When it comes to your calling, one of the most important things that you can do is to follow through with your commitments. While it is important to do the best that you can, you do need to set reasonable limits on what you expect from yourself. Often we expect so much that it is difficult to begin to prepare, and we end up doing poorly.
One example is when you are teaching. You may want to provide the occasional handout to illustrate your point, but you do not need to spend more than thirty minutes on preparing the handout (this includes copying, cutting, gluing etc). While it is a nice touch your hours of handiwork are usually either filed away somewhere, or thrown away. The may occasionally make it to the refrigerator, but will usually be eaten by the 18 month old in the next week.
Another example is when you are setting up for a ward activity or Enrichment night. It is important to have things well organized, nicely arranged and neatly decorated. This entire process should really not take more than an hour. You can cut down the time if have more people come out to help. Also the less setting up you do, the less time you need to spend cleaning up.
It is always important to prepare for your calling. You can do this through prayer, and study. However, it is just as important to not overwhelm yourself when it comes to your calling. It is important to find the balance that best works for you and your family. Remember that the order of priorities is your relationship with Heavenly Father, your family and then church and callings. Do not allow your calling to encroach too much on family time when it does not need to. (The bishop, Elders’ Quorum president and Relief Society president may all have times when this is not an option.)
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