efficiency | Craig T. Owens

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Redeeming Productivity (book review)

September 25, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

The other day someone messaged me on LinkedIn to ask about any projects I had in the works. After I got done rattling off several things on which I’m working, he asked, “How did you find the time to get so much done?” I love being productive, and Regan Rose’s book Redeeming Productivity is a huge help.

I need to start off by stating that getting a lot done is not the same thing as getting the right things done right. My podcast cohost Greg and I recently talked about how too many “To Do” items can negatively impact a leader’s effectiveness.

Redeeming Productivity is written from a biblical worldview. I really resonated with Reagan’s focus on why Christians should be productive, more so than an emphasis on what things should we be accomplishing. The “what to do” is as important as the “how to do them.” But neither of those are as important as the “why do we do what we do.”

Reagan unpacks some powerful strategies for effectiveness and efficiency, but what I really appreciated were the principles he shared on why we are to be effective—diving deep into what the Bible say about this important topic. The subtitle of his book is: “Getting more done for the glory of God.”

So whether you are wanting to make some changes to your productivity, or you desire to improve the current systems you already have in place, I would highly recommend Redeeming Productivity to you. The Bible calls on Christians to work at all we do with excellence, and this book will help you do just that.

(Check out The Craig and Greg Show where we discuss efficient quantity and effective quality.)

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Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: book review, Christianity, effectiveness, efficiency, God's glory, productivity, to do lists. Leave a Comment »

Links & Quotes

June 17, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

“People in the unbelieving world have witnessed a good bit of hypocrisy, shallowness, disingenuousness, dishonesty, and corruption among the members of the Church. Many of them have installed a spam filter on their brains which automatically blocks anyone calling himself a Christian as having anything meaningful or significant to say. The only way to remove that filter is through a credible life of goodness, sincerity, and love. … Our credible lives, by themselves, won’t lead anyone to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. For this, we must be bold to make God’s Good News known, and to make it make sense.” —T.M. Moore

“God is a mountain spring, not a watering trough. A mountain spring is self-replenishing. It constantly overflows and supplies others. But a watering trough needs to be filled with a pump or bucket brigade. If you want to glorify the worth of a watering trough you work hard to keep it full and useful. But if you want to glorify the worth of a spring you do it by getting down on your hands and knees and drinking to your heart’s satisfaction, until you have the refreshment and strength to go back down in the valley and tell people what you’ve found. My hope as a desperate sinner hangs on this biblical truth: that God is the kind of God Who will be pleased with the one thing I have to offer—my thirst. That is why the sovereign freedom and self-sufficiency of God are so precious to me: they are the foundation of my hope that God is delighted not by the resourcefulness of bucket brigades, but by the bending down of broken sinners to drink at the fountain of grace.” —John Piper

Pornography destroys lives! Here are 5 ways porn devastates lives.

In his battle against pornography and gluttony, Jimmy Needham wrote, “Real freedom came for me when I began, by God’s grace, to see that my cravings were for more than just food or sex. All my appetites were, at root, for an all-satisfying God.” Read more in his post Our Odyssey Against Sexual Temptation.

“If America is to survive, we must elect…individuals who will seek Divine guidance in the affairs of state.” —Billy Graham

“God commands you to choose for rulers, just men who will rule in the fear of God. The preservation of a republican government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty; if the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted.” —Noah Webster

[VIDEO] John Maxwell shares one of my favorite anecdotes to make a good point about efficiency—

https://youtu.be/g_oY7ZJ51tY

Efficient, Friendly Or Both

March 18, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

It was interesting going with Betsy to her eye doctor appointment. The office was big, modern-looking and filled with patients.

As we walked in, we were immediately directed to the line in which we were to check-in. Betsy filled out her forms and turned them in to the front desk staff. They were very efficient, but not so friendly.

As Betsy moved through the process of her appointment, we noticed that most of the efficient people were also the most friendly-deficient people. Until the doctor walked in: Immediately we had BOTH friendly AND efficient.

When we got ready to check out, the lobby was virtually empty. Now the front desk staff were much more friendly, but they were also less efficient and more error-prone than when we arrived.

So I wonder: What does it take to be BOTH efficient AND friendly? Is it only one or the other?

If I had to choose one way, I’d take friendly over efficient every time. Friendly AND efficient is even better.

I know I have a tendency to be very efficient, which makes me wonder, “Am I friendly-deficient in my efficiency? Or am I efficiency-deficient in my friendliness?”

Always remember: Both-AND > Either-Or.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Both-And, efficiency, Either-Or, friendly, relationships. Leave a Comment »

Managing “To Do” Lists

June 1, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

I’ll bet many of you have your “To Do” lists ready to go this week. I’ve got my list ready. But even as I was working on my list last night I knew that I probably wouldn’t be able to get everything done that I’m hoping to get done. Do you ever feel like that?

So how do you respond? Just doggedly press through no matter what? Let off the gas a little because you know it’s not all going to get done anyhow? Or just scrap the list and fly by the seat of your pants?

Here are 4 things I’ve learned (and I’m still learning) that might help you:

Begin the day with prayer. The Bible says that the steps of the righteous are directed by God. He knows what’s in store for you today and He can help guide you in your list-making time.
Know the difference between important and urgent. The urgent things always scream at you, while the important things usually stand by silently. Focus on what’s important. And here’s one key guideline: People are important.
Don’t try to get it all done today. I love John Maxwell’s reminder, “We overestimate what we can do in a day; we underestimate what we can do in a year.” If I only get time to read one chapter a day in a book, that’s still 365 chapters at the end of the year, and that’s quite a few books! It’s good to take a long-range view.
Look for the small time-wasters. If you just track one week’s time usage in 15-minute increments, you’ll be amazed to find out where a few minutes here and a few minutes there add up to a whole lot of time at the end of each week.

I’m still learning this stuff. If you have some tips or strategies that work for you, I’d love to hear them. Please share in the comment section.