Whats Best Next by Matt Perman (Excerpt)

WHAT'S BEST NEXT
How The Gospel Transforms The Way

You Get Things Done by Matt Perman
Productivity isn't just about
getting more things done.
It's about getting the right things
done---the things that count,
make a difference, and move
the world forward.
In our current era of massive
overload, this is harder than
ever before. So how do you get
more of the right things done
without confusing mere activity
for actual productivity?
When we take God's purposes
into account, a revolutionary
insight emerges. Surprisingly,
we see that the way to be productive is to put others
first---to make the welfare of other people our motive
and criteria in determining what to do (what's best next).
As both the Scriptures and the best business thinkers
show, generosity is the key to unlocking our productivity.
It is also the key to finding meaning and fulfillment in our
work.
Buy Now
Foreword
This book is simply extraordinary.
This is largely because of the way God has wired Matt Perman. His
mind is saturated with biblical truth, and he is passionate, sometimes to
a fault (as you will see in his personal stories), about being effective for
the glory of Christ.
Those two traits have combined to produce a God-centered, Christexalting, Bible-saturated book that, without blinking, gets into stuff like
Al Mohlers midnight productivity and Seth Godins method for carving
out time for work that matters.
I doubt there is a person on the planet who knows both theological
issues and time-management literature to the depth and extent Matt Perman does. This combination is at times mindboggling.
Of course, I am totally biasednot dishonest, I hope, but biased. Ive
known Matt as his teacher, pastor, colleague, and friend for almost fifteen
years. From hundreds of interactions on all kinds of issues, my judgment
is this: Here is a theological mind that keeps pace with the best. Almost
without fail, a conversation with Matt about any biblical or theological
issue proves fruitful.
Im also biased because I view his book as a colossal effort to push
Christian hedonismthe theology I have trumpeted for forty years
into all the corners of life. In fact, Matt told me in an email at the last
minute, In a real sense, this book is really about the horizontal dimension
of Christian hedonism. Yes. Thats what I thought.
Which means that the book is really about how to be so satisfied in
God that the power of this joy is released to love people better in the
midst of the current, very challenging environment of our modern, technological, constantly interrupted knowledge work era.
Matt says, This book is also for those who do not share my faith
perspective. If you doubt that a God-besotted book can be useful to a
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Foreword
secular person, consider that Rick Warrens multi-million-copy-selling

Purpose Driven Life begins, Its not about you. If you want to know
why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were
born by his purpose and for his purpose. Matts book takes that truth
and gives it f lesh for the sake of getting best things done.
So I am happy to entice all kinds of people to this book. There are
surprising tastes everywhere. Like:
The only way to be productive is to realize we actually dont have
to be productive.
This book is also for screw-ups and failures!
Serving is exciting. Its like steak, not broccoli.
Gospel-Driven Productivity is about bringing the gospel to all
nations.
Productivity is the only long-term solution to world poverty.
Productivity is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
The most important principle for being productive is Bible reading
and prayer, before the day begins, every day.
Surfing the internet for fun at work makes you more productive,
not less.
Productive things are things that pass muster at the final judgmentand hence receive the verdict eternally productive.
May God give this book wings for the glory of Christ and for the
good of the world, and may it bring a blessing back on Matt Permans
head with wholeness and joy in every corner of his life.
John Piper
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Preface
Busting the Twelve Myths about
What It Means to Get Things Done
DO YOU UNDERSTAND PRODUCTIVITY in the right way? This book

gives you a new way of understanding how to get things done and,
beyond that, what it even means to get things done.
The ideas I advocate here are supported by the best research and the
Scriptures, but many of them might seem new to you. Here are the top
twelve myths this book seeks to overcome:
Myth #1: Productivity is about getting more done faster.
When most people think of productivity, they think of efficiency
getting more things done faster. While efficiency is important, it is secondary. More important than efficiency is effectiveness getting the right
things done. Efficiency doesnt matter if you are doing the wrong things
in the first place.
Truth: Productivity is about effectiveness first, not efficiency.
Myth#2: The way to be productive is to have the right techniques and tools. Using great tools and the most helpful techniques is
a lot of fun. But, like efficiency, this is secondary. This book will give
you the most helpful methods for improving your productivity, and will
point you to some really cool tools. But one of the central tenets of this
book is that the foundation of effectiveness is not first techniques or
tools, but character. The only way to make the right decisions is first to be
the right kind of person (Rom. 12:1 2; 2Peter 5:1 8).
Truth: Productivity comes first from character, not techniques.
Myth#3: It is not essential to give consideration to what God
has to say about productivity. I dont want to imply you have to be
a Christian to get things done or to write on how to get things done.
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Preface
Much of this is in the realm of common grace, and we can learn a lot
from people of all perspectives.
The problem is if we stop there. For example, we often go about our
planning as if it were just any other activity. But the Scriptures teach that
to make plans without acknowledging God is not just wrong but arrogant
( James 4:13 17). There are very significant things that we miss if we do
not give serious consideration to what God has to say on these matters.
One of the aims of this book is to show you what those things are, and
that they are good news.
Truth: We cannot be truly productive unless all our activity stems
from love for God and the acknowledgment that he is sovereign over all
our plans.
Myth#4: It is not essential to make the gospel central in our
view of productivity. The way to become productive is not to try
harder, even if the focus of our efforts is the development of our character. The power behind our productivity comes from realizing that,
through faith in the gospel, we are accepted by God in Christ apart from
what we do. This puts wind in our sails and unleashes the power of the
Spirit in our lives (Gal. 3:5).
Truth: The only way to be productive is to realize that you dont have
to be productive.
Myth #5: The way to be productive is to tightly manage
yourself (and others!). Sometimes we have the notion that people
who care about getting things done need to be ultra-organized, rigidly
scheduled, and inf lexible. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We
are most productive not when we seek to tightly control ourselves but
when we seek to unleash ourselves. Productivity comes from engagement,
not control and mere compliance. This is why operating in our strengths
is so important. Further, this approach to productivity naturally follows
from a right understanding of the gospel.
Truth: Productivity comes from engagement, not tight control; when
we are motivated, we dont need to tightly control ourselves (or others).
Myth#6: The aim of time management should be our peace
of mind. Peace of mind is a good thing, but Im going to argue that there
is something far more important. The reason we should seek to be productive is to serve others to the glory of God, and not for the sake of personal
peace and aff luence. Ironically, however, peace of mind results when the
good of others, and not our own peace of mind, is our first aim.
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Preface
Truth: Productivity is first about doing good for others to the glory
of God.
Myth#7: The way to succeed is to put yourself first. It is often
thought that the way to succeed is to put yourself first and crush others.
It turns out that not only is that an un-Christian ethic, but it also doesnt
work. The biggest trend in the marketplace is, as Tim Sanders has put
it, the downfall of the barracudas, sharks, and piranhas, and the ascendancy of nice, smart people.1
Truth: We become most productive by putting others first, not
ourselves.
Myth#8: We will have peace of mind if we can get everything under control. The problem with this idea is that it doesnt
work. It is simply not possible to have everything under control, and so
the quest to base our peace of mind on our ability to control everything
is futile. Our peace of mind must be based on other grounds namely,
the gospel.
Truth: Basing our peace of mind on our ability to control everything
will never work.
Myth#9: To-do lists are enough. I made this mistake for years.
I read Getting Things Done (which I loved!) and created all sorts of next
action lists, project lists, and someday/maybe lists, yet I rarely achieved
mind like water. Instead, my typical state could have been described
as mind like tsunami.
What I came to realize is that time is like space. Just as there is only
so much stuff that we can fit into our closets, so also there is only so
much stuff that we can fit into our days. If we dont think in terms of
a basic schedule with slots for our main types of tasks, we end up in
overload.
Truth: Time is like space, and we need to see lists as support material
for our activity zones, not as sufficient in themselves to keep track of
what we have to do.
Myth#10: Productivity is best defined by tangible outcomes.
We often think of productivity as getting concrete things done emails
sent, widgets made, and assignments completed. These things are important, but they do not exhaust the scope of our productivity. More and
more, productivity is about intangibles relationships developed, connections made, and things learned. We need to incorporate intangibles
into our definition of productivity or we will short-change ourselves by
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Preface
thinking that sitting at our desks for a certain number of hours equals a
productive day.
Truth: The greatest evidence of productivity comes from intangibles,
not tangibles.
Myth#11: The time we spend working is a good measure of
our productivity. Being at our desks doesnt equal being productive,
and organizations should no longer measure an employees productivity
that way. At the same time, other things take far longer than you would
think: sometimes the best way to be productive is to be inefficient.
As a corollary to this, deadlines work well for execution tasks (the
realm of personal management), but they do not work well for creative
tasks and ambiguity (the realm of personal leadership). If we use deadlines and the efficiency paradigm for managing ambiguity, we often kill
productivity rather than encourage it.
Truth: We need to measure productivity by results, not by time spent
working.
Myth#12: Having to work really hard or even suffer in our
work means our priorities are screwed up or we are doing something wrong. Im not sanctioning the practice of making work an idol
to which we sacrifice everything in our lives. Productivity is concerned
with all areas of our lives work, home, community, everything
because all areas of our lives are callings from God.
That said, people who work long hours often take it on the chin too
much. The fact that someone is working a lot does not make that person
a workaholic. Some people really enjoy their work and want to work a
lot. This is not in itself workaholism. Sometimes it is the path God has
placed before us. Where did we get the idea that we are exempt from
suffering in our work lives? If we are suffering from and in our work, it
does not necessarily mean we are sinning. (See 2Cor. 11:23 29, where
Paul even includes all-nighters among his many sufferings.)
Truth: We will (sometimes) suffer from our work, and it is not sin.2
You may believe some or all of these myths. This book will not only
help you to see why these myths are wrong; it also will give you an alternative a view of productivity centered on God.
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Introduction
Why We Need a Uniquely Christian
View on Productivity
Every Christian must be fully Christian by bringing God
into his whole life, not merely into some spiritual realm.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT GETTING THINGS DONE and making ideas

