Kathryn Joy’s Blog

I know  a lot of people that are really great organizers and I also know  a lot of people that are not really great organizers. The difference between the two is that people who are organized have a commitment to being prepared. Having a commitment to being prepared means that you actually plan ahead to make sure you are ready for the events of your life, work and ministry. The commitment to be this way is not always just for the sake of “feeling organized” or being OCD control freak, it’s actually more about placing value to what you do and who you do it with. For example; A parent who prepares and organizes their child’s lunches, school clothes etc. the night before allows this parent to spend more time with their child in the morning before the day  gets started.

How does this add value to our work and ministry lives? If you are well prepared and put in the effort early and ahead of time when it comes to the day of your program/presentation/meeting instead of rushing to copy your handouts you can be calm, relaxed and allow time to meet and greet people. I am amazed at how many people rob themselves and others of valuable time doing not so valuable tasks at the last minute.

Here are some tips to being prepared:

1. Spend 30mins a week with your diary. Look at what’s coming up, write in anything you have forgotten, start a to do list and prioritise accordingly.

2. Try and do a little bit extra everyday until you are working a few days or even a week ahead of yourself. This means you completely take the urgency out of everything you have to do and gives you a bit of freedom to work on what you want to do.

3. Build Team! No one has enough hours in the day to do everything they need or want to do, multiply yourself, delegate what others could carry for you and commit to growing a team.

4. The night before principal. At the end of every work day before I go home I make sure I have done everything I can to adequately prepare for the next day. If it can be done ahead of time do it ahead of time.

5. Set yourself reminders. There are so many tools to help you stay organized, blackberry, ical, outlook, phone alarms etc. There really is no excuse these days for forgetting things. I even sometimes write myself massive notes and stick them to my bag so I don’t forget to take everything with me!

6. Remember that people are a priority. Allow time for others. Be prepared and organized yourself so you can have time for others and not be so busy that you can’t talk to or help them. Sometimes you may have to leave something you were going to do just to focus on other people.