You probably know the feeling: as youth leaders, we’re constantly expected to deliver content. Our volunteers and teenagers trust us to prepare as well as we possibly can. Be it sermons, game activities, seminars or faith courses. We’re the ones creating the content, and we have to prepare. In the best case, we have enough time for it, but everyday church life often means we have to be spontaneous or have so much on our plate that there’s little time left to prepare.
In my own work, I often find that ideas just don’t come at the push of a button. I need time to develop ideas and put them into practice. If you, like me, are the one creating the content and have to be creative for lots of projects and tasks, I have five tips for you.
Build in variety and breaks
Where do you work? At a desk or at the kitchen table? Sitting down? Variety helps you bring fresh air into your thinking. Try working standing up for a change. Change locations. If you work on a laptop, you can easily find new “rooms.” I like working from cafés. Working from home without an office, it’s good for me to have people around. Just changing locations brings me new thoughts and ideas. Or go for a creative walk. Bring variety into the way you organize your work by changing your rhythm now and then. Does it help you to have the morning free? Or are you especially creative early in the day? Find the rhythm that suits you and the work environment where you get into “flow.” That means everything around you fades away and you become, figuratively speaking, one with the task. Also make sure you take regular breaks. Clearing your head for five minutes every 60 minutes already helps enormously. Move around, stretch, or keep working standing up for a while. Nobody can be creative eight hours a day. Find your own rhythm of work and breaks.
The right tools
Tools matter, no question. But they aren’t the “cure-all” for being more productive or more creative. Still, they can support you. If you’ve found tools that work for you, keep them. Every switch of app, software or method takes time to get used to. If you’ve found something that fits, stick with it!
But if you’re looking for helpful tools, I recommend two:
The first is Evernote. This powerful note-taking tool is free and perfect for capturing ideas on the go.
The second tool is the mind map. You probably know it. Mind maps capture the thoughts and ideas that come to you about a topic. Mind maps give structure, and unlike brainstorming, you can work with that structure afterward. Modern mind-map software can include photos, text, links and even videos. That way, you get an overview and starting points for more ideas. You’ll find a great mind-map tool at www.mindmeister.com.
You can use this web-based tool from any computer, and with the right app, from your smartphone or tablet too. In the free version, you can save three mind maps and use the sharing feature to share them with other team members and work on them together.
Eliminate distractions and focus
During our workday, we’re practically bombarded with emails and messages. The phone or cell phone rings, a message comes in, and our email program keeps loudly making itself heard. When you need to concentrate, make sure you won’t be disturbed. On average, it takes ten to fifteen minutes after an interruption to get back to the level of attention you had before the interruption. That’s why it’s good to minimize interruptions from the start. Set aside a time and a place where you won’t be interrupted. I always take ten to 30 minutes in the morning to answer emails. After that, I turn off my Wi-Fi and try to keep working with focus. The internet distracts me very easily, so I have this “internet-free” time. My phone stays on, but on silent and with notifications turned off. I set a limit on this internet-free and, as far as possible, interruption-free time. Sometimes an hour, sometimes a whole morning, depending on what I’m working on and how well I can concentrate. Since I have a home office, my wife and I have an agreement that when my door is closed, I don’t want to be disturbed. If it’s open and I’m working anyway, of course I’m very happy when she visits me in my “office.”
Manage your energy
It’s impossible to concentrate for eight hours straight. Even when we have a lot on our plate and have fallen behind, we can’t produce creativity at the push of a button. Managing your energy means building in regular breaks and making use of your creative highs. When are you especially creative? You can also get new energy by doing something completely different, something that lets you clear your head. For example, sports, jogging or, like me, working with tools. An activity that challenges you in a completely different way helps you clear your head and recharge. If you can’t be creative at the moment, that’s just how it is. Period. Don’t try to squeeze something out where there’s nothing. Instead, use this time that feels “unproductive” to you for routine tasks, or just take time off. Treat yourself to something nice, especially after exhausting days.
Where do you get your input?
The most important question when it comes to creativity. As youth leaders, as I described, we’re always expected to deliver something. But where do the ideas come from? In my opinion, it’s important that you find a healthy way of giving and receiving. I read various blogs about youth ministry. I also really value conversations with colleagues and friends, who keep giving me new ideas. Reading good books and listening to podcasts is just as important. You’ll find lots of good ideas about youth ministry right here at Pulse.
I’ve saved this one for last, not because it’s unimportant, but because for me it’s the most important thing of all: regular time with God. Sounds obvious, and if you work as a youth pastor, it goes without saying that you live with God, right? But living with God and working for God are two different things. With all the activity, I often lose sight of God. That’s why I try to read the Bible regularly, to pray for projects and people, and to go to church services or listen to sermons for myself and my own life, sermons I listen to personally, not for work.