happen, with less friction and frustration, from a biblical perspective.
Which immediately raises some questions.
Does God actually have anything to say about getting things done? Is
it even possible to have a biblical perspective on such a practical subject
like how to get things done? And should we even care about it as Christians, or is it unspiritual? Is God smiling on us when we are making ideas
happen and being productive, or does he wish we were out sharing the
gospel instead?
But first things first. We cant neglect whats right before us.
ITS HARD TO GET THINGS DONE
Most of us feel that we have way too much to do and too little time to do
it. As David Allen points out, the process of managing our work is often
messy and overf lows its banks. Behind closed doors, after hours, there
remain unanswered calls, tasks to be delegated, unprocessed issues from
meetings and conversations, personal responsibilities unmanaged, and
dozens of emails still not dealt with.3 And as Scott Belsky notes, While
the tendency to generate ideas is rather natural, the path to making them
happen is tumultuous.4
This is especially unfortunate because we are living in an incredibly
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Introduction
exciting time in history. Many of us love our jobs and find the world of
work exciting. We have more opportunities to do good than ever before,
and more opportunities to do creative, challenging work than perhaps at
any point in history.
But the process of getting things done is harder than it needs to be.
Most of us are seeking solutions to this problem. But there is something
we often overlook: What does God think about all of this? Does God
have anything to say about getting things done, and if so, what? How
should we think about this as Christians?
Unfortunately, many of us have had a hard time finding the answers to
these questions. There is a shortage of teaching in the church on how to get
things done, and we are all suffering for it. (Further, this is simply a subset
of a much worse problem the lack of a robust and interesting Christian
doctrine of work.) There are many great secular books that we can greatly
benefit from, but they dont show how this all connects to God.
It is my contention that in addition to the very helpful secular books
that exist, we also need to develop a distinctly Christian understanding
of how to get things done. We miss something important and amazing if
we dont think about productivity from a specifically biblical perspective.
I think the world misses something too.
THE PERPLEXING ABSENCE OF CHRISTIAN THINKING ON
PRODUCTIVITY
It is odd that there is so little Christian teaching on productivity because,
as Christians, we believe the gospel changes everything how we go
about our home life, work life, church life, community life, everything.
Yet there has been little Christian ref lection on how the gospel changes
the way we get things done something that affects all of us every day.
In fact, good productivity practices are often downplayed in the
church at the altar of overspiritualization.
For example, shortly after I started my blog on productivity, a pastor
at my church told me it was like I was Einstein teaching first grade. He
said it was a compliment, but it almost made me want to quit blogging!5
Another time, I mentioned that I was having a difficult time figuring
out how to manage my work and family life with the arrival of our third
child. I was looking for practical help and guidance. Instead, he simply
said, Its only going to get harder.
How do you even respond to that?
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Introduction
I know he meant well. But I was looking for real help. Yet all I got
was what seemed like an overspiritualized dismissal.
Many of us have experienced similar push-back from well-intentioned Christians when seeking to learn about practical subjects. A friend
of mine who has a lot going on but is doing it all very well was told by
one of his pastors that he should take it easy and not do too much because
it causes worry.
And sometimes when things get overwhelming, it is suggested that
we need to take a retreat with Jesus.
But maybe weve had enough retreats with Jesus. Maybe Jesus wants
us to learn how to get things done. Further, we often come back from
such retreats with loads of new stuff to do. How do we make those things
actually happen? We need to know how to execute how to get things
done and manage ourselves. Developing a great vision for the next quarter or year or season of our lives and ministries will not help much if we
dont know how to translate that vision into action.
In fact, I would argue that this downplaying of the practical is not
only discouraging but actually an (unwitting) failure of love. Its a failure
of love because part of the biblical conception of love is giving practical
help to those who need it, and in our modern society this more and more
needs to involve concrete insight on how to get things done and stay
above water without burning out or ignoring your family.
WE NEED A CHRISTIAN APPROACH ( . . . BUT NOT LIKE THAT)
Of course, there is a right way and a wrong way to develop a Christian
approach to something. Unfortunately, Christians these days often have
a reputation for taking the wrong approach.
For example, weve all heard of the proverbial Christian painter.
Hes the guy who goes around trying to get work painting your house
not because hes a good painter, but simply because hes a Christian. He
thinks that being a Christian makes up for the fact that he doesnt do
good work.
Thats not what I mean when I say we need to take a Christian
approach to productivity!
So, if you want to get solid biblical instruction on how to get things
done and understand the things you do every day in connection with
your faith, where do you turn?
Thats why Ive written this book.
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THE AIM OF THIS BOOK

