Image: Zach Dischner

I have a major tendency in work and life to redline it or sputter around. It is a vicious cycle.  I work super hard and redline it on a major project, and then I am so tired and exhausted, I have to sputter around just to recover.  The adrenaline of focusing and finishing a project can be great, but I am not a fan of the starting line – it  is boring, and all I can see ahead of me is all the work.  So I tend to either redline  or sputter around.

Bottom line, I do not think this is a healthy way to live.  When I am redlining it, I stress myself, my family, and my team. When I am sputtering around, I frustrate the same people. Stress and moping around radically affect my relationships with others and with God.  Here are three ways I have found to move forward and break the cycle.

1.  Force  Yourself to Start the Work.

When I am at the starting line of a project or face a boring task, it is my nature to put it off.  So I have been forcing myself to find the very tasks I hate and do it as fast as I can.  It is like jumping in a cold pool.  It is never going to feel good, so just jump in the deep end and get it done.

2.  Take a Break.

Disengaging for a short time allows you to come back re-energized. At lunch, a very natural break, I tend to either go to lunch with my team and still talk about work or work through lunch by grabbing the quickest thing to eat and stay at my desk.  While it seems like I am getting a lot done, I am realizing that I work twice as hard in the afternoon if I truly get a break from all my work at lunch.  I sometimes go to the gym, go home, or go with my team, but force the conversation to get off of work.

3.Keep a Tight List of Projects and Tasks.

From GTD, I learned that doing the work is not stressful, but having a million tasks and commitments in your brain and trying to recall them all at the right time is. The solution is to keep a very tight list on all your projects and to-dos and work off of them everyday.   I am great at this in some seasons, and other seasons I am despicable, but I do my best to keep a tight list of every current project and task and review them daily and weekly.  I currently use the Action Method and highly recommend it.

So what about you? Do you redline it, or do you sputter around? What do you do to avoid it?

Following the service I got a lot of great feedback. It is always super encouraging when people take time to give you a positive reaction.  But as you can see, at least one person was bored out of their mind, which reminded me of a incredible truth.

Don’t take stock in the hype of your biggest fans or the negativity of your worst critics.

Ask yourself, “Did I do what God called me to do?  Did I do it with all my heart, mind, and strength?

If you did, then well done good and faithful servant!

• Hit the pinball as hard as I could when it came to near the flappers and happened to luck into a really high score.
• After getting a low score the next go, I realized that hitting certain spots in a certain sequence increased your score dramatically.
• Started trying to strategically hit the pinball in the exact right spots to obtain the high score.
• Failed miserably. I realized that I was no pinball wizard.
• I quit playing pinball.

I can’t tell you how many times I have experienced this exact same sequence with new ministries, ventures, or projects.  I luck into a little success, only to realize it was just a buzz of excitement, realize it is going to be hard, identify the strategy to success, realize executing the strategy is difficult, and I am tempted to quit.

As a believer, i must remember that Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Job, Paul, and Jesus did not quit.  Jesus was the center of a large buzz of excitement at the start of his ministry.  He was alone on the cross at the end of it.

If God has called you to do something.  Don’t quit.  Beg for grace to keep going.

A few years back I remember him saying, “Most people spend all their time and energy trying to find a way to get to the table of influence and power.  Don’t worry about the table.  Sweep the streets and do it with excellence. You will eventually be asked to come to the table.”

Bob’s advice has been true in my life.  It turns out, it is also biblical.

Luke 19:17 -  And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’

It is can be difficult while you are sweeping the streets to not get distracted with all those around you are moving up to the table. Keep sweeping.  Our Father, the the most influential person at the table, is looking down to and is eager to reward faithful workers in his kingdom.

[Image: thevortext]

If you haven’t read the book, or don’t intend to, make sure you check out this video, a 20 minute TED talk summarizing the book..

Brilliant!!!

Your Church, your ministry is a tribe.  They need you to lead them.

• Professionals know how to recover. We all drop the ball, but the pro knows how to pick it up with grace and keep running.  An amateur looks like a deer caught in head lights.  Consequently, experience does matter.
• Professionals own the problem. No matter who is at fault when a professional sees a problem, they own it until it is solved.  An amateur say’s, “It is not my job to fix it.” and sweeps it under the rug.

Bottom line: Christ deserves our best.

Treat your current leaders like they are going to be a vital part of your ministry forever.

Recruit new leaders like your current leaders are going to be gone tomorrow.

These are great questions to ask yourself and others as 2008 ends and you look forward to 2009.

1. What is it that God has called you to do?
2. What is unique that you bring to the table?
3. What is your single greatest strength?
4. How are you organized to see the vision fulfilled?
5. How is your team organized and who is your team?
6. What three things would you do to give you a 50% increase in your area of work/ministry?
7. Do you know why you do what you do?
8. What are you most excited about?
9. What is your biggest obstacle?
10. What three changes in me would be most pleasing to God?

Using random.org Carla was randomly selected as the winner.

Thanks for all who entered.

If you didn’t win, you should still check out the book, it really is a great motivator to get up and lead the people around you.

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

Go here to for an explanation and to enter.