What has the gospel got to do with productivity? They seem like separate issues from different worlds. The gospel matters on Sunday but when I arrive at work on Monday morning, productivity is the thing that counts. In What’s Best Next: How the gospel transforms the way you get things done, Matt Perman shows not just how the two are linked, but how they are inseparable. This theological and practical book will change the way you look at your to-do list.
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"Sometimes we have the notion that people who care about getting things done need to be ultra-organized, rigidly scheduled, and inflexible. 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."
"We become most productive by putting others first, not ourselves"Click to Tweet this
"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"
"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)."
"One of the best places for efficiency is being efficient with things so that you can be effective with people."
"If you get everything you want in this life, but do it apart from God and receive no eternal value from what you’ve done, have you been productive? Not in the slightest. Productivity cannot be accomplished apart from Christ"
"The activities of our everyday lives are not separate from the good works that God has called us to. They are themselves part of the good works that God created us for"
"put the other person first, and be on the lookout for ways to do this. In other words, generosity is to be the guiding principle for our lives. This is both the right thing to do and the way to be most productive. It is the surprising, counterintuitive key to productivity. Success in business and life does not come from crushing the weak, doing as little as you can get away with, and trying to get every dime you can out of people. It comes from the opposite: helping the weak, going the extra mile, and putting others first."
"the reason doctrine causes — not merely enables but causes — good works and moral reform is because doctrine creates joy. This joy makes us want to do good. It makes us eager to pursue holiness and the welfare of our neighbor and the world."
"Our aim in delegating is not simply to make our own lives better and free up our time. It is also to build up the other person"
"See your day in terms of people and relationships first, not tasks. Creating connections and interacting with people make up the most important parts of your work. Tasks matter and are important and fun, but tasks have to take a back seat to people."
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