Category Archives: tips and tricks

Recommended Reading…Avoiding Ministry Burnout

Posted by chriswilliamsde on

Looking for insights on how to avoid ministry burnout or begin the process of recovery?

I’d recommend that you take some time to read these three books:

1. Running on Empty: Contemplative Spirituality for Overachievers by Fil Anderson

2. The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal by Lim Loehr and Tony Schwartz

3.  Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation by Ruth Haley Barton

These books were extremely helpful to me.  What suggestions do you have for good books to read related to ministry burnout?  Leave a comment below and tell us what resources you found helpful.

Using Evernote for GTD

Posted by chriswilliamsde on

Posts on Evernote and GTD

I have spent the last several months setting up my GTD system in Evernote.  It seems to be working well.  I have published several posts on how I set up system.  Here’s a convenient index to all of the GTD/Evernote posts:

Evernote Resources

Here are three resources I have found helpful as I have established my own system.

  • Evernote Essentials – This is the place to start if you are new to Evernote.  You will discover everything you need to do to set up Evernote on your devices and master the functionality of this tool.
  • Michael Hyatt’s Blog – Michael has created a great series of posts on tips for using Evernote.  Michael got me interested in Evernote as he shared the powerful uses available in this free application.
  • Evernote: The Unofficial Guide to Capturing Everything and Getting Things Done by Daniel E. Gold.  This is a practical resource that will help you think through how to use Evernote for GTD.  I did not end up setting my system up just like Daniel suggests, but I did implement some tips and tricks he talks about in this book.  If you are serious about setting up GTD in Evernote, you’ll want to pick up this resource.

Let Me Know How I Can Help

Hope you find these resources helpful.  If you have any questions or need help setting up your GTD system, leave me a comment or send me an email.  I’d be glad to help.

Setting Up Agendas in Evernote

Posted by chriswilliamsde on

Improvement Opportunity

As a GTD user and fanatic these last few years, I continue to be amazed at the power of simple processes and the seemingly endless improvement opportunities. One such area of improvement for me is the use of GTD’s approach to agendas.

Agendas are simple lists for people that you meet with or need to talk to about anything. Rather than interrupting the people around you because you thought of something you need to tell them, you simply record that item on a list assigned to that person. Then the next time you are in front of that person, you can work through the list you’ve created and handle several issues at one time.

Setting Up Agendas in Evernote

As I have invested time in setting up my GTD system in Evernote, I have sought to become more “blackbelt” in my use of the agenda method. Here’s are the steps I followed to set up my agendas in Evernote:

  1. Create a notebook (CTRL + SHIFT + N)  in your GTD stack titled “Agendas.”
  2. Create a new note (CTRL + N) for each of the people and teams/committees/boards that you meet with on a regular basis.  I have a note for my spouse, my boss, administrative assistant, each team I lead, and the three boards I sit on. Because it is easy to create a new note, I will often add a temporary note if I have an ad hoc meeting coming up that I need to prepare for.
  3. Add thoughts to the notes as they occur to you. GTD’s foundational principle is to “keep nothing in your head.”   When you have a thought write it down and get it in your system. Since Evernote is on my computer, iPad, and iPhone I can record thoughts directly into my system wherever I am. This helps keep my head clear and things moving forward.
  4. Review your lists each week to make sure there are no “dead items” that no longer require you to bring this up to your spouse, boss, or whoever. The review also allows you to check for “urgent items” that require you to have a conversation immediately rather than waiting for the next time you happen to be in front of that person or team.

Tell Me Something

What tools do you use to keep track of agenda items? What tips would you offer to someone like me who is just starting to work on this area of my GTD system?  Leave your comments below.