knowledge and wisdom that will help someone else, so give it away.
8. Start a group yourself. Put those leadership gifts you've been given to good use and start your own network meetings if there's not one taking place near you. Use technology to help, like email, im chat, even online conferencing.

I would love to hear from you! Comment about your networking experiences. Also, add this blog to your favorites or RSS reader to keep up to date on posts.

Wayne

Jott

I used to carry a pda device and a cell phone. The pda was used for a handful of applications I thought were super important. Eventually I got to the point that I was using it only for taking notes. The problem was that I either had to "type" the note then sync to get it to my computer, or I had to rely on the "handwritten" note using the pda software and hope that the pda didn't turn on in my pocket and my latest note destroyed by pocket scratchings.

And let me tell you, taking notes on my cell phone was a beating! It didn't matter what entry method I used, it was not efficient. I also had the great idea to use my cell phone to record notes as voice recordings. The problem was that it was never easy to remember to check all the voice recordings every day. And then when I did listen to them, well, I then had to transcribe them, two steps to get one note. Duh!

Ah, Jott to the rescue! Jott is a free online service that has saved my bacon! Here's how it works in real life. I'm driving and think about something important, like I need to remember to tell my assistant to purchase roller ball pens. I have Jott set up as a speed dial on my cell phone, number 7 actually. I speed dial Jott, the computer voice asks "Who do you want to Jott?" and I say, "Myself." I then speak the note, "Tell assistant to purchase roller ball pens." Computer voice says, "I got it." I hang up. Jott then transcribes what I just said and emails it to me! I now have the note in my inbox and I don't have to spend any time or energy trying to remember it. So simple.

Jott can be set up to send your note to any email address as well as your note can be sent to any cell phone as a text message. With Jott you don't ever have to go through the mental gymnastics of trying to remember what that super important note was you've now forgotten. It's truly an amazing free product.

Check it out at Jott.com and let me know what you think.

Wayne

Law and Order Part 2

Law and Order
Part 2

Kids need boundaries. I love this quote from Thomas Sowell, “Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late.” Preach it Thomas! When involved in ministry to children, you know they are barbarians in need of civilizing. And of course it doesn't happen just by chance. Without limits or boundaries, children will naturally gravitate towards misbehavior, for the most part. Part 1 talked about the four rules we've implemented over the years. Of course, for us, these rules have been exactly what we needed to bring order to situations that were sometimes on the verge of chaos. But the rules cannot work alone.
Peanut butter and jelly. Salt and pepper. Hot dogs and green chili. Rules must have a complement, a vital second part that when missing leaves rules without any power. That's were the consequences come in. Consequences are good, they help shape a child and they give a child a reasonable understanding of when they are close to or have crossed a line. Rules without consequences only confuse and enable children to make unwise choices.
Whenever a child breaks a rule, there is a consequence with an increasing level of "uncomfortableness." And so here are the four consequences and an explanation of each.
First time a child breaks a rule, they receive a Warning. Take a moment to explain why they are receiving a warning, ie. they were talking, not paying attention. And then go on with your lesson, don't dwell on the situation, just remember little Johnny has received a warning.
The next time little Johnny breaks a rule, he receives Strike One. Again, taking a moment to explain why. An added level of uncomfortableness is that I do remind the child that the next time they break a rule, the consequence becomes much more severe. And then go on with your teaching.
Strike Two is when life gets interesting for little Johnny. When he breaks another rule, then the consequence is moving. At this point, I feel a "new" environment is in order, so Johnny is now moved to a new seat either next to another leader, or if you have boy and girl sections, Johnny would get moved to an OUT OF THE WAY seat on the girls side, little Janey gets moved to an OUT OF THE WAY seat on the boys side. This is severe so do what you can to minimize the impact on both the child being moved and the children he or she now is sitting near. I do again remind the child that the next time he breaks a rule, then he is choosing to receive the most severe consequence, Strike Three.
Strike Three means that when a parent comes to pick up, the parent, the child receiving Strike Three and me (and if possible the leader who gave Strike Three) will be having a little conference to let dad or mom know about the child's unwise choices. Surprisingly, whether in inner-city or suburbia, parents always have received well the information about their child. Part of the conference is reaffirming with little Johnny that we do love him, care about him and want him to be a part of our time, but the rules need to be followed.
A child receiving Strike Three because they deserve it is life changing in a couple of ways. The child knows their actions will bring consequences, an understanding children need to be reminded of pretty much constantly. Also, the child's peers realize the leader is serious about everyone following the rules. I've seen it happen a number of times when peers managed to barely get by without receiving the last consequence, they toed the line immediately when one of their own was not as fortunate.
I give you and leaders I train the same guarantee. If you are experiencing behavior problems and the child does not have severe special needs issues (another future post), implementing Rules and following through with the Consequences will change your life. You will bring order to a chaotic situation and I promise you AND the children will be blessed. Children need boundaries.

