This book is a little dated with app recommendations but it has some good information. The list of 20 tips at the end was the most helpful to me. ( )

Quick and simple book to help you reclaim your time and be more productive. ( )

Unexpectedly, this book was different than all the other productivity tools and tricks and tips out there. The books starts with a grand focus and dials inward: what is your purpose in the world? To whom are you responsible, and for what? What are the consistent requirements of those responsibilities? *Now* how do your tasks fall into those categories?
It's really helpful. The writing style is gentle and encourages you that failure is ok. Trying is better than winning. ( )

Challies delivers on his goal of presenting a short, fast-paced, practical guide to productivity. I was pleasantly surprised at the theology supporting his productivity goals along with such fresh, relevant, and applicable productivity tips. Some productivity books major on philosophy, while others emphasize strategy; Challies brings both. And while many productivity books have been written from the ranks of the experts, Challies claims no such status, while expertly delivering the goods. He doesn't drag along his points, but writes clearly and helpfully. I think my own tools and systems will largely look more "Challiesian" in the future. I'm eager to try out the task managing app, todoist and clarifying my various roles and responsibilities in order to do more better for the good of others.

There were a few one liners worth mentioning here.
You do not exist to get things done. You exist to glorify God (10).
Do theologically informed planning, or the urgent will trump the important (92).
"Sinful men and women that we are, we may subtly assume that our top priorities should be those tasks that make us feel good about ourselves instead of actually doing good for others" (93).

Overall, it bordered on 5 stars. I wish Challies could have expanded more on the idea that not only time, but energy are commodities and do not come in unlimited supply. We must make daily choices as to what we will engage in because both time and energy are limited. This point was consistently well scored in regards to time, but I really hoped he would also expand on it in regards to energy. Additionally, the catechism of knowing why you exist at the start proved very helpful. This foundation for productivity is essential and Challies got the discussion off to a great start. It was off to such a great start, I wish he would have continued along this line of thinking for a few more chapters. Though very minor, perhaps some attention could have been given to our utter dependency on Christ for everything, for we alone can do nothing apart from him (John 15:5). There are more than a few great saints that knew nothing of a productivity system, but accomplished great things and did the work of ten men, all by the strength and energy of Christ powerfully working within (Col. 1:29). He empowers our productive aims! This book is well worth the read. ( )

I read this as part of an online productivity course I just completed. Challies has a really good foundational philosophy of productivity and some good suggestions for organizational tools, but I can't go all-in with his system.

The rub is this: to get the most out of his system, you pretty much need to use the tools he suggests, and 2 of the 3 (Evernote and Todoist) require subscription fees to get the most out of them. I've been a paid Evernote-plus subscriber for a few years, and I think it's an amazing app, but right now I don't feel like adding another annual subscription based productivity app. The free version of Todoist doesn't seem to cut it, so I'm substituting Google Keep for task management purposes. So I'm adapting some of the author's organizational system to work with the tools I've chosen, making it my own.

Software nitpicking aside, it's a decent, fast read, and there are some good ideas here. ( )