The work of church communicators consists of creative output, content, marketing and a little of administrative tasks. We all know that those responsibilities take a lot of time, especially in conceptualizing and executing.
Recently, there were group discussions about how communicators can shorten their hours and here are the most mentioned:
Add Extra Hours But Lessen Work Day
If your work really needs to be rendered in a 40-hr a week basis, you can absolutely add a few hours in some days and take out a day or two for you to rest in. Many people do a 10 hours a day for only 4 days a week. Having an extra day helps you recalibrate to prepare for another week to come.
“Easier to lengthen just a little and grab an extra day off. Lot of companies and even some schools trying it out.” – JT Trombly
Right Work At The Right Time
Some may prefer doing the harder tasks for the day first so they can put more effort onto those and lighter tasks as the day closes. Others base their task prioritization on what they feel doing at the time so they know they can finish it well than some other time. No matter what works for you, a task has a definite best time to deliver.
“As a side note, Carey Nieuwhof has written some great work on not just working fewer hours, but doing the right work at the right times.” – Sara Meriweather
Avoid Over-delivering
Over-delivering is not new for creative workers as they tend to criticize their own work first before finalizing it. At times, criticizing too much leads to more work than what is asked for and the exhaustion may pile up. Delivering just what is asked of you and just when it is needed is the way to go.
“You have to prioritize better and decide what is most important right now, and what can wait for next week.” – Matthew Widman
Setup Meetings for Extremely Important Matters Only
People, in general, are used to set up a meeting as often as possible even some discussions can be communicated through emails or just a quick heads up. Practicing to call for a meeting on things that includes only critical decisions will save you from a lot of wasted time.
“It’s amazing to me how many meetings I have and how little I get done three days a week because of those meetings.” – John Ackerman
Accept As Much Help You Can Find
Communicators also tend to do it all even though some tasks can be assigned to other people—kind of like micromanaging yourself. This habit will drain you as time goes by and also prevent you from being a team player. Work will be even better when delivered by more than one person.
“Not sure what would be worth losing, nor outsourced. But trusted volunteer help on social media would help.” – Susan Hahn
Productivity is a matter of daily choices. Not everything can be delivered well from a single day’s hard work. Remember to always deliver quality even though it means sharing the work and re-evaluating your work habits.
