Reflections on Academics

Thinking through last semester as to why it was so stressful, I think one of the things is that I feel like I have to effectively study for three different reasons, each with a substantial amount of stuff to get through.

1. Short Term: I need to get through school and get my degree. Further, I need good grades to get into a good doctoral program. At the same time, classes seem to tie into the other two areas of study at a depressingly low rate; often, it feels like I simply need to get through a class in order to jump another hoop. Better classes provide atlases for the topic in case I want to return in my own time, but I still feel overwhelmed at the end of the class by the subject matter and not prepared to deal with it.
2. Long Term: The research which follows more-or-less stable interests and which gives me an area of specialization. I need something which I can write on, and afterwards feel like I actually knew about what I was writing. Also, I need an area of interest which reminds me why I am in philosophy and theology. Sometimes I can tie this into class papers, but when classes are all across the board or are intro classes (or both, like this semester), I'm not quite sure how to pull this off.
3. Edifying: I have specific questions at specfic times, and I want to be able to study more about them. These questions change around, so this isn't a long-term study project, but it is something which would help me immensely if I had time for it. Unfortunately, the other two areas are more practical and I feel more pressured into studying them so that I can eventually get a job.

The long and short of it is, I don't have time to do all three at any level of quality (especially when making time for my wife and working a draining job with unstable hours), but I need all three for one reason or another. Trying to do all three often leads to burnout, which leads to doing none of them. Further, I don't always know who to trust on given issues, especially when it comes to reading theology; there's always another argument, always another exegesis, and quite frankly, I am less than impressed by much evangelical writing (not that I'm typically any more impressed by liberal, or postmodern, or non-evangelical Reformed writing). So I don't feel like I can know anything about an issue without spending tons of time and energy which I don't have researching it. I am at the point where I am afraid to start researching more than a single topic at a time; given the real world, I feel pulled apart in all different directions, and in the end going in none (or in all, grisly results included).

Anyone have any tips for getting out of the mire?