Years ago when I began this blog, I looked around on the internet to see who else was doing anything similar. There were lots of material on productivity, but very little penned from an explicitly Christian perspective. But there was one individual that stood head and shoulders above the rest: Matt Perman.
The combination of his theological insight and practical outlook is unrivaled. He takes the often-thought-of-as-worldly areas of work, leadership, and productivity and approaches them from a gospel-centered and scripture-saturated perspective.
For the last few years, Matt has poured his blood, sweat, and tears (From what he’s said about the writing process, that might not be too much of an exaggeration) into his first book, What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done. And finally, the book releases today!
I highly recommend that you click on over and purchase it. If you could do so this week, that would be particularly helpful – Matt and his publisher have the hopes of hitting the best-seller list (which is based on sales in this first week).
Plenty of Info on the Book
I had the privilege of sitting down and talking with Matt for quite a while about the book and about some of his thoughts on productivity. You can listen to that three part interview here:
You can read some of Matt’s own thoughts on the book and what he was trying to accomplish.
You can read reviews and endorsements by notable figures such as Michael Hyatt, Wayne Grudem, Justin Taylor, Brad Lomenick, Michael Horton, Ed Stetzer, and John Piper. In fact, John Piper wrote the foreword.
You can read the amazon reviews already if you’re interested in some other perspectives on the book.
My Quick Review
But just in case you’re still on the fence after those endorsements and reviews, let me share a few brief thoughts on this book.
I love the subject of productivity. I love theology. I love the concept of stewardship, particularly time stewardship. I have bookshelves full of books related to those subjects. I’ve read every book, article, and blog post about time stewardship that I could get my hands (or my digital hands) on.
And What’s Best Next is the first book I would recommend to anyone wanting to take his or her time stewardship to the next level.
There are two points that I want to stress.
For ANYONE…
First, this book is for anyone. If you’re a productivity nerd like me, you’ll find something worthwhile. If you’re a theologian, you’ll find something worthwhile. If this is the first time management book you’ve ever read, you’ll find something worthwhile. If you’re a parent struggling to balance family and work, you’ll find something worthwhile. If you’re a stressed college student, you’ll find something worthwhile.
Part of the incredible power of this book is in its ability to be helpful and speak to you wherever you are.
…Wanting to Take TIME STEWARDSHIP to the Next Level
Second, this isn’t just about productivity. This is not some lame, Christianized way of organizing and making to-do lists. This goes beyond time management into time stewardship, because Matt spends the first half of the book exploring what productivity is in the eyes of God and why we should strive to be productive in the first place.
The second half is all about practical methodology with tips and tricks that can help you be more effective, efficient, and productive. But the book starts out addressing what’s really important: Matt shares my conviction that your heart is the most important piece in your productivity arsenal.
This isn’t a book about merely productivity – it’s about being productive to the glory of God. And that entails a lot, as you can read about in “What’s Best Next.”
I commend it to you and hope you drop by amazon to pick it up (hopefully this week).
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