Why character is at the root of true productivity

Matt Perman March 28, 2019

my saved content

VIEW AS
A PDF

Central to good time management is doing what is important, not merely what is urgent. 

Yet, how do you know what is important? Importance is something even deeper than your own goals. Important things are things that align with correct principles and God’s truth.

And that takes us to the heart of why character is essential to productivity, for principles bring us into the realm of character. There are two sources for knowing correct principles. 

First, the Scriptures: “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!” (Psalm 119:1). 

And second, we have the capacity to discern correct principles through our conscience, which is directly informed by our understanding of the Scriptures. We have an inner compass that enables us to detect what right principles are.

The way to put first things first is to build this inner compass—that is, our character—so that we are able to discern what right principles are and desire to follow them. Character enables us to see and understand correct principles so that we can base our lives and decisions on them. That is why character is central to true productivity.

We then can articulate our mission and values flowing from those correct principles, and our personal vision can become an accurate way of identifying what is important. This is at the heart of time management and why productivity is rooted first in character, not techniques, for it is character that enables us to discern what is important and use the techniques well.

Excerpted fromHow to Get Unstuck: Breaking Free from Barriers to Your Productivity, by Matt Perman (Zondervan 2018). 

Photo source: istock 

my saved content

VIEW AS
A PDF

Matt Perman is the director of career development at The King’s College and co-founder of What’s Best Next, which aims to empower Christians to be more effective in all areas of life. Perman is also author of the best-selling book What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done and a frequent speaker on leadership, productivity and theology from a gospel-centered perspective. He lives in New York City.

• Want an “A” team? Start with your “B” players (by Christian Muntean)
• Why people don't respond when you talk to them (by Carey Nieuwhof)
• How to combine passion and discipline for leadership impact (by Scott Cochrane)
• Selfish leadership (by Richard Blackaby)

Free eBook

Steps to Launching Your Personal Workplace Ministry

Have you ever felt the pull to full-time ministry work as a missionary or pastor? If not, you can still make a Kingdom impact without quitting your current job. In this eBook, you will learn the four essentials that can change your perspective of work, your workplace, and most importantly, your heart.

Download Now