My aim in this book is to reshape the way you think about productivity
and then present a practical approach to help you become more effective
in your life with less stress and frustration, whatever you are doing.
I want to help you live the life that God has called you to live, and to
live it with maximum effectiveness and meaning. If you are an executive,
I want to help you be a better executive. If you are a homemaker, to be
a better homemaker. If you are a pastor, to be a better pastor. If you are
a creative professional, to be a better creative professional. If you are a
missionary, to be a better missionary. And if you dont know what life
God has called you to live, I want to help you find it.
Along with that, I want to equip you to do good in radical, creative
ways for the cause of missions, ending extreme poverty (it can be done!),
and bringing justice to the oppressed. To do this you dont have to move to
Africa but, because of technology, can be involved from right where you
are. I want to show you that serving God in the things you do every day and
going beyond to be engaged in Gods global purposes is the life of greatest
joy and peace not seeking personal peace, affluence, wealth, or success.
This book is also for those who do not share my faith perspective.
Since the gospel is the truth of how God reconciled us to himself, fundamental to doing anything in a gospel-driven way is doing it in a way
that builds bridges with those who do not share our faith, taking their
needs into account and writing in a way that can serve them rather than
simply writing for other Christians.
Hence, even if you are not a follower of Christ, there is much in this
book that you can benefit from. My hope is that seeing what the Scriptures have to say about a concrete subject like productivity will encourage you to consider the claims of Christ, who is at the center of this book.
But whichever way you choose, Im glad you are reading this book and
I hope you find it helpful.
WHY WE NEED TO CARE GREATLY ABOUT PERSONAL
PRODUCTIVITY
We are going to see many new reasons to care about getting things done
in this book, and a new twist on some common reasons. Here are a few
I want to highlight at the start.
1. Bad productivity approaches are annoying! People are crying
out for better approaches to getting things done. They are frustrated not
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Introduction
only with the amount they have to do and the difficulty of balancing it
all, but also with the approaches theyve been taught (or just made up) to
get their work done.
It is my contention that bad approaches and productivity systems (and
having no system is itself a system!) are one of the chief causes of our
frustration. With a bad system, its hard to get things done with a sense
of confidence, relaxed control, and purpose.
The frustration of bad productivity approaches is not a small matter
that we can just work around, for we cant run our lives without some sort
of approach to getting things done. The issue is not whether we have an
approach to personal productivity; the issue is whether our approach is a
good one or a bad one.
2. Managing ourselves well is foundational to all we do. The
importance of these things becomes even more clear when we realize
that our ability to lead, manage, spend undistracted time with friends
and family, and do everything else we do depends largely upon a skill
that goes underneath all of those things and makes them all possible the
cross-functional skill of knowing how to manage ourselves.
For example, on the work side of life, Peter Drucker points out,
Executives who do not manage themselves for effectiveness cannot possibly expect to manage their associates and subordinates.6 He then adds,
Management is largely by example. Executives who do not know how
to make themselves effective in their own job and work set the wrong
example. Likewise, Steven Hayward points out that rare is the successful leader or executive with a chaotic mind or chaotic habits. 7
We werent made to simply respond to stuff all day, but to take action
and move things forward. If we dont give attention to the discipline of
personal effectiveness but instead let the f low of events determine what
we do, we will likely fritter ourselves away doing all sorts of urgent
things that come our way while never getting to the truly important
things.
On the personal side of life, few have captured the tragic effects of
poor personal management better than Mark Schultz in his song Do
You Even Know Me Anymore? The second verse is especially poignant:
I turned around to see my son; well I remember his first birthday; now
hes twenty-one. I missed his life; I missed it all.
Thats tragic. A lot of times we blame this on misplaced priorities.
For example, lots of people like to take shots at the poor guy who spent
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Introduction
too much time at the office. But Id like to say a (partial) word in his
defense. I think one of the chief reasons some people spend too much
time at the office is actually because they dont know how to do any
different. Learning the skill of getting things done helps us avoid this
fate.
As we will see in this book, managing yourself well involves more
than just getting more done faster. It also involves knowing what the
right things to do are the realm of personal leadership. If we arent
heading in the right direction in our personal lives, we may accomplish
our goals only to find out that we were going down the wrong road the
whole time.
Mark Schultz gets at this idea in his song as well. The speaker ref lects
on how time has passed and wonders how he got where he is. Then
he says, I dreamed my dreams; I made my plans; but all I built here is
an empty man. He had his plans, but they didnt take him where he
thought.
In order to avoid the tragedy of the empty self, we need to know our
purpose and direction in life. The last thing anyone wants is to end up
having it all, only to realize they have nothing (cf. Luke 9:23 25).
3. A good productivity approach enables us to be more effective in doing good for others. As Christians, we are here to serve
(Matt. 20:25 28). When we are being productive, we are actually doing
good works, which is part of the purpose for which God created us (Eph.
2:10). A good approach to getting things done reduces the friction in
doing good and also amplifies our ability to do good. The result is that
we can be of more benefit to others with less snags, stress, and confusing
systems.
In other words, getting things done, making ideas happen, and being
productive are all ways to make a difference in peoples lives. As Christians, we ought to care about this and be excited about it, for it is not
only exciting in itself, but one of the chief ways God is glorified in our
lives.
4. Knowing how to get things done is a component of our
sanctification. Since productivity includes serving people and doing
good works, it is actually a component of sanctification and Christian
discipleship.
Growing in holiness doesnt mean running to the hills to make your
own clothes and grind your own wheat until Jesus comes, but living
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Introduction
the everyday life that is right in front of you for the glory of God.
And, interestingly, our everyday life is the arena of projects and tasks
and goals and calendars and email and meetings and strategic planning
and all of these very practical things that is, productivity. Since
our everyday lives are the arena of our sanctification, knowing how to
get things done thus puts us squarely in the realm of sanctification and
discipleship. It is therefore a critical tool for living the life God calls us
to in this current era.
5. Knowing how to get things done enables us to fulfill Gods
call to make plans for the good of others. This is one of the most
exciting reasons to me. The biblical call on our lives is not to do good
randomly and haphazardly. Rather, God calls us to be proactive in doing
good even to the point of making plans for the good of others.
For example, Isaiah 32:8 says that he who is noble plans noble things,
and on noble things he stands. We often think of doing good simply
as something we are to do when it crosses our path. But Isaiah shows
us that we are also to take initiative to conceive, plan, and then execute
endeavors for the good of others and the world. (And this requires,
of course, actually knowing how to plan and actually make our plans
happen!)
6. Knowing how to get things done is a component of a
complete worldview. When we think of a Christian worldview, we
typically think of theology and philosophy. But theology and philosophy
are not the only components to a holistic worldview, for no worldview is
complete without a perspective on how to live in the world. Thus, part
of our worldview must include the issue of how to get things done.
This includes the disciplines of personal management, personal leadership, organizational management, and leadership.
7. Managing ourselves well enables us to excel at work and
in life. As Christians we might be tempted to downplay this idea, but
it matters! Knowing how to make yourself effective will also likely
have benefits in terms of your career advancement. As time management expert Julie Morgenstern notes, Workers who can consistently
decide with clarity and ease which tasks are most important when under
pressure are the most prized in every organization. Highly focused in
pressure-cooker situations, they rise to meet the challenges of an opportunity-saturated workplace that demands tough calls at every step. Not
surprisingly, these employees are also the most calm.8
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Introduction
THE ROAD TO THIS BOOK

