Tim Challies - Do More Better: A Practical Guide to Productivity

Do More Better

Tim Challies

Cruciform Press | December 2015

Dedicated to Paul Martin,

the best kind of friend.

2015 by Tim Challies. All rights reserved.

AUTHOR

Tim Challies is a Christian, a husband to Aileen, and a father to three children aged 9 to 15. He is a book reviewer for WORLD magazine, a co-founder of Cruciform Press, and has written several books including The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment and Sexual Detox . He worships and serves as a pastor at Grace Fellowship Church in Toronto, Ontario and writes daily at www.challies.com.

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Do More Better: A Practical Guide to Productivity

Print / PDF ISBN: 978-1-941114-17-9
ePub ISBN : 978-1-941114-19-3
Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-941114-18-6

Published by Cruciform Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Copyright 2015 by Tim Challies. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from: The Holy Bible: English Standard Version , Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Italics or bold text within Scripture quotations indicates emphasis added.

Table of Contents

Introduction

I believe this book can improve your life. This is a bold claim, I know, but the book would not be worth my time writing, or your time reading, if I did not believe it. I wrote this because I want you to do more better and because I believe you can. That is true whether you are a professional or a student, a pastor or a plumber, a work-from-home dad or a stay-at-home mom.

I dont want you to do more stuff or take on more projects or complete more tasks. Not necessarily. I dont want you to work longer hours or spend less time with your family and friends. I want you to do more good. I want you to do more of what matters most, and I want you to do it better. Thats what I want for myself as well.

I wonder if you know that uncomfortable feeling that you are being neglectful toward at least some of lifes responsibilities. I know it well. I recently caught an old episode of The Ed Sullivan Show and watched a plate spinner performing his act. He got the first plate spinning well, then moved on to a second and a third and a fourth and on down the line. Then he glanced over at the first and saw that it was just beginning to wobble. No sooner did he fix that one, then he had to dash back to the second, and back and forth and around in circles, all the while keeping a dozen plates spinning without crashing to the ground. Do you know that feeling in your life?

It does not have to be that way. It should not be that way. Youeven you!can live a calm and orderly life, sure of your responsibilities and confident in your progress. You can lay your head on your pillow at night and rest easy.

Thousands of years ago a man named Solomon, king of Israel, wrote these words:

It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep. (Psalm 127:2)

Even this king who ruled an entire nation, managed inconceivable wealth, and led spectacular building projects was able to free himself from stress and anxiety, to rest from his work, and to enjoy sweet slumber. So why do we find it so difficult with our little lives?

Over the years I have invested a lot of effort in understanding productivity and the skill of getting things done. I love to make the best use of my time and energy, and I am constantly fine-tuning the ideas, tools, and systems that help me to remain that way. From time to time I even get to teach these things to other people and to help them do more better. It is always a thrill to see them getting it and living it.

In this little book I will share some of what I have learned along the way because I believe it can help you learn more than you know now about living a productive life. That is not to say I have mastered it all. I am still learning and making small tweaks as I go. But I can say with confidence that what I will teach you really does work. It has brought order to my chaos and direction to my meandering. It has worked for many others as well.

The best way I know to teach these principles is to open up my life and to let you in a little bit. I will show you what I have learned, how I use my tools, how I build my systems, how I get stuff done. I think you will get the best value from this book if you read, observe, and imitateat least at first. Then, as time goes on, you will inevitably adapt those tips you find especially helpful and discard the ones you do not. If I can spur your thinking so that you can do more better, I will consider this book a great success.

And now, to work!

One

Know Your Purpose

You may be reading this book because your life feels chaotic and you long to introduce some kind of order. You may be reading this book because you have taken on far too much and are looking for advice on what to prioritize. You may be reading it because you are always on the lookout for another tip or trick that can increase your efficiency just a little bit. Those are all good reasons and, no matter which of them fits you, I think you will find something here that can help.

But before we can get to the really practical stuff, you and I have a little bit of work to do. Even if you find yourself tempted to skip this chapter, I would ask you to resist that temptation. A small investment of time and attention right now will help build a foundation for all that will follow. If you skip ahead to chapter 5 or 6 and get right to the good stuff, you may be proving that you are looking for quick fixes rather than lasting change.

So stick with me as we do some important work in the chapter ahead.

The Foundation

No one has ever accused me of being handy. I can handle the very basicshanging pictures or putting a coat of paint on the wallsbut I am completely dependent upon my father-in-law or contractors to do much more than that. When I hear my friends talking about taping drywall, tinkering with pipes and wires, or installing doorways, I just slowly back away from the conversation. I know when Im out of my league.

I havent ever peered inside the walls of my home, but I know that if I did I would find beams and posts and pillars. And if I went downstairs to the basement and pulled off the drywall there, I would find a foundation. These are the elements that hold up my house and hold it together. The house cannot be stronger than these elements. What follows in this chapter is the foundation of productivity. Productivitytrue productivitywill never be better or stronger than the foundation you build it upon. So lets make sure we are building upon a strong foundation.