Getting good training

I have found a new appreciation for good training. I came across a website with training videos on practically every software you can think of www.lynda.com and I have been studying training materials from Nelson Searcy to help me run a church more efficiently and effectively.  I strive to get better everyday and one way to do that is to get proper training. I submit that we are always getting training whether we go to a seminar, college, watch television, or not. Our minds are taking in information and we are forming habits through our actions regularly, we cannot help it. But we can determine what kind of training we are getting. The people we hang around, the books we read, the websites we visit, they all are training us and making us proficient in whatever material they are giving out. Who is training you?

Procrastination and Reading

So I just finished reading a book the other day. God With Us by Mark Allen Powell. Very strong theologian in my limited experience and I am proud that I finished the book, the only problem is I was supposed to finish reading it for my New Testament I class last fall (two semesters ago). I procrastinated in the reading when it was assigned for class and fortunately, the work was not heavily included in the Midterm or Final, but  would have helped me participate in lectures. Procrastination got the best of me, but my desire to not quit, made me keep the book, and finally get around to finish it in between everything else I have going on. I don't want to make excuses, I am busy, but everything I am doing, or supposed to be doing is adding value to my life so I should find a way to make it happen. Completing the assigned readings for my classes prepares me for class lectures, sermons, and speaking engagements. They also turn my ramblings into something coherent one day as a theologian. I must do better at completing the readings and I am already doing so.

Some of the ways I have dealt with procrastination is learning to say no. Most of my procrastination comes from the fact that I say yes to a bunch of things and end up not doing any of them. Spreading myself too thin means that no task gets enough attention to complete on time and sometimes, at all. Learning to commit to a schedule also helps with procrastination, if I deal with certain matters on a set schedule they will get completed in a timely matter. Also learning to make decisions quickly. Some tasks pile up because when the information came to me, I sat it down and said I will deal with it later, only later did not come. Making quicker decisions, learning to say no, and adhering to a schedule have helped me deal with procrastination.