Every Day Matters

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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I should begin by stating upfront that my take on this book is very different than the other Christian Productivity book I read back in 2015. It's entirely possible that this makes me a hypocrite. I don't think so, but I'm not going to go back and re-read the other one. I remember the starting point of that one being different than this, and it makes all the difference to me.

* N.B.: Crowe cites it positively at one point. Do with that what you will.

In Part I, Crowe outlines the need for believers to think about their personal productivity. Then he uses Proverbs and Ecclesiastes to show the foundation of Biblical productivity. Then he further expands on that material by looking at Paul's teaching about focus, diligence, and self-control. This was my favorite section, and I could've easily read something twice as long had Crowe decided to expand on these points.

Part II focuses on Principles. He builds on the Biblical material with a mixture of experience, research into productivity, and application of Christian teaching to help the reader concentrate on responsibility, goal setting, the role of family, the importance of rest and health.

The rubber meets the road in Part III, “Practices.” He discusses spiritual disciplines, organization methods and some pitfalls to avoid. He gives a lot of tips here, illustrated from his own experience (but he also discusses some things he doesn't personally use). There's a lot of “this worked for me, give it a shot” kind of writing here. There's also a handy little appendix on the strategic use of email.

I think Crowe's use of both the Wisdom Literature and Pauline texts are incredibly helpful; his principles section demonstrates both wisdom and insight; and his application his helpful. Best of all is the general approach, essentially: This is what I've learned, you should be able to learn something from it. The important thing is that you think about this kind of thing and find the most effective way for you to serve God and your fellow man (starting with your family). It's not a one-size-fits-all approach.

That's exactly the kind of thing I needed to read.

Sure, it's “only” a 3 1/2 Star book. I know some people see that as a bad thing. The majority of what I read and like is 3 Star. But I'm not the kind of guy who is ever going to give more than that to a productivity book (unless it really makes me laugh or something—it'll be the writing, not the method that wins me over). I liked this, it provoked some thought and reflection and I've applied some of what Crowe has said—and am looking for ways to do more of that. I think that says good things about the book.