practical wisdom to help seminary students avoid burnout and finish well
Today is Monday, September 08th, 2008
Similar to creating a writing plan for papers, you should block out dedicated study time for major exams. If you do this now, at the beginning of the semester (and stick to your schedule), then you won’t be pinched to find time to study.
It’s pretty simple:
Reserve study blocks beginning about a week before the [...]
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August 28th, 2008 | Mark | 1 comment | Continued
Seminary involves a LOT of reading. At the beginning of the semester, you typically have more open time. Seize it! Use it to read ahead now, and then when the first wave of papers is due, you won’t be so rushed.
There may be some classes you can read ahead in more easily.
Look [...]
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August 26th, 2008 | Mark | 2 comments | Continued
The first week of seminary is over, and looming ahead are due dates for reading, papers and tests. You know this because you should have a syllabus for each class, which contains all the assignments you’ll need to complete this semester and their due dates.
This is awesome. It’s a time management bonanza. [...]
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August 25th, 2008 | Mark | 1 comment | Continued
Regular readers of Seminary Survival Guide have noticed that my posting has been slow of late. My explanation is that I’ve been practicing what I preach.
One key concept I believe it’s critical for Christian leaders to master is triage: knowing how to sort through a welter of urgent demands and determine what is truly important.
Triage [...]
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August 5th, 2008 | Mark | 1 comment | Continued
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 [...]
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May 12th, 2008 | Mark | 2 comments | Continued
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 get [...]
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March 24th, 2008 | Mark | 3 comments | Continued
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 to waste your life
other entertainments [...]
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March 17th, 2008 | Mark | 2 comments | Continued
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 will.
Don’t [...]
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March 12th, 2008 | Mark | 1 comment | Continued
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 ministry is [...]
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March 11th, 2008 | Mark | 0 comments | Continued
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 ARE nice, [...]
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February 15th, 2008 | Mark | 1 comment | Continued
"You already know what you are going to regret when you are on your death bed why not work on ...
Thanks for the link! I'm benefiting from your blog as well. Great thoughts and helpful advice on managing ... Great thoughts and comments here. As a seminary student, I have had to learn how to moderately speed read. ...
Excellent point. I don't deny that there are things lost when you read less than every page of the ...
As a prof, let me add one equation to the discussion (which by the way, I also teach a similar ...
Good thoughts again. Thanks, as always, Mark.
A couple of thoughts I might add in:
~For one, expect that you will ...
I just wanted to thank y'all for all of your great posts. They have been very helpful, and have ...
Well said.
The whole of 1 Cor. 8:1-3 seems to tell more of the story, as “knowledge puffs up, but ... Amen again. Great post.
A wise leader once told me that, "work expands to fill the time allowed it." What I ... Ditto on Shaun's comment.
Also, it's too late now for summer-- but as Christmas break approaches, you might also consider ...
