WORSHIP LEADERS
5 TACTICS TO CUT YOUR PLANNING TIME | Jon Nicol
Editor ’ s Note : This article is an excerpt from Jon ’ s new book , Exceptional Every Sunday . It ’ s from Chapter 8 : Simplify Sunday Planning . It ’ s been adapted to work as an article here for [ WM ].
‘ Productivity ’ has gotten a bad rap in worship leading circles . While ‘ getting more done in less time ’ can be a good thing , it can easily turn into ‘ ruthless efficiency ’ that runs counter to the heart of both the artist and the Spirit-seeker .
And I ’ d agree : if productivity is the primary objective , then it will always be at odds with real , Ephesian 4:11-12 ministry . But productivity isn ’ t the end goal . It ’ s a tool to help us accomplish two big objectives : stewardship and sustainable excellence .
Good productivity allows us to be good stewards of our resources and time , as well as our volunteers ’ time . And productivity also allows us to do good work over an extended period of time without burning out ourselves or our team members – which , of course , is sustainable excellence .
So to help you be a fantastic steward of your time and work towards sustainable excellence , here are five practical tactics to cut your Sunday planning time – while still delivering a high quality worship service .
1 . LIMITED SONG ROTATION One of the best ways to simplify your Sunday planning is to limit the number of songs in your active rotation list . This is actually part of a major system area in your worship ministry : how you rotate and manage your songs . We dig into this ministry system in a different chapter . So let me just give you the five-word summary : Rotate fewer songs more often .
When you do this , it ’ s easier to plan music since you aren ’ t sifting through a monster catalog of 284 songs . Also , there are some massive benefits for your team and congregation . But we ’ ll get to those in a later chapter . If you want to learn more about this concept , check out my book , The SongCycle : How to Simplify Planning and Re-Engage Your Congregation . It ’ s available on Amazon . com
2 . BATCH PROCESSING Batch processing is a “ time management technique that includes grouping similar tasks together and setting aside a time to complete them all or work on them until a predetermined point of progress .” ( Mary Clare Novak , GoSkills . com )
As you apply batch processing to worship planning , you ’ ll discover that it takes less time to schedule four Sundays at one time than it does to schedule four Sundays at four different times . Not only does it save you time , but it helps keep you focused . That improves your final product . Also , it allows you to predict better how much time something takes .
The biggest advantage of batch processing is that it keeps you from ‘ context switching .’ For instance , when you ’ re in the mode of selecting songs , don ’ t stop to determine the transitions between your songs or scriptures you might use . That requires a different focus and pattern of thought .
Now , I don ’ t have time here to teach all the nuances and ways you can apply batch processing to your Sunday planning . But as you ’ re planning your upcoming Sundays , begin to take note of everything you do to schedule people , plan sets , prepare for rehearsals , etc . As you review that list , ask yourself , what activities could I group together from multiple Sundays to apply batch processing ?
3 . AUTOMATION Worship leaders don ’ t often think about automation , unless it ’ s figuring out how to