What's Best Next

How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done

By: Matt Perman

Narrated by: Matthew Perman

Do work that matters. Productivity isn't just about getting more things done. It's about getting the right things done - the things that count, make a difference, and move the world forward. In our current era of massive overload, this is harder than ever before. So how do you get more of the right things done without confusing mere activity for actual productivity? When we take God's purposes into account, a revolutionary insight emerges. Surprisingly, we see that the way to be productive is to put others first - to make the welfare of other people our motive and criteria in determining what to do (what's best next).

As both the scriptures and the best business thinkers show, generosity is the key to unlocking our productivity. It is also the key to finding meaning and fulfillment in our work. What’s Best Nextoffers a practical approach for improving your productivity in all areas of life. It will help you better understand:

• Why good works are not just rare and special things like going to africa, but anything you do in faith even tying your shoes
• How to create a mission statement for your life that actually works
• How to delegate to people in a way that actually empowers them
• How to overcome time killers like procrastination, interruptions, and multitasking by turning them around and making them work for you
• How to process workflow efficiently and get your email inbox to zero every day
• How your work and life can transform the world socially, economically, and spiritually, and connect to god's global purposes

By anchoring your understanding of productivity in God's purposes and plan, What’s Best Nextwill give you a practical approach for increasing your effectiveness in everything you do.

©2014 Zondervan (P)2014 Zondervan

Feeling inspired

Thank you, Matt. After reading (listening to) your book, I feel a renewed desire to use my time well — for the benefit of my family, my employees, and the world God has put me in. I have a paperback copy of your book, too, that I look forward to digging in deeper and putting some of these strategies and tactics into practice.

Best book on applying the Gospel to getting things done!

This is an encyclopedia of information on applying the Gospel to getting things done. It is a manual and a reference guide written to be read, studied, referenced and applied. Couldn’t recommend it more highly for anyone who wants to connect their daily life to God’s purposes and have a greater impact for the Kingdom.

Head and shoulders above secular productivity books

Matt Perman's approach differs so much from other productivity authors in his view of Why we should aspire to be productive; namely for the glory of God and the good of others. This should be especially important for the Christian. While benefiting from his practical advice, I found the most helpful things to be the big picture undergirding it all. You feel caught up in a much bigger story than simply "Be productive so that you feel good about yourself, become successful, and have free time to do what you want," (which is essentially how other productivity gurus attempt to motivate you). Highly recommend this book!

So Wonderful

I love this book! It is so enriching to hear such depth of wisdom about productivity from a godly perspective. Thank you Matt for such a wonderful resource. Praise God for your work!

A must read for all believers, especially pastors!

An unexpected jewel!

I read this book the first time out of a need to be more organized, but it gripped me with conviction and encouraged me with the gospel to be a more productive servant with the time that God has given me. I revisit it frequently! It's at the top of the list of books I refer to pastors.

Powerful organizational time saving take aways

Matthew Perman adds clarity to well known principles that act like multipliers to your personal effectiveness. He not only adds clarity in determining direction effectively but in an almost casual way adds statements about time saving techniques that if applied become highly effective.

Christian Productivity

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

What's Best Next is very detailed and well thought-out. The author is very passionate about the subject and I appreciate the way he keeps a biblical perspective to productivity. There were some good ideas in the book and I'll be going back through it to help me remember some of them.

Any additional comments?

I do wish the author hadn't read so many of the footnotes. Many were references to blog post he had written. They distracted from the flow of the audio book and were impossible to reconnect to the actual comments when he read them at the end of the chapter. I found myself using the chapter guide to simply skip to the next chapter, but that was a challenge while driving.

One of the best books I've read!

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to improve their productivity. It's one of the best books I've read!

Powerful

I would recommend purchasing a hard copy of this book. there is so much detail that is missed when listening. Content of the Book is incredible and a great value to any believer.

Necessary reading for every Christian

This book should be necessary reading for every Christian (“necessary” used loosely, as the Gospel is the only necessary thing for Christians). I bought the print book just to go through it again more closely. I think the book could have a greater impact if someone else read it, though. Perman sometimes struggled to read slowly enough and with proper cadence, which made it difficult to follow and engage. I would definitely buy it again if someone else read it, and I’m going to pray about teaching a class on his “GDP” method at church.