A few important items to consider:
If a child deserves a consequence, they MUST receive it. Not following through erodes respect, not a good thing.
New service, new scenario means four more chances. Don't carry over warnings or strikes for more than one service.
Review the Rules and Consequences before every teaching time, small group, outing, etc... Really, it takes about two minutes to review lightheartedly.
Never, ever embarrass; do everything within your power to lessen the chance of a child being embarrassed in front of their peers. Some embarrassment is going to take place no matter what, just don't excacerbate it.
I make a deal with the kids, unless they receive strike three, I won't talk to their parents about their behavior. I see it as holding up my end of a bargain. I don't want to make an issue of a child receiving a warning or a couple of strikes.
But if a child is constantly receiving Strike Two, I will say to them the next time they receive Strike Two I will let their parents know.
Keep an eye on militant leaders. Sometimes folks like the godlike power of giving out consequences. Keep them in check and or gently move them on to another ministry, like the choir.
And lastly, if you implement Rules and Consequences, you must follow through. I know, I said this already, but it's vital.

Let me know what you think. Be sure to bookmark and add this site to your RSS feed reader so you'll be up to date on new posts.

Wayne

Law and Order Part 1

Law and Order
Part 1

I've seen "barely controlled chaos" and it was not good. Picture any number of elementary age children during a large group teaching time all doing one of the following; getting up and walking around, pinching each other or pulling the hair of someone near them, playing with toys they've brought or worse, playing their handheld video games, leaning backwards in their metal chairs with their feet on the kid in front of them, sitting with their backs to the presenter, and the nonstop talking to their neighbors in front, besides and behind them. And the poor presenter trying their very best to speak truth into these kids lives, extremely frustrated or at the opposite end, aloof and apathetic.

You know you've been there! Either you've seen this or you've experienced it yourself as a lead teacher. And it's such a downer, it's so draining to present in front of a group of children and have to "fight" with them to just have them barely pay attention. If you're in children's ministry, you're going to constantly be in situations where you need law and order, boundaries, or limits so that your presentation is effective, engaging and helpful. Children need boundaries, without them chaos reigns supreme. The next few paragraphs will help you to have a safe, more calm yet interactive and fun environment whatever your group setting.

Four Rules and Four Consequences
My wife and I started our children's ministry lives in the inner-city of Minneapolis. Lots of chaos. We had children attending our large and small group settings who had few or no boundaries in their home life. We were pulling our hair out when we hit on an idea that with some tweaking over the years we continue to use to this day. Are you ready? Here comes the $1,000,000 secret. Drum roll please.
Four easy to understand and "positive" rules and four consequences.

Here are the four magic rules:
Be Attentive, Be Where You Should Be, Be a Good Neighbor, and Be Respectful

Let's put some meat on these bones here. Why "positive" rules? Especially in the inner-city, the kids were constantly being told NOT to do this or that. And if fact we started out with rules that were "NOT" rules, like "Do Not Talk." It didn't make a lot of sense to say that a child could not talk or they could not move from their seat, when there were times when we wanted to them to talk, or move from their seats. Also, we realized our goal was not to have complete silence during a presentation. We wanted interaction, just controlled interaction. And we wanted children to learn to take responsibility for their own actions, so we gave them positive rules they could understand and work at. We were creating an atmosphere of what they could do not what they couldn't do. We have the same goal today.

