I have been doing this for a year now and it make my life easier for sermon prep and research.
If you have any helpful time-savors, let me know. Chip
Thanks for your great tips. The use of two screens at once has been a life changer for my study time and a much more productive use for my TV.
-Lonnie
I second that!Microsoft had a paper that was circulating a number of years ago that said for the average person greater screen real-estate = greater productivity. I guffawed. But now that I have multiple displays I wouldn't go back. I recently (2010) added my TV to my setup as well giving me 3 24" displays and a 32".
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abondservant: I second that!Microsoft had a paper that was circulating a number of years ago that said for the average person greater screen real-estate = greater productivity. I guffawed. But now that I have multiple displays I wouldn't go back. I recently (2010) added my TV to my setup as well giving me 3 24" displays and a 32".
I saw a similar study, pay back in added employee productivity is less than three months! The study compared faster CPUs, more memory, faster HDD and added monitors. Adding one additional monitor gave the most bang for buck, adding the third monitor came in second. The other hardware upgrades only gave marginal improvements to productivity.
Thanks guys! I got giddy when I invented the external monitor trick. Sounds like it was invented years before my light-bulb flashed!
I was thinking too about a rhythm for sermon prep. Midpoint in ministry I created a schedule for sermon prep. It really helped my discipline so I didn't end-up later in the week scurrying to catch up. I'm the kind of guy who would rather work with people than paper any day. You have to adjust if you are busy, but these were my goals. Now that I work with sermon series it's so much easier to plan ahead for this stuff.
Here were my sermon-prep goals from week to week; these have become a pattern:
Sunday: Passage picked; broken apart (generally diagrammed); exegesis page is set-up; fuzzy general punch figured-out (example: Mat. 3:37-17 "We don't understand the significance of Jesus' baptism") .Monday/Tuesday: Read, read, read. Commentaries. Research reflection. What is the application of this text? What was the author saying to the intended audience and how does that principle apply today?Wednesday: Application and homiletic skeleton. Now that I found the application, how do I best communicate that to my listeners?
Thursday: Plug in illustrations; applications; supporting texts; conclusion/call.
Friday/Saturday/Sun AM: refine, refine, refine.
For new pastors having a good schedule system is important, especially for extroverted pastors like me. Even though I tend to be a night-person, I find working on the sermon 1st thing AM in the office is best. Even though I am groggy, I'm more alert than later at night.
If this helps any seminarian just pay it forward by dumping ice-water over your head and donating to my logos book-fund. Chip
Serious and funny. I love it.
thanks for paying it backward and forward for us coming up behind you in the great cloud of witnesses,
joshinri
Keith Larson:I saw a similar study, pay back in added employee productivity is less than three months! The study compared faster CPUs, more memory, faster HDD and added monitors. Adding one additional monitor gave the most bang for buck, adding the third monitor came in second. The other hardware upgrades only gave marginal improvements to productivity.
Edit: This is accomplished wirelessly through your router/network.
Chip, If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend J.R. Miller's excellent post on "5 days to better sermon prep". An excellent complement to your methodology.
"I read dead people..."
Thanx Brother Bother.