Ive always cared about getting things done, but I didnt always give
much thought to having a good process for getting things done. For a
while, this worked. I went through all of college and seminary without
even using a calendar, let alone a to-do list (though I did create a list of
assignments once). Yet at one point in seminary I took forty-eight hours
(sixteen classes) in a nine-month period, and one semester I completed
all of my assignments in the first six weeks so that I could have the rest
of the semester free from obligations. I used the time to work more and,
I think, to do more reading.
But then I started my first full-time job at a ministry called Desiring
God, and my first task was not so small: launch a nationwide radio program while managing the church bookstore and conference bookstores at
the same time. Shortly after that, leading the web department was added
to my plate as well.
In these circumstances, I found that my default practices for getting
things done just didnt work. If I was going to do my job well (or even
stay af loat), I realized that I had to become more deliberate about how I
got things done.
Up to that point, my focus had been learning the Bible and theology. In college I spent most of my days reading theology, talking about
it with my friends, writing articles to remember what I wrote, and
debating atheists and Jehovahs Witnesses for fun. This helped me gain
a firm theological grounding. I then went to seminary because I liked
studying the Bible, wanted to add formal study on top of all the studies I had already done on my own, and wanted to prepare for ministry.
Now I was in ministry, and I found that there had actually been a gap
in my preparation I hadnt learned about the discipline of personal
productivity.
Since I had always read a lot, I decided to find the key books on productivity and then develop an overall approach and system to keep track
of what I have to do and stay focused on what is most important.
The two linchpins of my system were David Allens Getting Things
Done and Stephen Coveys First Things First. I found that Covey was
stronger at the higher levels (mission, values, and roles), whereas Allen
was stronger at the lower levels (projects and actions). So I created an
approach that integrated the two, together with my own insights.
With this productivity approach, I was able to run those three depart24
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Introduction
ments at the same time while leading a complete redesign and reengineering of our ministry website on the basis of sound principles of
usability. The release of the new website was a turning point for our
ministry, and within four months our most important web stats nearly
quadrupled.
Learning more about productivity eventually had a surprising side
effect, however: my workload increased even more! David Allen says,
The better you get, the better youd better get and that was exactly my
experience. Being at a ministry where resources are limited and funds are
scarce, I made up for the lack not only by using the productivity methods
I had learned to work smarter but also by just plain working harder and
longer since I loved my job so much.
At one point, for example, I was regularly pulling ninety-hour weeks.
Often I pulled two all-nighters in a row; one time I even pulled three
all-nighters in a row (my personal record).
I believe there is value in working hard and in working a lot, and I
enjoyed it. But that pace was simply not sustainable. Even when I brought
my hours down, I was still relying too much on brute force and high
energy to get things done. Also, my wife and I had two young kids
by this time, and it just wasnt going to be possible to keep doing this.
I wasnt even altogether sure my life was going in the direction that I
wanted it to.
This pressed me to refine my approach to give a greater place to prioritizing an approach that focused not primarily on doing more things
in less time but rather on doing the right things in a f lexible way. It was
at this point that I also realized that I had to be more deliberate about
thinking biblically about this issue.
The pushback I had received from some in the ministry when I developed my productivity approach was discouraging, but it also helped me.
After my pastor made the unfortunate first grade comment about productivity, for example, I asked myself what he was really trying to say.
My conclusion was that what he really meant to say was simply this:
Dont leave all of your theological learning behind; make sure you think
about all of this explicitly in relation to God.
My solution was to go back and look more fully at what the Scriptures have to say about productivity and how we have to anchor our
understanding of getting things done within the full biblical vision of
the Christian life altogether. This involved looking afresh at what the
25
12/19/13 11:22 AM
Introduction
Productivity Highlights
(and Lowlights!) in My Life
I tend to overload myself, which is part of what led me to
seek a productivity approach that is both God-centered and
minimizes the friction in getting things done:
High school: Produce and star in a fifty-six-minute movie
with a friend of mine who aspires to a career in filmmaking.
It is a huge success (for our school!). As is my custom, I seek
to follow it up by making not one but two more movies at
the same time, and along with my friend who is also making another movie, for a total of three. I almost overwhelm
myself and cant run track that spring as a result, but the
movies get done.
College: Attend college on a presidential scholarship with a
full ride which, when combined with the other scholarships I
get, means I actually get paid to go to college. Spend fourteen
hours a day reading, writing, and discussing theology and
the Bible with my friends. I leave hardly any time to study for
my actual classes, but keep the scholarship with, I think, the
smallest GPA margin ever.
First job after college: Almost get fired from my first job because my desk is too neat, which probably means Im not
busy enough. A few weeks later, I actually get fired for refusing to illegally sell insurance without a license. The job
wasnt a good fit this is a blessing.
First vacation after college: At some point shortly after
college, embark on a mountain bike journey on the White
Rim Trail of the Canyonlands with one of my brothers. Its a
three-day, 100+ mile ride. Most people have someone drive
a jeep with supplies behind them. But we take all our supplies in our backpacks and hook eight gallons of water on to
each of our bikes, not realizing that each gallon weighs eight
pounds thus adding sixty-four pounds of weight. This
makes it painful and excruciating to ride up and down all the
hills. By the end of the first day, we are too exhausted to keep
going. We have to carry our bikes up a thousand-foot cliff on
26
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Introduction
a trail meant for hiking in order to get out of the canyon.

