I’ve always been curious of how other pastors and church leaders work. So I shamelessly ripped of Lifehacker.com’s How I Work series and began to ask other church leaders questions about their work. 

Patrick Dayton
Short Bio: 

I am born and raised in Iowa before moving to Seattle for a few years. My most recent ministry position was youth director at Blaine Memorial UMC in Seattle, WA. Currently enrolled at Boston University School of Theology pursuing a Master of Divinity degree.

Location (city/state): Boston, MA

Your Ministry (position/title): Seminary

One word that describes how you work: Steadily

Current mobile device: iPhone 8

Current computer/laptop: MacBook Pro

Connect with Patrick:
Twitter

Describe a recent work day:

Woke up at 645 to get to an 8 am class until 11. Joined our school’s community lunch with other seminarians. Following I spent a few hours reading for class and editing a housemate’s paper. Took a break to watch Liverpool with 5-0 in the Champions League. The spent the rest of the day finishing a paper that was due at midnight. Finished at 9 ☺

Gadgets/apps/tools that you cannot live without:

Google calendar! Would forget my whole schedule without it.

Best short-cut; life hack you use:

Make breakfast at night so when I wake up late, I still get to have something for breakfast.

What’s your workspace set up like?

The closest office I have is a bedroom and it’s generally a mess but like, an organized mess. However, I can’t work there so I tend to find a corner in the library or coffee shop.

How do you keep track of what you have to do:

Several apps. The most important is google calendar but also use apple’s reminders apps, snooze function on email, and “myHomework” app to track all my assignments’ due dates.

What’s one of the least favorite aspects of what you have to do:

How much reading that I have to do. It dense work that take time to read even short articles.

Passion/Side project of yours?

I recently joined a beginner ballet course… I am not very good, but not many people in the class is either so it is a fun outlet.

What gives you joy about your work? 

The ways I have been able to maintain a level of authenticity in my work and being able to hear that from classmates and coworkers.

Currently reading/ or anything you’d recommend one to read:

The Rose that Grew from the Concrete. It is a selection of raw poems taken from the journal of Tupac Shakur. Currently in four classes means I’m reading a lot but the Tupac book is the one I would have chosen to read on my own.