Review: Do More Better

Productivity is effectively stewarding my gifts, talents, time, energy, and enthusiasm for the good of others and the glory of God.

This concise book starts with a clear theology of work, and then (borrowing heavily from other books on productivity) boils the topic down to some essential practices. This is a good thing: there is no need to reinvent the wheel, just to re-examine through a biblical worldview.

I like that Challies starts by discussing through the lens of stewardship. Challies argues that is not enough for the Christian to do the right things, we must do them for the right reason… the glory of God.

He resets our worldview of productivity in the light of Genesis 3: we are hindered by laziness and busyness within and thorns and thistles without.

He then guides the reader through a stripped-back GTD setup, focusing on crafted mission statements for each of our varied roles.

Challies does present a wonderful perspective on execution: that we should live coram deo:

to live coram deo is to live once’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.

This idea is like the "Greatness in the moment" concept from 12 Week Year, but with a biblical bent.

He reset my ideas on interruptions with this great quote from C.S. Lewis:

the great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s “own,” or “real” life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life – the life God is sending day by day; what one calls one’s “real life” is a phantom of one’s own imagination.

To measure how you are doing in review use the “serve and surprise” paradigm. Serve, and you’ll succeed. Surprise and you’ll excel. Ask yourself this question for each area.

Do More Better didn't contribute much to my tactical knowledge of productivity, but it did redeem and recalibrate my strategy. My action items:

• Add prayer to daily plan and review
• Contemplate productivity "coram deo".
• Add “How can I serve and surprise?” to my questions for weekly planning for each area.
• Write mission statements for each area of life.

I believe this would be a good book for someone wanting to get to the core of "how can I get organized?" or a producivity-minded believer who wants to recenter on the reason we work in the first place.