I admit it. When I was preaching every week, I used to write my sermons on Sunday morning. I would get up very early, sit in the quiet and the words would flow. I did my best work this way. The few times that I tried to write a sermon on Friday or Saturday it just didn’t work as well.

If you are preparing a sermon every week, it can be a daunting task. Even if you are not preaching every week, when it’s time to prepare one, it can be daunting. Here’s some advice: don’t try to do it all in one sitting.

I neglected to mention that I WROTE my sermon on Sunday morning. HOWEVER, the preparation began long before. I would plan out my sermons three months at a time, selecting scripture, title, subject and theme for each Sunday. At the beginning of each week, I would dig into the scripture. Every day during the week, I would spend some time doing exegesis, making notes, collecting illustrations, etc. I typically had an outline by the time Sunday morning came around. Then I would write.

As it turns out, breaking up this type of work into smaller chunks enables your brain to do things that it can’t do all in one sitting. If you were to sit down and spend eight hours preparing and writing a sermon, it is not likely to be as good as if you broke the work into several sessions over a week’s time. This is true for any kind of creative or problem-solving work. Here’s why:

The brain does amazing things while we sleep.

While the rest of your body is resting, the brain is working. Your subconscious mind is doing work that you don’t even know is going on. You can read more about it in this Huffington Post article: 5 Amazing Things Your Brain Does While You Sleep.

Here are the three things that happen during sleep that help you to do your best work.

Your brain consolidates and organizes memories.

This is essential for learning. Whether you are studying scripture, researching a project or learning a new skill, sleep will help to solidify what you learn in your long-term memory. When you are preparing a sermon, this means that the work you do one day becomes the foundation for the work you do the next, the day after that and so on. The same would be true for any type of work that requires learning to truly be effective.

Your brain processes complex information to prepare for decision-making.

Once you have worked on something, the brain can take that information while you sleep and prepare to act on it. So, not only are you consolidating your learning, you are better prepared for what to do next.

Have you ever worked on something and gotten stuck? Writers call it writer’s block. A quick google search yielded similar experiences for mathematicians, programmers, entrepreneurs and innovators. If you are doing creative and/or problem-solving work, you are bound to come across times when you feel stuck. The standard advice is to take a break. Neuroscience research indicates that if you sleep on it, you not only have a better chance to get unstuck, you are likely to have an idea of your next step.

Your brain makes creative connections.

One of the hallmarks of creative people is the ability to make connections between seemingly unrelated concepts. As it turns out, the brain does this while you sleep. According to a 2007 University of California at Berkeley study, upon waking from sleep, people are 33% more likely to make connections between things that seem to be distantly related.

This is a great reason to have a time of prayer or meditation first thing in the morning. You are most likely to have an “Aha!” moment if you create space for it when you first wake. If you are listening for God to guide you, then what better way than to make use of the biological processes with which you are created.

So, whether it’s a sermon or any other important creative or problem-solving work, the best approach is to do some work, then sleep on it. Do some more work, then sleep on it. Your brain will make progress for you while you sleep. How great is that?!

Questions for Reflection:

What important work are you doing right now?

How can you organize your work to best take advantage of the work your brain does while sleeping?

How has your view of sleep changed after reading this blog?