by Eddie Pipkin

Image used under Pixabay content license.

I had designated the past couple of weeks to work on home projects. I am not known as a handy guy. I can get things done when needed, but I am not gifted in this department, and I don’t have much fun doing it. I have a couple of friends who are skilled handymen, and they love a home project. They are giddy in the preparation and the execution. It’s drudgery to me. I’m slow, I’m klutzy, and I have a deep-seated fear of The Thing That is Going to Go Awry. Therefore, I often procrastinate the start of a needed project. It’s not even tackling The Thing itself.  My nemesis is frequently The Thing Before the Thing. Read on for an explanation.

Let’s say I’m going to repair a broken board on the deck. I know the steps: measure the board to be replaced, acquire a new piece of lumber from Home Depot, as well as some deck screws; cut the board to size; screw the new board into place. (Of course, the actual first step was to watch a YouTube video about how to replace a deck board.)  The problem for me is that I go into the garage full of energy and purpose, and the drill is not where it’s supposed to be. Then when I find the drill, the battery is dead. And the battery charger has given up the ghost. And I have every size drill bit imaginable except the one I need. And once I acquire the correct bit from the emergency run to the hardware store, I manage to break it in a bizarre drilling mishap. Then I knock over the box of deck screws, and a bunch of them fall through the boards into the dirt underneath the deck. Then I realize I somehow cut the board one inch too short. On and on it goes.

Friends, I hope you are not so star-crossed in your own projects. But knowing this inevitable truth about myself, I procrastinate projects.

I have high anxiety about the unanticipated disasters that lie ahead once I get started.

This is not an unfamiliar pattern for ministry leaders, even if we don’t necessarily articulate it so clearly:

  • We subconsciously put projects off because we are wary of the complications that will inevitably ensue.
  • We accept “good enough” because it’s easier.
  • We delay things that must be done inevitably until those things break and demand attention – even though it would have been easier and less messy to have dealt with those things at an earlier stage. (Usually, I put off the deck repair until I finally put my foot through a rotten board.)
  • When asked why we aren’t moving a project forward or dealing with a problem, we launch into a list of worst-case scenarios.  We catastrophize.

None of this is helpful. None of this moves us or our organization forward.

You’ll note that even as I described my own project paralysis, I painted myself as the victim of some karmic black cloud, but if you are one of those organized, detail-oriented people who enjoys checking things off your to-do list, you will note that most of my project pain is self-inflicted, the product of poor preparation and sub-par processes.  If a person takes the time to keep their tools organized and maintained, all chores become more manageable.  If a person slows down and follows an exacting process (especially a distractable person like myself), mistakes are avoidable. Aphorisms like “measure twice, cut once” were coined out of experience. Even the accidental flubs born of klutziness can be mitigated by extra attention to being careful and avoiding short-cuts. And if it’s a problem that is more complicated (or just feels more intimidating, even if on paper it shouldn’t be), get the opinion and feedback of others.  Ask for help. Everything is easier and more fun with some help.

As in home projects, so in ministry management. Reduce your layers of anxiety by following healthy disciplines of preparation and execution:

  • Stay organized. Everything is easier when we are organized. There is no perfect organizational system: what works for you might not work for someone else, but we should know what works for us and be faithful to our process.
  • Maintain access to a solid arsenal of tools and know how to use them. For ministry management, this applies more to software and apps than drills and saws, but tools are tools. If a tool we that make our jobs easier or more effective intimidates us (from spreadsheets to social media apps to copy machines), we’re going to avoid using it. Learn how it works and invest the time in a basic level of proficiency.
  • Build teams that account for your weaknesses. You know what you’re not good at.  Surround yourself with people who are good at those things. Give up the insanity that we’re supposed to be good at everything.
  • Have accountability partners. Talking to people about our project anxieties is a productive way to process them. Seek advice; solicit reassurance; utilize trusted confidantes who can hold your feet to the fire.
  • Ask for help. This can be from that excellent team you built or from outside sources or from people whose accomplishments inspire you. Asking for help has so many unexpected, knock-on benefits. We are reluctant, but when we involve others, relationships are built and new ideas are launched that we never considered before.
  • Have a regular “maintenance” and “check-up” schedule for all your projects. Build this into your routine, even for things that appear to be running flawlessly. All systems and machines require maintenance. All practices and programs need an occasional reality check.

Don’t let your doomsday conjectures of adventures gone wrong keep you from experiencing the possibilities of future improvements.  Give yourself the grace to make mistakes. Move forward with humility and determination.

Prayer and partnerships can be keys. What are some of the strategies you use to get yourself over the internal hump of hesitation? To quote that great theologian, Larry the Cable Guy (and his alter ego, Mater the tow truck), “Get er done!”