I was excited to hear Matt Perman was releasing a new book entitled How to Get Unstuck.

I’m a huge fan of Perman’s – I enjoyed his first book and have had the chance to speak with him on my podcast. There aren’t many people who write on productivity from a specifically Christian perspective, so naturally we were kindred spirits.

So when I had the opportunity to get an advance review copy of How to Get Unstuck, of course I was going to jump on that!

All Encompassing

Perman had a challenge before him when he sat down to write What’s Best Next and How to Get Unstuck. How in the world do you possibly fit into a book everything you want to say?

When we speak of productivity, time management, personal effectiveness – whatever words you want to use – we are essentially speaking about managing our lives. This encompasses everything from the high-level vision casting to the low-level tactical task management.

In this pursuit, we have to confront fears and idols. We deal with problems like procrastination or distraction. We prioritize and delegate. We define our missions and manage our email.

The scope can enlarge beyond the individual to the effectiveness of a business, church, or family. And the specifics will vary tremendously between a CEO, student, mechanic, missionary, and stay-at-home mother.

On top of all that, we don’t merely pursue a secular definition of effectiveness. How should scripture inform the way we think about and manage our time and lives?

It’s not problematic to write a short blog post on a small, isolated slice of this subject. But how do you begin to address this in some logical and wrapped-up fashion in a book? You could write 1,000 pages and you’d just be scratching the surface.

The Beginning of a Journey

I could feel this tension in How to Get Unstuck. Where to start? What to include? What to leave out?

And with this difficulty, I feel that Perman did an admirable job. At the end of every chapter, I had the feeling that Perman left much unsaid and would love to continue for another few hundred pages if he could. Yet a reader would walk away from the book with a good sense of the core of what Perman wanted to communicate – and what the next steps were to get unstuck.

The foundational core of the book is addressing the three key causes of getting stuck: a lack of vision, a lack of execution, and a lack of perseverance through obstacles. Perman spends a great deal of time on the proper attitude and mindset behind personal effectiveness before moving down to the level of execution and then addressing common hang-ups.

So a lot of areas are touched on, such as:

• Urgency and importance
• Character
• Vision and mission
• Preparation
• Effective learning and speed reading
• Tracking your time
• Focus and deep work
• Organized workspaces
• Priorities
• Rest and renewal
• Perseverance and discipline

Instead of going deep on any individual aspect, Perman chose to move through the menu and offer a few select morsels. There’s a sense in which reading How to Get Unstuck is like trying to drink from the firehose.

But I feel that Perman embraces this in How to Get Unstuck and turns it into a strength. Each chapter ends with a summary of core points, some action steps, and a generous selection of further reading to investigate. It’s almost as if Perman acknowledges the width and breadth of what he’s trying to cover and is inviting you to continue the journey.

Wisdom from Other Sources

This journey through the expansive subject of personal effectiveness is one Perman has obviously travelled for a long time. How to Get Unstuck is packed to the brim with quotes and perspectives from historical figures, business experts, and modern researchers.

And appropriately, undergirding the book and present throughout is scripture and its relevance on getting unstuck. Perman does not merely echo the secular world but provides a truly biblical perspective on doing good in the world.

Impact

I will confess that because How to Get Unstuck tried to cover such a wide variety of material, there were many spots where I just breezed through and nodded my head.

But then I will also confess there were certain points where I felt deeply convicted. There were passages where I had to put down the book and do a little thinking. Many pages were refreshers, but a few pages had the potential to change my life.

And I think that is to be expected with Perman’s approach. Undoubtedly the parts I flew through will make an impact on someone else. The parts that cut me to the bone won’t hit someone else.

Sentences

John Piper once said, “It is sentences that change my life, not books.” How to Get Unstuck is full of those sentences.

I can enthusiastically recommend How to Get Unstuck. Get ready to drink from the fire hose, but get ready to think. I hope you find your sentences. And my hope is this book changes your life.

Get the Book and Special Bonuses

Head on over to www.howtogetunstuckbook.com to find out more about ordering. It’s available on Amazon and tons of other major booksellers. And if you purchase within the next few days, you can get some great pre-order bonuses. I made sure to pre-order to grab them – so head on over and do the same!

