As we think about goals and priorities for the new year, we are frequently reminded of how often we have failed to reach our goals of previous years. Apparently only 8% of people who make New Year’s resolutions successfully accomplish their resolutions.
In our mission organization, we are asking all of our members to put together an Individual Growth Plan for 2015. Being intentional about and planning our learning is important. People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions. But planning is only the first step. Unless we carry out the plan, we are no further ahead at the end of next year.
How do we make sure that we get the most important things done? How do we prevent our lives being crowded out by the tyranny of the urgent, leaving our good intentions and learning plans just gathering dust in our file cabinets?
To deal with this very real problem, I recommend a relatively new book (published March 2014) by Matt Perman on personal productivity – What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done. In contrast to many other books that seek to help you organize your life, Perman recognizes that God must determine our priorities and the purpose of our lives is not to make our lives comfortable and wealthy, but rather to bring glory to God and serve others in love. As Matt’s blog says,
“Unique to any other book about maximizing personal productivity, What’s Best Next is a God-centered, gospel-oriented perspective that addresses the proper motivation to drive your productivity — serving others, to the glory of God.”
In the book itself, Matt says, “This is a book about getting things done and making ideas happen, with less friction and frustration, from a biblical perspective.”
But I think John Piper says it even better:
