Overcoming the Busyness Trap: Three Disciplines for Charity Practitioners
Dan Remmenga
Founder, C3 Cultivation
Check out True Charity Ennoble on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Before you read another word, grab a pen and a piece of paper.
Set a timer for two minutes. Write down everything on your mind: every task, concern, half-finished thought, or unanswered question. Don’t organize it. Just get it out.
Now look at that list. (Hang on to it, by the way. You’ll need it in a few minutes).
That’s the mental load you’re carrying. Chances are high it’s also a sample of what occupies your mind most of the time.
It’s the trap of busyness, and it catches the best of us.
We fill our days with genuinely good things — but get to Friday afternoon wondering where the week went.
The problem isn’t laziness or lack of effort. The solution isn’t “try harder.” In fact, in most cases, the opposite is true.
We need to do less. How else can we be still and know that He is God (Ps. 46:10)?
Urgency has a loud voice. And it’s human nature to pay attention to what’s pressing and visible. (Screaming babies are a thing.) Meanwhile, the few activities that create the most value and move the mission forward are ignored or postponed.
I’ve fallen prey to urgency more times than I’d like to admit.
Enter “important.” It’s often quiet. And far more effective. Over time, I’ve learned how these three disciplines can make it the loudest voice in my head: pray, prioritize, and protect.
Pray
It was such a Monday.
I couldn’t sign in to email or access the drive where all my files live. As the only full-time employee at my organization, I didn’t have an IT department. It was just me, a broken laptop, and the threat of a full day’s agenda down the tubes.
I jumped in and started problem-solving, looking for possible solutions online and using not one but two AI platforms to troubleshoot the issue.
By mid-afternoon I was beyond frustrated.
Thankfully, God intervened through a scheduled appointment that forced me to step away from my desk.
During the short drive there, I finally prayed about the situation. Somewhere in those quiet five minutes, an idea surfaced that I hadn’t thought of.
When I got home, I tried it.
It worked.
I’m pretty sure Jesus is the best IT guy ever.
The principle this story illustrates goes back a long way. Mark 1:35 tells us Jesus was up before dawn, alone and praying. As a recovering night owl, I’ve made a lot of excuses over the years about how I start my day.
But whether you begin working at 5 a.m. or 5 p.m., having some alone time with our Heavenly Father seems like a great idea. It’s a reminder of John Eldredge’s observation in Get Your Life Back that God never intended for us to carry the weight of constant global news and the problems of eight billion people.
Here’s the practical question: What happens in the first few minutes of your morning?
No judgment here.
Before you look at your phone or check your email, I suggest taking a few minutes to pray over your day. I’ve made a practice of it. And it makes a huge difference.
Prioritize
Let’s go back to your list.
What are the two or three things that would have the biggest Kingdom impact at work? How about in your personal life?
Write those down separately. That’s your actual list.
There’s something liberating about naming your true priorities. When you know what matters most, everything else becomes easier to evaluate. You tell your calendar what’s important, not the other way around.
Speaking of owning your calendar, make it a priority to prioritize on Friday afternoon, not Monday morning. It will help clear your head before the weekend and give your future self a gift. On Monday, you’ll already know exactly where to start.
Jesus knew how to prioritize. He knew His mission and focused on it. Relentlessly.
That clarity is exactly what created space for the people others walked past — those on the outskirts of society. Missions that center on helping those who need it most understand getting your priorities right isn’t just good leadership. It’s faithfulness.
Name your priorities. Then guard them like your life depends on it. How do you do that? Glad you asked.
Protect
Nehemiah is one of the best Biblical examples of protecting priorities. God laid it on his heart to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem — maybe the ancient equivalent of repairing the power lines after a natural disaster.
His enemies tried repeatedly to pull him away, but it didn’t work. His answer: I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you? (Nehemiah 6:3, NIV)
That’s not arrogance. That’s boldness.
Let me ask you this. Do you think God is trying to distract you from Kingdom work?
Me neither.
Saying “no” or “not yet” is a discipline. It’s also a form of trust, believing God can manage things without you. For driven people, that can be difficult. But it protects your ability to say “yes” to the people and the work that God has entrusted to you.
Pray first. Ask God what to prioritize. Then protect what matters.
If you’d like to go deeper on these disciplines and walk away with a concrete plan, join us for the upcoming True Charity webinar on Thursday, July 9.
Dan Remmenga is the founder of C3 Cultivation, where he helps Christian nonprofit leaders and pastors build and maintain practical fundraising systems to support long-term ministry growth. He has 15 years of nonprofit fundraising and organizational leadership experience, and is currently the executive director of a nonprofit legal organization.
FROM THE TRUE CHARITY TEAM: We appreciate the perspective of our knowledgeable guest contributors. However, their opinions are their own, and do not necessarily represent positions of True Charity in all respects.
