It’s 10:23pm and you’re still at church.

Volunteers flaked, 10 texts to respond to, angry email from that parent in your inbox, and your senior pastor has a few “questions” for you. 

Family and friends expected you home at 6 for dinner. Looks like it’s “Jesus Chicken” on the way home again. 

You don’t want it to be this way, but you don’t know how it could be different. 

Is this what jobs in the Kingdom are supposed to be like? 

You’re not alone in asking this question…

Burnout in the Church is an Epidemic

Let’s cut straight to the heart of it: burnout in ministry isn’t just common, it’s reaching epidemic proportions. Nearly 1 in 4 pastors under 45 report experiencing burnout in the last year (Barna). And that is to say nothing about extreme stress and anxiety that doesn’t meet the threshold of burnout. 

This isn’t just a statistic, it’s a cry for help from the front lines of ministry.

When Lifeway reports that time management is the #1 skill pastors say they’re lacking, we need to pause. This isn’t about working harder. It’s about fundamentally rethinking how we approach our time and energy.

I experienced this first hand…

Losing My Sense of Smell from Stress

I spent my career in early-stage startups. High expectations, short runways, it was sink or swim. 

Working at Download Youth Ministry for two years as the COO, I learned that Youth Pastors are essentially start-up leaders for the Kingdom of God. Long hours. Endless demands. A constant pull in a million different directions. I have felt these same tensions. 

And maybe just like you, I was “successful” at my job, but I was sinking on the inside. 

I didn’t just burn out, I crashed so hard I literally lost my sense of smell for six months. Stress can do that apparently, along with a whole other host of things: migraine headaches, IBS, hypertension, impacted sleep, depression. Super fun stuff. 

There I was, successful on paper, smiling in photos, dying inside.  My calendar was packed, my family time was suffering, and my body was screaming for help. You know that feeling when you’re juggling so many balls you can’t even count them anymore? That was me, just trying to do my best, absolutely drowning, and looking around and not seeing any solutions. 

That’s when God stepped in…

Be Anxious for Nothing is a Command, not a Suggestion

I learned Philippians 4:6-7 in Awana as a child:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Up until then, I had treated this verse like a spiritual fortune cookie: nice to read, easy to ignore. My calendar was all about ME, anxiety was just part of the job, and if I stopped shoveling everything would break. 

But all that changed when I hit burnout. I realized “be anxious for nothing” wasn’t a nice suggestion for when we have time to get around to it. It’s a direct command from the Creator of time Himself. It was a boundary condition to the good life He wanted for me. 

I believe God doesn’t command the impossible. He said “be anxious for nothing,” and I developed a gut level conviction that there must be a way for it to be possible. 

Here’s what I did…

Make Overwhelm Non-negotiable

Overwhelm isn’t a badge of honor, it’s a warning light. 

It’s God’s gift to you, telling you your relationship with time is off kilter, and he’s commanding you to take a next step. Just like you wouldn’t ignore your car’s check engine light, you can’t keep ignoring God’s internal warning system for you. 

The average person carries 121 items on their to-do list ALL THE TIME. It doesn’t matter how many you check off, there’s more coming. Simply grinding to the bottom of the list is not going to save you. 

You have to change the way you think about time…

Ask God for His Perspective on You & Your Time

I realize if you’re reading this you’re a professional Christian and likely read the whole book, but let me summarize what God thinks about you: you are fully loved, lacking nothing.

A little louder for the friends in the back: YOU ARE FULLY LOVED LACKING NOTHING. Your worth isn’t measured in completed tasks or ministry wins.As a professional Christian, you may cognitively know that, but your calendar would tell me a different story. 

You pack your calendar out of fear. Fear that if you don’t you’ll fail, or let people down, or lose your job. 

Try this: Before planning out next week, ask “How would someone who is fully loved, lacking nothing, plan their week?” They wouldn’t pack it to the brim out of fear. 

“Yes, but Andrew, you don’t understand the demands on me from my senior pastor/parents/students…” I hear you. Stick with me…

Add Selfcare & Personal Commitments to Your Calendar

When I was overwhelmed, on my way to losing my sense of smell (which by the way means I couldn’t taste anything either… brutal), the first thing that went out the door was selfcare and my family time. And I bet you’re the same.

Why? Because overwhelm presses you to just keep working. You tell yourself you’ll get to selfcare and personal commitments when the to-do list is clear, but we both know the to-do list is endless. And continuously violating your commitment to selfcare and personal commitments only increases your overwhelm, because you are not living consistent with who you want to be. 

The hard truth? Self-care isn’t selfish, it’s stewardship. It’s God’s plan to keep you in the game.

To counter overwhelm, you simply have to put these items on your calendar, and share with someone else to become accountable to them (it will literally double the likelihood of you following through). 

Block out time for:

• Connection with God (non-negotiable)
• Family & friend connections (sacred space)
• Physical health (it’s ministry preparation)
• Mental rest (it’s productivity fuel)

Think of it like this: you are the boss of your future self (literally you’re “Time Boss”). You are simply making decisions ahead of time to set up your future self to be successful, instead of leaving that poor sucker to just figure it out and hope for the best, because we both know how that’s gone up to this point. In a sober moment, before the ministry bullets start flying, make a decision about what your future self needs. 

