5 Computer Tricks to Save You Time and Money

One of the most important parts of ministry is communication. But what is often the case in ministry is that the hours in the day are not enough to cover all of the needs. This is especially true if you work part-time in ministry, as I do. Here are five computer tricks that I’ve learned to help me be a better communicator without spending a lot of time.

1) Social Media Management in One Spot: You repeatedly here that the church needs to be using social media. So, you now have a Twitter account, Facebook page, Instagram account and a YouTube channel. Great! What you don’t have is time to give to each of these entities. So instead of managing each account separately use a service like HootSuite. HootSuite can give you dominion over all your Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and other social media profiles where you make updates and follow the streams in one place. Many of the services will let you schedule information blasts. If you have news to announce, and it is super early or late at night and you know no one will see it then, schedule that information to go out at a later, more opportune time.

2) Use Email Signatures: very often, you find yourself writing the same emails repeatedly. Save time and energy by using your email signature functions to create stock emails that only need minor edits before sending.

3) Keep Notes Handy: Fabulous ideas do not always happen during office hours. Have some handy methods for keeping notes and ideas. A notepad and pen work great, but what if those aren’t available? Use dictation tools available on most cell phones to create notes. Applications, such as Evernote, help you jot down your ideas and sync them to multiple devices and computers, including the web. As the name describes you can keep those notes forever or just until you can transcribe them in another form. You can then email those notes to yourself, post them to a blog, send them as a text message and more.

4) Close Your Email: Being ruled by your email inbox is the worst productivity practice ever! One email that is low on your priority list, can sideline you for 10 minutes or longer. Those interactions generally lead to more and longer email conversations. Schedule blocks of time to check email and set up alerts or alarms to let you know when to start and stop.

5) Automate Wherever You Can: With technology tools today, you can set up all types of actions to happen automatically. Using an email system, such as MailChimp, gives you many automated options for communicating with the group you are trying to be in ministry with. The best part is that it’s free. You can automate special messages like “Happy Birthday” or encouraging words via email to individuals to arrive on those special days and times.

These are just a few suggestions that I’ve run across that have helped me in the past. Give them a try and see what you think!