The post How to Get Unstuck – Matt Perman’s New Book first appeared on Life of a Steward.

I’m thankful that scripture records for us the events in Gethsemane. We see Christ in sorrow and pain, praying and crying.

Every word of the gospels inspires us with Jesus’s strength and holiness. But these precious moments of despair show us that temptation is not the same as sin, that fatigue is not the same as surrender.

This scene of Christ’s struggle shows us it’s alright for us to struggle. And this shows us how to pursue discipline in a Christ-like way.

An Act of Discipline

Let’s remember that the cross was not something Christ was forced into. He laid it down of his own accord (John 10:18). In fact, you could say that the journey to the cross was a massive act of discipline – of self-control – because Christ endured the cross for the joy set before him (Hebrews 12:2).

Christ focused on the end result rather than the present pain. When the whips striped his back and the nails pierced his hands, he stayed on the path of pursuing the long-term why behind what he was doing.

Strengthened by an Angel

Yet in Gethsemane, Christ battled with temptation.

His discipline did not result in a peace-filled frolic. Christ sweated drops like blood and prayed that this cup would be removed from him. And at this moment of greatest struggle, Jesus was strengthened by an angel (Luke 22:42-44).

This captivated me recently. How would an angel strengthen Christ?

I don’t believe this to be some sort of supernatural transfer of energy. I believe that Christ was strengthened the same way we would be strengthened – by recalling and dwelling on truth. By remembering God’s promises. The angel ministering to him might have simply just been encouraging him by repeating the truths Christ knew.

Needy on the Hard Path

If the most disciplined man who ever lived was still in anguish as he walked the path to future joy, how much more should we not be surprised when the path of self control is bitter in the present?

If the most perfect man who ever lived was strengthened by an angel, how much more do we need to be strengthened by remembering God’s promises as we pursue the right path?

Gethsemane shows us that even when we know the right path to walk, that doesn’t make it easy. Trusting in God doesn’t mean that all of life is a blissful casual stroll through whatever comes our way.

Part of discipline is being wise enough to realize our need for encouragement and dependent enough to pray for it.

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Have you ever been challenged about how much time you spend at work instead of with your family? How much time you spend caring for your kids instead of loving your spouse?

Have you felt guilty about how little time you spend serving? Or in community with friends? Or evangelizing? Or caring for the poor? Or exercising? Or reading?

It’s quite convicting to think of all that we’re not doing well – it seems like so much, right? We feel the tug to just…be… a little… bit… better.

We want a balanced life. But in this pursuit, we’re often forgetting the most important step – the hardest step.

A Little More…

You may have heard the story about a wealthy man who was asked how much money was enough. He replied, “Just a little bit more.” Although the story is probably fictional, it’s a great reminder about our heart’s desire for more, more, more.

We always want to have more. We feel like we should always be doing more.

Think about your family – I bet you feel like you should be doing more.
Think about work – I bet you feel like you should be doing more.
Think about service or ministry or exercise or sleep or spiritual growth – I bet you feel like you should be doing more.

If we zero in on just one single area of our life, we will set ourselves up for failure.

You will want to give more. Do more. Sacrifice more.

Common Sense

But here’s the deal – and this is just common sense – our time is a zero-sum game. Spending more time in one area means less time spent somewhere else.

I feel almost silly typing this because it’s so obvious.

But do you live like this? Have you taken this obvious common sense and applied it to your life?

When you think of an area of your life and feel the pull to spend more time there, can you speak this common sense back to your sense of guilt? Can you tell yourself that saying yes in one place is saying no somewhere else?

If this is such an obvious truth, why aren’t we effortlessly living totally balanced lives?

Know the Judge

Remembering this zero-sum aspect of our time gives us a great deal of responsibility and burden – because what we do matters. But it also gives us some freedom to say no.

The hardest part of that?

Knowing who the judge is.

That’s the key we are often missing.