What do the four rules mean?
Be Attentive. I explain it by saying, "We want you to pay attention to what's going on. Whether you're in large or small group, you need to pay to attention to know when it's time to laugh, be silent, talk with your neighbor, act out a request, etc... If you're not paying attention, you may miss out on something important."
Be Where You Should Be. This one is easily explained, "Wherever you're supposed be, that's where you need to be." So if a child is supposed to be in their seat at the moment, that's where they need to be. If they are supposed to be using the restroom, that does not mean they should be wandering the halls.
Be A Good Neighbor. "Your neighbor may really need to hear what's being said today, so what can you do to help them?" I usually review a couple of real and silly things that can bother a neighbor, like putting your feet on their chair, poking them, sticking your elbow in their ear, etc...
Be Respectful. "We always respect, God (point up), whomever is talking (point to the front of the teaching area) and each other (point to all the students), we never make fun of anyone."

I was joking about these rules being magic. What we've always liked was that there were only four rules, we never wanted to have a long list for either the kids or our leaders to have to remember. Also, the "positive" aspect of the rules was always appealing to us. We wanted the kids to do something positive rather than not do something negative. And we've been able to use the rules in almost any situation; large group, small group, off campus outings, on campus field trips, even in our home with our own boys. With slight changes in the wording, they can be applied to just about any situation.

In Law and Order Part 2, we'll discuss the equally important Consequences and the guarantee I give to all leaders. Be sure to bookmark and add this site to your RSS feed reader so you'll be up to date on new posts.

Wayne

Country, Opera and Stories

Alright, here it goes. I'm going to let you in on a closely held secret about my life. This may radically change the way you think about me, but I'm willing to be transparent.
I like to listen to country music and opera.

Yep, you read that correctly. The music I hated as a young man, I love now. There is something about an opera piece or a great country song that just grabs me. In fact, this morning as I listened to one of those gripping country songs, I asked myself what made it so appealing to me? When it comes to country, I do like the twangy voices, the music, especially the steel guitar, and I like the story. Opera; the music, the female voices singing and again, the story. It's the narrative, the telling of some event in a compelling way that I love because honestly, it moves me.

So, what's so special about the story? As I listened this morning, even as I write now, it's the tale that made the impact. A good story can greatly affect. It can change our emotional state sometimes instantly. Many times I've come home from work in one mood and after hearing a great story from the day told by my wife or children, I'm completely transformed emotionally.

The story has the power to transform us partly because it helps us focus. You know it's true, when a story is being told that somehow piques our interest, we're glued. We hang on every word. We don't want to miss any details because we're wrapped up in the story. And the outcome is that oftentimes we're inspired by what we've heard.

Ok, Wayne, but what does this mean for me? When in children's ministry, it seems like most of the time it can be a rough uninspiring road We don't always see fruit in those we are pouring our lives into. And you know, sometimes those kids are just downright mean. But it's the compelling stories we hear that once again drive home the point that what we're doing is worthwhile, eternally worthwhile. It's when beaming dads and moms tell us about how their child is living out their walk with God that we are then re-energized. It's as if God the Father reaches down and pats us on the back, wow what a wonderful feeling!

And so I challenge you to look for and be encouraged by those stories. Go ahead and feel good about the ministry that's taking place through you. Thank God for Him showing you a glimpse of what He sees and knows. Take that story and let it inspire you until the next one. And lastly, pass those stories on to those around you. What a precious gift you hold, when you see a peer who is struggling and needs something to affect them, and then you tell them the story that's been your most recent pat on the back.

So what great ministry (NOT country or opera) stories have you heard lately?

Wayne