Time Management

If you are a volunteer youth worker, you most likely already know the importance of guarding your time. More often than not, this is a key marker of any youth worker—the fact that time management plays such a key role in the way in which you do your job. Let me explain.

1. Some of the best youth workers I know have some sort of scheduler… and they stick by it. They might have a cell phone which keeps notes, a schedule on their computer or they might be from the stone age where they use a calendar on the wall.

2. Some of the worst youth workers I know have no way of keeping track of their time. They might say they do. They might even have a way in which they CAN keep track of their time and how it’s spent… but they don’t use it. Most of the time, they fly by the seat of their pants… and I’m sorry if I’ve just offended you.

Of all of the aspects of what makes or breaks a youth worker, time management is up there with the big ones. Why do is time management so important to the way in which we do ministry?

Because the way you manage your time will not only affect you but also the kids who you serve and the other people on your team.

Not to mention your family, friends and other people who dearly love you and would like just a minute of your time.

I know that you most likely have a busy schedule as well. Youth workers are notorious for taking on way too much because at the heart of that matter, they care way too much… sometimes too much for their own good.

If you are the lead youth worker (or you manage people who work with you), the best gift you can give your team besides a day off could be dependability and a concise idea of where you are taking the team. Calendars play a great role in this. Do you have a monthly calendar that clearly spells out what’s going on? What about a year at a glance where you can tell your youth workers when to book time off work and when to tell their families that they’ll be away for a day or two? Do you have a person who you can give a heads up of where you are at all times when you are on the clock? Does your family know what you’re up to?

These questions might help you decipher between good time management and poor scheduling and communication.

If you are the volunteer youth worker with someone leading you; than you are the best gift you could ever give your lead youth worker. But as we all know, the best gifts are the gifts that keep on giving! Are you dependable and clear when you lead upwards? Do you frequently ask for clarification of what is expected from you? Have you developed the discipline of saying “No” when you know you aren’t good at something or when you know you’ll have something else on the go? Have you had the tough talk with your lead youth worker when they don’t give you enough time or clarification when something needs to be done? Are you taking a Sabbath from work and youth ministry? Are you putting your family first or have you fallen into the trap of giving to a ministry and then having nothing left to feed your family?

Perhaps these questions could guide you in an ongoing conversation with your supervisor and your family.

A good youth worker is a healthy youth worker; and a healthy youth worker is one who isn’t burned out or in more than one place at a time. I hope that this portion will benefit you in some way. Take a few moments to answer these questions and ask a close friend, family member or team member to answer these questions about you.