Look, I love my six-year-old. But if it were up to him I would spend all my waking hours playing board games with him. And sure your boss may talk about a family-friendly environment, but the promotion goes to the guy who put in the extra hours at the office.

If I ask an area of my life how much time it wants, the answer is always more.

“Hey marriage, how much time do you want?”
More.
“Hey exercise, what about you?”
More.
“Ok, what about you, spending time with community?”
More.

Letting the various areas of life pull you in every direction is a recipe for frustration.

Dependence and Wisdom

The good news is that on that final day, I won’t stand in judgment before my six-year old or my boss or my own desire to spend time here or there.

I’ll stand before God.

So he’s the judge.

He’s the one who decides where I spend my time.
What I say “yes” to and what I say “no” to.
How much time I spend on my marriage. On my family. On my work.

Through dependence on him and a search for his wisdom, I can turn to these various areas of my life and tell them that I am not following their way – I am following God.

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The post The Time Demands to Listen to and the Ones to Ignore first appeared on Life of a Steward.

A warning from J.C. Ryle in Thoughts for Young Men:

Tomorrow is the devil’s day, but today is God’s. Satan cares not how spiritual your intentions may be, and how holy your resolutions, if only they are fixed for tomorrow. Oh, give not place to the devil in this matter! Answer him, “No, Satan! It shall be today, today.”

Great Intentions

When Ryle wrote this, he was urging young men towards repentance, salvation, and devotion to God.

But his words can be an equally strong warning to any believer in any pursuit.

It doesn’t matter the worthiness of your goal, the sincerity of your intentions, or the power of your desires. If you seem to always be intent on starting tomorrow, take a second to reflect.

Our cunning opponent doesn’t have to disable us by brute force. He doesn’t need to strike us hard enough to render us incapable of doing anything. He just has to tempt us to delay and delay and delay some more.

Great intentions give us something to cling to. We point to our plans and convince ourselves: We’re OK. We’re good people. Really, we are. We’re just busy.

But God is calling us to action. Today. For his sake and yours, don’t delay.

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When the Bible speaks of the second coming of Christ, we’re not just told that it will happen – but we’re told how we are to respond right now because of it.

For Christians, the second coming brings us hope.

Not a cross-your-fingers hope. Or a warm, gushy feeling hope.

The second coming of Christ creates an active hope.

Told to Hope

1 Peter 1:13 tells us to “set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

In Hebrews 9:28, we’re told Christ will appear a second time to “save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”

In 2 Timothy 4:8, Paul speaks of the crown of righteousness he will receive – along with “all who have loved [Christ’s] appearing.”

But this hope is best shown in Titus 2. We clearly see “our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” is tied in with living “self-controlled, upright, and godly lives” and that we are to be a people “who are zealous for good works.”

Why Are You Just Looking Up?

As Christ ascended into heaven and the disciples stood there gazing upward, they were told by two angels, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?”

Don’t just stand there. Christ will return – right now, weren’t you given a commission? Get to work!

How to Wait on the Master

The many stewardship parables often depict Christ as a master who will go away and then return. How are the stewards to behave while the master is away?

They are to be busy with the master’s work.

In the Parable of the Minas (Luke 19), the servants are told by the master, “Engage in business until I come.” The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25) commends the stewards who work and condemns the wicked servant who was slothful.

Jesus himself in Luke 12 tells us to “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning” as we wait for the master’s return. Yet when he explains the parable, here’s how Jesus clarifies what it means to wait:

“Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.”

Let Us Wait By Working

The key to being a good steward is to always carry out the master’s will. The good steward works in such a way that the master would approve if he were standing right there in the room watching.

So hope in Christ’s return. Be ready and waiting… by getting busy with the master’s work right now.

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We all look forward to rest.

We count down the days until vacation as we picture ourselves relaxing. We can’t wait until the weekend when we get some time off to decompress.

But then that day off comes… and the truth is it didn’t work out like we envisioned. There was that laundry to take care of or that creaky door to repair or that reading we have to catch up on or that last minute preparation for our presentation.