Seminary: Take sixteen classes (forty-eight hours) in a ninemonth period and do so without using a calendar or to do
lists, with the exception of a single list of all my assignments
for the second semester. In that semester, finish every assignment in the first two months.
First job after seminary: My first full-time job after seminary
is to launch a nationwide radio program while redesigning a
major website at the same time. Realize that playing it by ear
is not sufficient and decide to get a planner. At one point Im
running three departments at once and regularly working
ninety-hour weeks. Regularly pull all-nighters, at one time
pulling three in a row.
Redesign of a major ministry website: After developing my
productivity approach, launch a complete redesign of a major ministry website. Web stats almost quadruple within four
months.
Scriptures have to say not only about productivity but also about work,
justice, mercy, and love (which are far more related to productivity than
we often think).
Second, I took to the road to interview major Christian leaders on
how they got things done. (You will see highlights throughout this
book.) Third, I continued to do a lot of reading, and finally, I continued
to refine my approach based on what I had learned and through lots of
trial and error. Hence, in this book you are going to hear not just about
what works but also about some of the pitfalls and interesting mistakes I
made as I developed this approach. I hope that I can spare you some of
the difficulties I went through!
The key for me was going back to the Scriptures. It wasnt until
I more fully understood Gods purposes for our lives and how they
relate to the things we do every day that I was finally able to prioritize
more effectively, get off the hamster wheel, and feel confident that the
things I was getting done were actually the things God wanted me to
get done.
27
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Introduction
GOSPEL-DRIVEN PRODUCTIVITY
The result of my quest is what I call Gospel-Driven Productivity. (Thats just
a fancy name for what the Bible has always taught about getting things
done.) Gospel-Driven Productivity (GDP) is centered on what the Bible
has to say about getting things done while at the same time learning
from the best secular thinking out there and seeking to do this with
excellence and original thought, rather than simply taking over secular
ideas and adding out-of-context Bible verses. This is what, I believe, God
calls us to do.
The essence of GDP is this: We are to use all that we have, in all areas
of life, for the good of others, to the glory of God and that this is the
most exciting life. To be a gospel-driven Christian means to be on the
lookout to do good for others to the glory of God, in all areas of life, and
to do this with creativity and competence. Further, being gospel-driven
also means knowing how to get things done so that we can serve others
in a way that really helps, in all areas of life, without making ourselves
miserable in the process through overload, overwhelm, and hard-tokeep-up systems.
In other words, we are to put productivity practices and tools in the
ser vice of Gods purpose for us, which is that we do good for others, in
all areas of life, to his glory.
There are three preliminary things to recall before I summarize what
we will see in each part of the book:
1. This is about all areas of life. This isnt just about your work life,
though it is about that. Our personal lives should be given just
as much attention and intentionality as our work lives. This
book aims to help you in all areas of your life, because every
area of your life is a calling from God.
2. Getting things done is a slight misnomer. The reason is that God
calls us to do more than just get things done. He calls us to
build people up and do many intangibles just as much as we are
to do concrete, immediately measurable things. When I talk
about getting things done, I almost always have this wider sense
in mind.
3. The importance of structure and method. Ive read a lot of books
on productivity that have many great tips, but which I found
hard to apply because there wasnt a clear and simple way to
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Introduction
relate them together. Ive sought to avoid that here by reducing

everything to a few principles and a four-step process. This will
enable you to integrate the tips together and more easily apply
them to your situation.
Why We Need to Begin with God
Part1 shows us why its so hard to get things done, why the typical ideas
about efficiency dont work, and how the only way to be ultimately productive is to live our lives for God.
Guiding Principles for a Productive Life
What happens when we look at productivity in light of God and the
gospel? Part2 answers this question and shows how the gospel changes
the way we get things done altogether.
This section unpacks the key purposes and mindsets behind GDP.
One of the most important things we will see is that the chief guiding
principle for being productive is actually love. It may seem counterintuitive, but seeking the benefit of others before ourselves is not only what
God requires of us but also is the way to be most productive. This is
true not just in our personal lives, but also in our work lives. Generosity
is at the heart of true productivity in all areas of life. This is what the
Scriptures teach and, interestingly, what the best business thinkers are
also showing. Further, a life of doing good for others is actually the most
exciting life, for God calls us to find ways of doing good with a sense of
creativity, competence, and adventure.
We also will look at how the only way to be productive is to realize
we dont actually have to be productive (our goal is to please God, not
appease God), and how the gospel continues to give us peace of mind
even when everything is blowing up around us.
The DARE Model
Parts3 6 are the practical heart of the book. They give us the process
behind gospel-driven productivity. We will see that there are four steps
for leading and managing yourself for effectiveness: define, architect,
reduce, and execute.
1. Define. This means not only knowing where you are going, but
also knowing your criteria for deciding that altogether. This
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Introduction
is not just a matter of clarifying your values. It is a matter of

identifying the right values to have, and basing our lives our
entire lives, especially right here at the center on those values
that God and his Word lift up as central.
This brings us into the realm of mission, vision, roles, and
goals. The essence of defining can be summarized this way:
Define whats most important in your life based on what God
says, not first on what you (or others) think. This is the only
way to build a life that lasts and thus is truly productive (Matt.
7:21 27; Prov.3:5 6; 14:12).
2. Architect. Once youve identified the most important principles, goals, and ongoing priorities in your life, you cant
just leave it at that. You have to weave these things into the
structure of your life through a basic schedule, or time map,
because intentions are not enough. A bad (or nonexistent)
structure for your life will undo the best of intentions. Setting up a f lexible framework for your life also frees you to
be less dependent on lists, which was an especially welcome
benefit to me once I figured this out. The essence of the
architecture step can be summarized this way: Structure your
life by living your life mainly from a f lexible routine, not a
set of lists.
3. Reduce. After creating this structure, often youll find that making everything fit is the biggest obstacle. This doesnt necessarily mean youve architected wrong; it just means you need
to reduce. You need to know whats most important (define),
weave it into your life (architect), and then get rid of the rest
(reduce).
But you dont get rid of the rest by simply letting balls drop.
Rather, you do it by creating systems and using tactics that
ultimately expand your capacity. This brings us into the realm
of the core practices of day-to-day time management, including
delegating, eliminating, automating, and deferring (the DEAD
process we will learn), as well as how to turn time killers back
on themselves by harnessing them rather than being defeated by
them.
The essence of reducing can be summarized this way:
Reduce on the basis of whats most important, not on the basis
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Introduction
of misguided notions of living a minimalistic life, and do this

by implementing systems that enable you to ultimately expand
your capacity overall.
4. Execute. This is the stage of making things happen in the
moment. It is easy to think of execution as synonymous with
productivity, but in reality it is actually only the last step. When
you have done the previous steps (define, architect, and reduce),
the path is clear for efficient and enjoyable execution. This section will look at the best tactics for making things happen every
day.
Conveniently, these form the acronym DARE which reminds us
of the all-important guiding principle that underlies all of this, which is
that we should have a sense of adventure in doing good. That is, we should
be radical and risky and creative and abundant in using our effectiveness
to make life better for others. (And, that this is the most exciting life.)
The Results
Part7 will show us that we need to understand productivity not simply
in the sense of personal productivity but also in a broader sense seeing
it as about making our organizations, cities, and society as a whole more
productive as well. We will also see that one of the chief things we
should seek to do with our increased productivity is to take action to
help lift the poor out of poverty, because this is at the heart of the righteousness God requires.
Most of all, we will look at what the Bible teaches about the results
of GDP in the world. We will see that as we are productive in a gospelcentered way, God transforms our workplaces, communities, cities, and
the entire world for the advancement of the gospel and the good of the
world.
In other words, the ultimate result of GDP is the transformation of
the world socially, economically, and spiritually, to the glory of God. For
as we seek to do good for others to Gods glory, the light of the gospel
shines through our words and deeds. The result is the transformation of
the world. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, If only every Christian in the
Church today were living the Sermon on the Mount [which is the anchor
of GDP], the great revival for which we are praying and longing would
already have started.9
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Introduction
A WORD ON DOING THIS ALL WRONG

