Category: Time Management
Seminary Time Waster #6: Saying “Yes” to Every Request
Seminary students who can’t say no give permission to others to waste their time. We’re nice people. We like to say yes. Jesus knew this. He advised us, “Ask and it shall be given to you.” (This verse is not primarily about prayer; it is about human interaction.) He knew that people’s default response to [...]
Category: Featured, Time Management
Seminary Time Waster #5: Disorganization
A common frustration about seminary is all the balls you have to keep in the air at once. Seminary coursework alone can have you managing several multi-step projects with their own timelines and deadlines. Add to that your job, family commitments, and whatever ministry you’re serving in. It’s a lot to keep coordinated. In the [...]
Category: Featured, Time Management
Bash Your Television into a Million Pieces (Seminary Time Waster #4)
The average American watches 4 hours, 35 minutes of television every day. (Center for Screen-Time Awareness, 2007 Fact Sheet) Annually, that’s 1,673 hours. Can you believe it? Almost 10 weeks a year, just watching TV. It is a waste of your life! We understand the need for a little entertainment or down-time, but TV is [...]
Category: Featured, Time Management
Be Unavailable. Like Jesus. (Seminary Time Waster #3)
Seminary Time Waster #3: Interruptions and Task Switching. The kind of study you are doing at seminary requires deliberate and sustained thinking—the kind which is impossible in high-interruption environments. You should aim in your study time for long, uninterrupted blocks of time. I’d recommend a minimum of 90 minutes. You should have enough time to [...]
Category: Featured, Time Management
The Internet Sucked Away My Life: Seminary Time Waster #2
Technology has given us the Internet, and the ability to instantly communicate worldwide. Wonderful isn’t it? It has also given us email in-boxes full of spam stupid forwards you’ve seen a thousand times already. access to millions of webstores where we can spend all the money we don’t have video games, the most fun way [...]
Category: Featured, Time Management
Procrastination: Seminary Time Waster #1
We’re all very well acquainted with the problem of procrastination. Putting off things that we do not enjoy or are dreading is a very human temptation, but is completely self-destructive. Here are a few practical tips on overcoming procrastination. Some of these tips will work well for you, others won’t. Pick and choose as you [...]
Category: Featured, Time Management
Eliminate Time Wasters
It’s mid-semester, and lots of projects and tests are coming due. Final exams and papers are not that far off, and I’m sure you feel the crunch coming. With that in mind, we’re going to talk about reclaiming desperately needed time by eliminating the things that waste it. The Enemy’s main strategy for people in [...]
Category: Time Management
Can’t say no? Try the “Qualified Yes”
Learning to say no is an important survival skill for ministry. People will ask you to do all sorts of things. because you’re nice. You’re in ministry! How could you say no? This will suck your life away if you’re not careful. We must defend our own borders. Of course, most of us in ministry [...]
Category: Links, Time Management
No one cares what your grades are, part two
Part one was addressed to the grade nerds. Today, I speak to the rest of you. No one else may care what your grades are in seminary…. but you should. (Fair warning. Those who know me know that one of my finger wagging episodes is only moments away.) You should care about your grades, to [...]
Category: Academics, Time Management
No one cares what your grades are, part one
In seminary, I was a grade-nerd. It started early in my academic career. I was in the gifted program from 3rd grade through high school. Once I discovered that I had academic gifts, I found I liked achieving well in that arena. And my parents never settled for less than I could do. In high [...]
Category: Academics, Time Management