Our to-do lists are just as long as ever, and we feel overwhelmed. Maybe we take a day off and feel stressed the entire time as our tasks loom unfinished in the background. Maybe we give in and work anyway, feeling exhausted and looking forward now to the next day off – the time when we’ll really get to rest.

We like the idea of resting. But the practice is different… not nearly as soothing.

Why does rest not feel restful?

For Our Good

We know that rest should be something that we enjoy as Christians. After all, it was created for our good. God rested himself on the seventh day of creation as a model to us.

Christ affirms that the Sabbath was created for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). And although we as New Testament Christians relate differently now to the Old Covenant laws of Sabbath, the principle stands: God’s idea of rest is something for our benefit instead of a burden.

I’d Feel Better If…

But rest can feel like a burden when it keeps us from tackling our to-do lists. We have that impending sense that we should be working on something else.

There’s that stress in the back of our mind that keeps us from fully relaxing. We think to ourselves, “Honestly, I’d just feel better if I worked on ____.” It’s tough to try and rest with that pressure still weighing us down.

But guess what? You’ll never be free of that pressure.

There will always be something more you can do. There will always be that stress. Even with 100 hours in a day, you’d still have no shortage of things you could do – obligations and stresses that have you feeling burdened.

If you need to get done with your to-do list in order to enjoy rest then you’ll never enjoy rest.

Obedience

Consider this: rest is an act of obedience.

All throughout scripture, God ordered his people to take a Sabbath to rest. This commandment is a repeated theme throughout the Old Testament.

In the New Testament, Christ tells his disciples to rest (Mark 6:31).

Dependence

Why would anyone choose not to rest?

Why would the Israelites struggle with obeying the Sabbath when it was relaxing, it was for their good, and it was commanded of them?

Because we want to work in order to accomplish. We feel the self-sufficient drive to do more, to be more, to strive more.

Rest requires us to trust God and to be dependent. We must trust that he’ll provide for us with the six days that we do work.

Choose to Rest

Here’s the solution to our conundrum: Rest often requires discipline.

Often, it requires intention and an act of the will.

We have to admit to ourselves that we don’t feel like resting. We feel like working.

But we choose to hit the pause button, to relax, to read, to pray, to think, to get refreshed, and to bring him glory. This doesn’t happen because we get to the end of our to-do list, and this doesn’t happen by accident.

Learn to take time off even with the pressure of unfinished work. Depend on Christ to give you the strength to deal with your fears. Cast that anxiety on him (1 Peter 5:7)… and choose to rest.

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As the years have gone on, I’ve tried a variety of time management systems and have a big collection of tricks I’ve used.

You want to know what I’ve found to often be the best method for me?

The one that’s new.

User Interaction

A time management system has a crucial ingredient that many forget about: the user.

First, the best time management method in the world is useless if you don’t actually follow it. But there’s more to this than just compliance. Success isn’t as black-and-white as “Did you use the system?”

Did you enjoy it?

Did the system inspire you? Were the tricks fun? Did you work effectively without it feeling like drudgery? Do you believe in the system and its effectiveness? Are you convinced that it’s worth still doing?

Novel Solutions

A new way of working often fits this bill.

It can be exciting for some people to try a novel approach. There’s hope that maybe some new tricks will be real winners. You smile with a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day seeing how the new methods worked.

And eventually that feeling wanes over time. The novelty wears off. The allure fades.

That’s OK. Don’t feel bad about trying something else. Have fun with it and enjoy the novelty of another method.

A Few Personal Examples

There was a time when I loved the Prayer Test whenever I felt like taking a break. Many days I’ve benefitted from an incredibly detailed plan. But I don’t do either of those right now.

I’m using a kitchen timer as I write this post now, but I’ve only recently started that back up. I was just thinking the other day that, due to the nature of what I’m working on now, it’d be a good idea to start switching tasks and maybe even annoying myself again.

So give it a shot. Try something new.

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I was listening to a podcast the other day on the drastic changes coming our way over the next few decades as technology advances. It will be unimaginable.

The podcast hosts were so excited as they saw tremendous potential; they were optimistic about the fate of the human race.

But in some ways I wasn’t so convinced.