This book is also for screwups and failures! No gospel-centered approach
to productivity would be worth its salt if it didnt have at its root what
the gospel itself has at its root: helping imperfect people. There is a place
for mistakes, screwups, and failures here, not to mention the times when
circumstances almost inevitably create chaos and challenges in our lives
that are beyond our control.
Likewise, Im not going to promise that everything will go perfectly
for you if you simply master the things Im talking about. The mark of
a truly helpful approach to productivity and life is that it keeps you
oriented and keeps you going even when everything around you seems
to be falling apart. This is a productivity approach for imperfect people in
an imperfect world, but with a perfect God who is leading them to what
one day will be a renewed world of perfect joy, peace, and righteousness.
BEING PRODUCTIVE IN READING THIS BOOK
Last of all, let me say a word on how to use this book as productively as
possible. When a book is simply a long block of text, I find that it makes
it hard to grab quick nuggets at a glance. For some subjects, thats great
and I enjoy it. But when reading about productivity, we need our books
to give us quick access to the core insights. So thats how Ive designed
this book.
I have designed this book so you can feel productive in reading it, and
so that if you want, you can open the book to almost anywhere and find
some helpful, immediately applicable things. Thats why there are lots of
headings, call-out boxes along the way with key tips, a summary box at
the end of each chapter, and a toolkit at the very end.
So does God have anything to say about getting things done? Yes,
quite a bit. Lets take a look.
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PART 1
First
Things First
MA KI N G GOD SUPREM E IN
OU R PR ODUCTIVITY
What does it profit a man if he gains the

whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
Luke 9:25
12/19/13 11:22 AM
CHAPTER 1
Why Is It So Hard
to Get Things
Done?
How t he world of work h as c h an g e d ; an d
int roducing t h e vi l l ai n s
The knowledge worker cannot be supervised closely or in
detail. He can only be helped. But he must direct himself,
and he must direct himself toward performance and contribution, that is, effectiveness.
Peter Drucker, The Effective Executive
WHY IS IT SO HARD TO GET THINGS DONE?

A reader of my blog and a highly successful woman in the business world
recently said to me: I am so overwhelmed right now with my work. The
worst part is that I still havent found a system for managing everything
that works well for me and that Im happy with.
Another friend of mine, this time someone who works at a ministry, recently posted on Facebook: Is this for real? Im leaving the
office at a normal time!? Too bad it doesnt count when you bring
work home.
Most of us can relate. We have too much to do and not enough
time to do it. We feel overstressed, overworked, and overloaded. And
thanks to new technology and media, we have more coming at us than
we ever did before. But the problem is deeper than this. The root of the
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First Things First
challenge lies in a major shift our society has undergone in the nature
of work itself.
THE RISE OF KNOWLEDGE WORK
What Is Knowledge Work?
Until a few decades ago, we were predominantly an industrial economy.
In that era, work was clearly defined for most people. If you were a
farmer, for example, you had fields to plow, cows to milk, and equipment to fix. The work was hard and might involve long days, but (most)
tasks were generally straightforward and self-evident. (Not to mention
that you probably had someone show you the ropes before you took over
full responsibility.)
With the shift to a knowledge economy, the nature of work has
changed. Unlike in the industrial era, in which tasks were generally selfevident, the essence of knowledge work is that you not only have to do
the work but also have to define what the work is.
For example, if you are painting your house (a form of manual labor),
you can see right away where to brush next. But when you get a hundred emails a day (a form of knowledge work), most of which do a pretty
poor job of getting to the point, the next actions dont usually come to
you predefined. You have to figure out what to do with each email, then
figure out how to fit that in with all the rest of your work that you have
had (or have yet) to define.
Most of us havent paid sufficient attention to the skill of defining our
work clearly. This is why it so often feels like our workdays never stop.
When you dont have your work clearly defined, there can never be any
finish point.
Knowledge Work
Knowledge work is a term coined by Peter Drucker, which
means work that consists primarily of creating, using, and
communicating knowledge, as opposed to manual labor. Any
work whose focus consists of generating ideas, communicating, and leading (which includes your personal life and family) is knowledge work.
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WHAT'S BEST NEXT

the world forward.
work.
Buy Now
Why Is It So Hard to Get Things Done?

What Is Unique about Knowledge Work?
Knowledge work is about creating and utilizing knowledge, but it is
more than that. For when your work consists in creating and using
knowledge, there is an important consequence: by definition, it must be
primarily self-directed.
Peter Drucker points this out well: The knowledge worker cannot
be supervised closely or in detail. He can only be helped. But he must
direct himself, and he must direct himself toward performance and contribution, that is, effectiveness.1
The freedom this gives us is a fantastic thing. But there is also a
challenge.
What Is Challenging about Knowledge Work?
Some people think that knowing how to get things done is obvious
that it just comes naturally to people and that therefore we dont need to
spend much time on it.
But thats not the case. In more than fifty years of consulting, Peter
Drucker pointed out that he never found a natural, someone who is
instinctively effective. Every effective person he encountered and as
perhaps the greatest consultant and business thinker of the twentieth
century, thats a lot had to work at becoming effective.
Brilliant insight, hard work, and good intentions are not enough.
Effectiveness is a distinct skill that must be learned. Some people are more
inclined to it than others, and everyone is naturally built to be capable
of effectiveness, but effectiveness is something we learn like reading.2
Drucker says it well: To be reasonably effective it is not enough for the
individual to be intelligent, to work hard or to be knowledgeable. Effectiveness is something separate, something different.3
Scott Belsky, founder of Behance (whose mission is to organize the
creative world) and author of Making Ideas Happen, makes the same
point. Belskys focus has been the creative world (also a form of knowledge work), where there is often a notion that if you have a great idea,
it will naturally turn into reality. In contrast, Belsky writes, Ideas dont
happen because they are great or by accident. The misconception that
great ideas inevitably lead to success has prevailed for too long. . . . Creative people are known for winging it: improvising and acting on intuition is, in some way, the haloed essence of what we do and who we
are. However, when we closely analyze how the most successful and
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First Things First
productive creatives, entrepreneurs, and business people truly make ideas

happen, it turns out that having the idea is just a small part of the process, perhaps only 1percent of the journey.4
Belsky adds later, The ideas that move industries forward are not the
result of tremendous creative insight but rather of masterful stewardship.5
So it takes more than just enthusiasm, great ideas, native talent, and
hard work to get things done. It takes a method.
THE VILLAIN OF AMBIGUITY
Ambiguity in Defining Our Work
Knowledge work therefore brings us face to face with the first villain in
this story: ambiguity. Ambiguity is not necessarily a villain in itself. It
is a good thing that knowledge work has at its essence creating clarity
out of ambiguity and making good decisions (i.e., determining whats
best next). But when we dont know how to do knowledge work, ambiguity becomes a villain because it ends up frustrating us, making life
harder, and sometimes defeating us. Its like jumping in the pool without
knowing how to swim. Jobs today are not as clear as they were in the
industrial era, yet we havent been taught the skills of navigating this
context, learning how to define our work, and managing ourselves for
effectiveness.
Further, the most effective knowledge era strategies dont drop from
heaven fully defined. We have to figure them out and that happens by
trial and error. As a society, we are still figuring out the best practices
for navigating knowledge work which means we encounter a lot that
dont work and many problems along the way.
There are other factors as well:
We change jobs more frequently.
We have more nonroutine tasks than ever before.
Many in highly specialized vocations, such as doctors, engineers,
web developers, business analysts, pastors, and so forth, are taught
in great detail how to do the activities of their job itself (thankfully!), but they arent taught much about the process for managing
their work, managing others, and leading others.
So with the shift from the industrial era to the knowledge era, we
now need to decide more than ever what to do, when to do it, and how
to do it.
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12/19/13 11:22 AM