“But Andrew… You’re taking more time away from ALL THE THINGS I actually HAVE to do”

You’re right, and I’m about to take more, and I promise you’re going to thank me just like the dozens of youth pastors that have already made this change…

Add Buffer to Your Calendar

Up until now you’ve packed your calendar to the brim, and inevitably the unexpected happens: student texts, pastor needs you, parent has a question, water heater breaks, spouse needs help, you name it.  

You get overwhelmed by definition, because how can you deal with this new thing and still make your priorities happen? 

These are the “Predicitable Unpredictables”. You know they’re coming, so you might as well plan for it. 

Practically, you should be adding a 20 to 40% buffer in your calendar, planning for the inevitable interruptions that are going to take your time.  Sounds impossible? That’s exactly why you need it. YOU HAVE OVERPACKED YOUR SCHEDULE. 

If your calendar looks like this, change it to look like this:

Literally, put it on your calendar. And once your calendar is full, don’t allow yourself to add more things to it. Your time is like a bank account. You can only spend what you have. Adding a buffer to your calendar enforces that. 

Here’s the magic of this: you won’t need this buffer everyday.  And when you don’t, as your Time Boss you make the call: grab the next priority and work on it, or take the afternoon and be with your family, or literally WHATEVER YOU WANT TIME BOSS. 

The power here is you are working up to your capacity. You’re not starting the week over capacity and hoping it all works out. 

Dozens of Youth Pastors I work with have adopted this way of working. Here’s how they describe it: 

“The most valuable thing from the course was the idea of (Buffer) time. I always have people dropping in, or last minute requests being asked of me, and the ability to say “Yes” and not have those things derail my week is amazing. Previously I would say yes and know it might mean working late, but now I feel like I’m operating from a position of strength or excess when it comes to the time I have in my work week.”

“But scheduling (Buffer) was a game changer!! I would find myself NOT budgeting time for interruptions and packing too much into my week even before interruptions had a chance to interrupt!!”

Even hearing from other pastors, I can feel your resistance through the screen: “But Andrew, now I have my personal commitments AND self-care AND buffer on my calendar, there’s so much less time to get things done!”

Ah but there is, friend. You just have to change your habits related to time. And I want you to start small…

Start with One Small Change – BUT START

Transformation doesn’t require grand gestures, heroic lifts, or rapid left turns. It can happen with small, consistent changes, repeated over time, building on top of each other. 

You just need to start.

Pick one small change. Just one. Make it so small it feels almost insignificant. Then protect it like it’s sacred, because it is. Ideas:

1. Choose one day this week for a buffer experiment
2. Set one non-negotiable self-care appointment and share with someone for accountability
3. Practice saying “let me check my calendar” instead of instant “yes”
4. Set an alarm at 6am, 10am, 2pm and 5pm to remind yourself you’re fully loved, lacking nothing.

Run it a week or two and see what happens. I guarantee you won’t die. In fact, it will become the new normal. And then you can make the next small change. Rinse and repeat, week over week, month over month, year over year, and will revolutionize your relationship with time. 

You’re not “managing time”, you’re stewarding a life. God’s vision for your ministry never included burning out for Him.

What tiny brave decision will you make this week to honor both your calling AND your limits?

——————–

Fed Up & Ready for Massive Change This Month? Time Boss Can Help

It took me 10 years of small changes to figure out a way to get the results I wanted from my week without overwhelm, and I’ve boiled it down to a simple system that you can learn in the next month to completely revolutionize your relationship with time, just like the hundreds of leaders and dozens of teams that have done so in the past year.  

Time Boss helps teams and leaders get these results by teaching a simple, repeatable Weekly Time Mastery Framework. 

The Time Boss Digital Course has actually been taken by dozens of youth pastors in the last year. Here’s what they had to say. 

“Thank you so much for offering the course, it’s truly reshaped the way that I view my work week. I don’t think I realized how stressful some of the work weeks were previously, but being able to feel “ahead” of the week at the start and not letting these small things derail the weekly plan is awesome.”

“I’ve taken on an additional position – essentially requiring an additional 20-30 hours per week.  But utilizing Time Boss principles have allowed me to space my calendar accordingly, drop what needed to be carried by others, and go home at the end of the day truly ‘off.’ Knowing that’s not a lifelong sustainable pace, yet seeing how it could be doable for the next year, has made me a stronger manager of myself. I’m forever grateful!”

“This has absolutely changed how I work and how I see work. I am beyond grateful! I have definitely become a self-appointed TimeBoss ambassador to my coworkers and friends. I was at work yesterday–5 days out from my wedding–and people asked me how I was still there and why I wasn’t a ball of anxiety, and I got to tell them about TimeBoss and how I am confidently getting things done and having the time to do it! No need to stress!

The Time Boss Digital Course includes 15 video lessons, step-by-step guides, easy to use templates and daily feedback from our team to help you overcome any friction you’re experiencing.

We sell this to for-profit leaders for $199, but we’re providing it to pastors for just $50, because we know what’s possible in the Kingdom when a pastor is actually “anxious for nothing”. Use coupon code “WELOVECHURCH” at checkout. Money back guarantee if you finish the course, do the daily check-ins and don’t get results you’re satisfied with. We just want you to win. 

If you’re ready to jump in, we’re ready to help. Let’s go get it!

Andrew Hartman is the Founder and CEO at Time Boss, a training and development company that helps leaders and teams get the results they want from their time, without overwhelm. Andrew was formally the COO of Download Youth Ministry.