The Tension

To be sure, our productivity in some sense has increased dramatically due to technology. Standards of living have increased over the last few decades. And there was a time when it was unthinkable that I would take one day to travel to Mongolia for a missions trip or be able to publish my thoughts on time stewardship for the world to see in a matter of minutes.

But you probably feel the tension too. There’s a little bit of dread as we think about the future.

Cell phones, email, and now smart phones: these held the promise of creating more free time for us. Instead they’ve sucked up time and weighed us down even more.

Limited

Despite any objective measurement of increased productivity, we feel more frustrated. We feel more rushed.

The problem is that technology increases our ability, so we feel like we SHOULD be able to do so much more. Our expectations of ourselves clash with the reality of what we actually do.

Regardless of technology, we’re still created beings with limited time. And as created, finite beings, we will always have this struggle.

Perspective Shift

I don’t think God wants us to feel this frustration. I believe he wants us to rest peacefully in him, trusting him and accepting our created nature and limited resources.

But that might be the direction of another post. For this one, I want to ask this question: should we really be so focused on our feelings? What if part of the solution to this issue was to shift our attention away from our own frustrations and instead to place our thoughts on those outside of us?

What if we were bold enough to evaluate our productivity SOLELY on how we loved others and advanced the kingdom – rather than our own sense of peace at night?

“Help me to place myself always under they guiding and guardian care… to deem it an honour to be employed by thee as an instrument in they hands, ready to seize every opportunity of usefulness, and willing to offer all my talents to they service.”
– Puritan prayer

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When we see our time management through the lens of scripture, we realize that we’ve got the Holy Spirit to empower us.

Imagine the good that could come in our life through the Spirit’s power. Imagine the Holy Spirit’s activity doing away with procrastination, overcommitment, sloth, frantic busyness, misplaced priorities, and guilt from wasted time.

What a breath of fresh air that would be.

But perhaps some of the reasons you’re frustrated with your time stewardship is because you’re trying to use God instead of allowing him to use you.

The Misguided Magician

Why would we want the Spirit’s activity in our life anyway?

Is it because you want help dealing with your issues? You feel inadequate and you want to do better?

In Forgotten God, Francis Chan points out the problem with that:

“Do you want to experience more of the Holy Spirit merely for your own benefit? When the answer is yes, then we are no different from Simon the magician, who tried to buy the Holy Spirit’s power from the apostles.”

Leading

The Holy Spirit is not some electric force that we harness. He’s God in us, working to achieve his purposes in our lives.

We are to be led by the Spirit, not the other way around.

So take a moment and think: Why do you really want the Spirit’s activity in how you manage your time?

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Have you ever read a stewardship parable (like the Parable of the Minas) and it made you feel guilty? Instead of identifying with the good stewards, you found yourself having more in common with the bad ones – you know, the ones that were called wicked and were punished severely.

Sometimes the bar can just seem so high. And we fail again and again. And again. And again.

We’re stressed. We’re worried. We’re proud. We’re self-sufficient. We’re lazy. We’re too busy.

And we may start to think we’ll never change. What’s the point in trying?

You Must Believe

It’s important to believe that change is possible.

If you believe that you can’t change, you won’t truly be capable of putting in the effort needed. When the going gets tough, you’ll act in a way that’s consistent with your deep-down belief.

Instead of prayer and striving, you’ll throw up your hands and quit.

Change Is Possible

And we can absolutely believe that change is possible – because that’s the truth. Change is possible with God.

In Matthew 19, Jesus was commenting on a rich man whose abundant resources caused temptations. Temptations to be prideful. Self-sufficient. In love with the world.

But Jesus also told us that fighting off this temptation was possible… with God: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

In Genesis 18, the Lord promised a child for Abraham, remarking “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

If God took a self-righteous murderer and turned him into an apostle and evangelist, he can change us as well.

Faith

Looking at your problems and fatalistically giving in is not a comment on your strength. It’s a comment on what you think about God’s strength.

You can never count yourself out. You can never count others out.

Change is possible because God is God.

So let that drive you to prayer, dependence, effort… and to change.

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