Ambiguity in Defining the Direction of Our Lives
The issue of ambiguity doesnt simply affect us at the level of defining
our work; it also affects us at the level of defining the direction of our
lives. Our current era is unlike any in history. We have more choices
and opportunities before us regarding what to do with our lives than
we can even comprehend. Many of us (myself included) have found it
hard to know what to do with our lives. And when weve sought out
guidance on how to navigate that territory, there hasnt been much to
find.
Many are still on that journey, trying to figure it out as they go. That
can work, but its a tough road. Others are blowing it altogether. Too
many Christians in their twenties are living in their parents basements
playing video games. That aside, too many people at all stages of life are
unclear on what they should be doing. We need to know how to make
good choices at this level without expecting to have a map that tells us
every detail. This is also part of what it means to manage ourselves, and
part of what we will cover later in the book.
THE RISE OF MASS CONNECTIVITY

The rise of knowledge work has happened over the last sixty or so years.
We have experienced an even greater revolution over the past fifteen
years or so: the rise of mass connectivity. Distance is no longer the barrier
it once was. As Tim Sanders has put it, it used to be that relationships
were for the most part geo-bound, and only a handful of people comprised your entire business network.6 Today, our networks run into the
hundreds and thousands, and we can connect with people all over the
world through email, Facebook, Twitter, and more.
And we can do this no matter what we are doing. We can be in the
back yard camping, on a run (my least favorite time to receive calls), or
in a meeting. We can even text internationally. When I was in China
recently, it almost felt like I was hardly gone because I could stay in
instant communication with my wife through texting (though, unfortunately, I racked up a pretty high bill).
The proliferation of technology has not only increased our daily
load of information; it has astronomically increased the rate of change
in society and in the world of work altogether. As Tim Sanders notes,
before the information revolution, business changed gradually and business models became antiquated even more slowly. The value progression
39
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First Things First
evolved over decades and double decades. You could go to college, get an
M.B.A. and work for forty years, and your pure on-the-job knowledge
stayed relevant. 7
Today, however, our skills become outdated more quickly (except
for the macro, cross-functional skill of getting things done!). We not only
need to keep up with all the information coming our way on a day-today basis, but we also need to keep our skills and knowledge up to date
with the massive changes that are rapidly occurring at the level of work
and society.
This is a fantastic thing and has implications for how we do everything. It has also resulted in a whole lot more to manage which leads
to the second villain.
THE VILLAIN OF OVERLOAD
Just as something good (the rise of knowledge work) brought us head-tohead with the first villain, so also the rise of mass connectivity, though an
excellent thing, brings us head-to-head with a second villain: overload.
Massive overload.
In 2008, the web contained one trillion pages. That has risen at
an exponential rate, such that in 2013 the quantity of information on
the internet began doubling every seventy-two hours. Every seventytwo hours every three days the amount of information online
doubles.
In 2010, 95 trillion emails were sent (about 260 billion per day). That
averages to about 153 emails per user per day (there were about 1.86 billion internet users at the beginning of 2010). Currently 92 million tweets
are posted per day and 2.5 billion photos are uploaded to Facebook every
day.
This amount of information is overwhelming not simply at an
aggregate level but at an individual level (I think most of those 95 trillion
emails came to my inbox). We are all feeling this. It is almost impossible
to keep up.
How do we make good decisions in the midst of this overload? And
how do we keep this overload from sinking us? We cant just f loat along,
like a ship without a rudder, expecting things to go well. We need to
take initiative and learn how to navigate this and get things done in spite
of the obstacles.
40
12/19/13 11:22 AM
WE NEED TO LEARN HOW TO WORK

Heres the bottom line: We are using industrial era tactics for knowledge
era work. And that doesnt work.
We need to give more focused attention to learning how to work.
Not just the specific content of our jobs but the overarching, crossfunctional skill of how to get things done in general what David Allen
calls high performance workf low management.8 This can make getting things done more relaxed, simple, and possible.
In other words, there are actually two components to doing our work.
There are the job skills themselves creating financial statements, writing
web content, preaching sermons, leading meetings, and so forth and
then there is the process of how to do work in general.
Weve done pretty well as a society at learning how to do the content
of our jobs. But we havent been so great at learning the overarching
process of how to manage our work: how to keep track of what we have
to do, make decisions about whats best to do next, keep from overcommitting ourselves, and do all of this in the midst of seventy-five emails,
twelve phone calls, and eighteen interruptions a day.
In past eras, this wouldnt have been such a big deal. But today it is
because of the rise of knowledge work and the consequent ambiguity,
coupled with the overload that comes from mass connectivity.
EFFECTIVENESS CAN BE LEARNED
I mentioned earlier that effectiveness must be learned. Heres the good
news: Drucker found that everyone who worked at becoming effective
succeeded. And thats what Belsky found as well. Effectiveness has to be
learned and, fortunately, can be learned.
If we are going to learn effectiveness, we need to do it right. Many
people make a wrong turn here, however. In the next chapter, well learn
what the answer is not.
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First Things First
The Box
Core Point
The reason its so hard to get things done is that we have
transitioned as a society from an industrial economy to a
knowledge economy, but we havent updated our strategies
and tactics to align with the nature of knowledge work. The
result is that we are unprepared to meet the challenges of
ambiguity and overload.
Core Quote
When we closely analyze how the most successful and productive creatives, entrepreneurs, and business people truly
make ideas happen, it turns out that having the idea is
just a small part of the process, perhaps only one percent of
the journey.
Scott Belsky, Making Ideas Happen
Further Resources
David Allen, A New Practice for a New Reality, chapter
one in Getting Things Done
Peter Drucker, Effectiveness Can be Learned, chapter
one in The Effective Executive
Immediate Application
Do you know what your job is? Whether you are a student, in
the workforce, or a stay-at-home mom, give thought to identifying the primary purpose of your work, then write it down.
42
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This book is simply extraordinary. I doubt there is a person on the planet

