I Bought My 2025 Diary Yesterday!

Dear Pastors

I Bought My 2025 Diary Yesterday!

………yes I did! I know, I know………a diary…….you mean an old fashioned PAPER diary. Yes I do….that’s exactly what I mean……a $25.00 paper diary. And what’s more Whitcoulls had hundred’s of them sitting on their sales tables. Presumably hundred’s of people still buy paper diaries. Folks, this is a beautiful thing to behold.

But before you criticise me as some kind of dinosaur…..some relic of bygone days…..some old guy who can’t use an electronic diary (partly true) or simply refuses to adapt to the times, would you give me a few minutes to explain why I am letting you know something as inane as me buying a new diary yesterday.

I believe a diary is one of the most important tools a pastor (Christian leader) has when it comes to ‘doing’ life especially our work life. It acts like a trustworthy assistant helping us to get done.

Here’s the thing. A diary when carefully employed helps us to be productive, it helps us to prioritise tasks, it helps with pacing, it helps to reduce stress, it helps us see at a glance what our week/month/year looks like and it should certainly help us to maintain work-life balance. Oh the benefits of a simple little book called a diary. But wait there is more. If you also use your diary as a planner and scheduling tool and a notebook then you can use your diary directly or as a springboard to:-

• Identify High-Value Tasks: Start by identifying tasks that have the most impact on your goals. Categorise tasks by urgency and importance.
• Set Clear Goals: Define what you want to achieve daily, weekly, and monthly. This helps keep you focused on what matters most.
• Time Blocking: Allocate specific blocks of time for each task or type of work. This reduces distractions and helps you stay on track.
• Use To-Do Lists: Keep a running list of tasks, but focus on completing the top 3-5 most important ones each day.
• Limit Distractions: Identify and minimise sources of distraction, such as notifications, social media, or chatty coworkers.
• Set Boundaries: Clearly communicate your availability to colleagues, volunteers and church members. Consider using tools like "Do Not Disturb" modes during deep work periods.
• Weekly Reviews: At the end of each week, review what you’ve accomplished, what didn’t go well, and how you can improve.
• Adjust as Needed: Be flexible and willing to adjust your workflow as you learn what works best for you.
• Delegate Tasks: If you have a team, delegate tasks that others can do, freeing up your time for high-priority work.

Every year around September I start my next years diary work. I begin with a 12 month planner and write in the non-negotiables. These include ongoing commitments I already have or will have (in my case Board meetings, speaking and family commitments for example), special events in both my personal life, family life and work life and yes holidays. I try and capture as much of these dates as I possibly can even if it is still tentative and needs a TBC (to be confirmed) and Jeanette and I have many a chat as we compare notes. As you might have guessed I regard this work as extremely important and in my case could take a solid 30 - 40 hours over a 2 month period. Once done I have a map for the new year. Not only that I invariably have a work plan certainly as far as strategic matters are concerned.

In summary good and consistent diary work is a great start to ‘redeeming the time’. I highly commend it.

Before I go (and meet my wife for an early coffee) let me close with this - on a completely different topic. There were so many fabulous moments in the Olympics and my goodness didn’t New Zealand do well. Talk about ‘punching way above your weight’! But perhaps the most heart warming moments for me were those occasions when the TV1 news reporters in Paris took the time to talk to family members of our medal winners. The pure joy, the tears of happiness, the ever so proud Mum’s and Dad’s and siblings and partners. I found it hard not to tear up myself. For me it was such a vivid illustration of what can be achieved when family members genuinely love each other, when they work together, play together, dream together and sacrifice together - those early morning starts not to say anything about the huge financial sacrifices in so many cases. When there is so much family brokenness and dysfunction around us these days the Olympics once again proved to be a tonic for the soul. I just loved it.

Blessings
Alan