who knows both theological issues and time-management literature to
the depth and extent Matt Perman does.
John Piper, former Pastor for Preaching and Vision,
Bethlehem Baptist Church; author, Dont Waste Your Life
This amazing volume offers a wealth of practical, real-world productivity
solutions, all framed within the context of the gospel. Matt provides the
know-how and the know-who we need to be faithful stewards over the
gifts we have been given.
Michael Hyatt New York Times bestselling author; MichaelHyatt.com
A refreshing, lively, remarkably insightful, deeply God-centered approach
to productivity. Everyone from any walk of life who reads this book will
be helped and encouraged by it.
Wayne Grudem, Research Professor of Theology and Biblical
Studies, Phoenix Seminary; author, The Poverty of Nations
The question isnt, What do I want to do for God? but, What does God
want me to do? This book provides the framework for getting more done
and making a bigger difference in your work.
Mark Sanborn, author, The Fred Factor and
You Dont Need a Title to Be a Leader
This book is the fruit of experience as well as insight drawn from Scripture and common sensewithout doing injustice to either. There is a
lot of wisdom here.
Michael Horton, Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics,
Westminster Seminary California; author, The Gospel-Driven Life
You will fi nd in these pages a unique and remarkable combination of
theological insight, biblical instruction, and practical counsel that will
change the world if put into practice. I cannot recommend it more highly.
Justin Taylor, Managing Editor, ESV Study Bible;
blogger, Between Two Worlds
A Christian companion to Getting Things Done.
Hugh Whelchel, Executive Director, Institute for Faith, Work
and Economics; author, How Then Should We Work?
12/19/13 11:22 AM
Love your neighbor at work! This book shows you not only why you
need to do this but also how. No matter who you are or what your work
is, this is a reliable, exciting, and encouraging guidebook on getting
things done, from a God-centered perspective.
Brad Lomenick, President, Catalyst; author, The Catalyst Leader
This book is an engaging, motivating, and exciting vision for your work
and the things you do every day, right along with helpful, clear, and
practical instruction on how to become more effective with less stress.
Want to be more productive for the glory of God? Read Whats Best
Next.
Ed Stetzer, President, LifeWay Research; author,
Lost and Found; www.edstetzer.com
Matt Perman approaches the task [of being productive at working] not
only from his personal experience but from a Christian worldview. Follow his model to align what you do with Gods purpose in your life
and in particular in your work.
B. Joseph PineII, coauthor, The Experience
Economy and Infinite Possibility
What makes this book stand out is the way Matt Perman integrates all of
this down-to-earth advice with the doctrine of vocationhow the gospel of Christ bears fruit in love and service to God and to our neighbors
in every facet of lifea truth that animates every page.
Gene Edward Veith, Professor of Literature, and Provost
of Patrick Henry College; author, God at Work
Plain and simple: learning to effectively manage your time and tasks is
one of the most practical and tangible ways you can love your neighbors,
coworkers, family members, and the world at large. No one has articulated this better than Matt Perman in this unique book.
Matt Heerema, owner and director, Mere Design Agency;
Pastor, Stonebrook Community Church
12/19/13 11:22 AM
No man has a right to be idle. . . . [W]here is it that in

such a world as this, health, and leisure, and affluence
may not find some ignorance to instruct, some wrong to
redress, some want to supply, some misery to alleviate?
William Wilberforce, A Practical View of
Christianity
Let your light shine before others, so that they may see
your good works and give glory to your Father who is
in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we
should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as
wise, making the best use of the time, because the days
are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand
what the will of the Lord is.
Ephesians 5:15 17
Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in
all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all
the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as
you ever can.
John Wesley
12/19/13 11:22 AM
Contents
Foreword by John Piper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Preface: Busting the Twelve Myths about What It Means to
Get Things Done . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
INTRODUCTION
Why We Need a Uniquely Christian View on Productivity. . . . . . . . 17
Part 1
First Things First:
Making God Supreme in Our Productivity
1. WHY IS IT SO HARD TO GET THINGS DONE? . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Introducing the villains
2. WHY EFFICIENCY IS NOT THE ANSWER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Putting effectiveness over efficiency
3. WHY WE NEED TO BE GOD-CENTERED IN OUR
PRODUCTIVITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
How seeking to be productive without God is the most
unproductive thing in the world
4. DOES GOD CARE ABOUT GETTING THINGS DONE? . . . . . . 61
Why knowing how to get things done is essential to
Christian discipleship
Part 2
Gospel-Driven Productivity:
A New Way to Look at Getting Things Done
5. WHY THE THINGS YOU DO EVERY DAY MATTER . . . . . . . . . 73
Productivity is really about getting good works done
12/19/13 11:22 AM
6. PUT OTHERS FIRST: LOVE AS THE GUIDING

PRINCIPLE FOR ALL OF LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
The gospel calls us to put others before ourselves; this is not only right but
also the way to be most productive
7. HOW THE GOSPEL MAKES US PRODUCTIVE . . . . . . . . . . 103
The only way to be productive is to realize you dont have to be productive
8. PEACE OF MIND WITHOUT HAVING EVERYTHING
UNDER CONTROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Dont turn productivity into a new law: productivity
and Philippians4
9. THE ROLE OF PRAYER AND SCRIPTURE IN
OUR PRODUCTIVITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
God-centered character as the foundation of all productivity
10. THE CORE PRINCIPLE FOR MAKING YOURSELF
EFFECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Know whats most important and put it first
Part 3
Define: Know Whats Most Important
11. WHATS YOUR MISSION? HOW NOT TO WASTE
YOUR LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Setting a God-centered direction for your life
12. FINDING YOUR LIFE CALLING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Discovering why you are here, and how vision differs from mission
13. CLARIFYING YOUR ROLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Our roles are not simply areas of responsibility, but callings from God
Part 4
Architect: Create a Flexible Structure
14. SETTING UP YOUR WEEK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
The (almost) missing component in GTD
15. CREATING THE RIGHT ROUTINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
The six routines you need to have
12/19/13 11:22 AM
Part 5
Reduce: Free Up Your Time for Whats Most Important
16. THE PROBLEM WITH FULL SYSTEM UTILIZATION. . . . . . 223
Avoiding the ringing effect and why you need to reduce
17. THE ART OF MAKING TIME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Delegating, eliminating, automating, and deferring in the right way
18. HARNESSING THE TIME KILLERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Harnessing multitasking, interruptions, and procrastination
Part 6
Execute: Do Whats Most Important
19. WEEKLY PLANNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
If you can do only one thing, this is it
20. MANAGING EMAIL AND WORKFLOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
The five steps for processing your work
21. MANAGING PROJECTS AND ACTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
How to connect your actions to your life so they actually get done
22. DAILY EXECUTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Nine principles for making things happen every day
Part 7
Living This Out
23. PRODUCTIVITY IN ORGANIZATIONS AND SOCIETY . . . . . 301
Why we must care about productivity in all of life
24. THE GREATEST CAUSE IN THE WORLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Productivity, world missions, and how our faith relates to our work
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Toolkit
Recap: Whats Best Next in 500 Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Knowing Whats Best Next: The Easy Reference Guide . . . . . . . . 331
Recommended Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
The Online Toolkit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
12/19/13 11:22 AM
Learn More and Pass This On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
12/19/13 11:22 AM
WHAT'S BEST NEXT

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What is the main thesis of the book?

What is the main thesis of the book?

How does the author define productivity?

How does the author define productivity?

WHAT'S BEST NEXT

How The Gospel Transforms The Way

secular person, consider that Rick Warrens multi-million-copy-selling

DO YOU UNDERSTAND PRODUCTIVITY in the right way? This book

THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT GETTING THINGS DONE and making ideas

THE AIM OF THIS BOOK

THE ROAD TO THIS BOOK

a trail meant for hiking in order to get out of the canyon.

relate them together. Ive sought to avoid that here by reducing

is not just a matter of clarifying your values. It is a matter of

of misguided notions of living a minimalistic life, and do this

A WORD ON DOING THIS ALL WRONG

What does it profit a man if he gains the

WHY IS IT SO HARD TO GET THINGS DONE?

First Things First

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Why Is It So Hard to Get Things Done?

First Things First

productive creatives, entrepreneurs, and business people truly make ideas

Why Is It So Hard to Get Things Done?

THE RISE OF MASS CONNECTIVITY

First Things First

Why Is It So Hard to Get Things Done?

WE NEED TO LEARN HOW TO WORK

First Things First

This book is simply extraordinary. I doubt there is a person on the planet

No man has a right to be idle. . . . [W]here is it that in

6. PUT OTHERS FIRST: LOVE AS THE GUIDING

Learn More and Pass This On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

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