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“How do we get unstuck? Personal effectiveness.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 54). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

Matt says, “God calls us to always be ‘abounding in the work of the Lord.’… that is a type of being unstuck. How are we doing with that? How can we abound in the work of the Lord more fully?

“Central to abounding in the work of the Lord is not simply devotional fervency, but also productive skill. Skill in being able to get things done, achieve goals, and make ideas happen. After all, isn’t that what Paul is exhorting us to do? He is calling us to accomplish work, and these are the very things that work involves. They are an essential part of work. And note: Paul isn’t exhorting us just to try; we are actually to accomplish the work we are called to do. That requires knowing how to work, which is the skill of personal effectiveness. When used in a God-centered way, it is central to how we get unstuck.”

So, what is personal effectiveness?

Matt continues, “Here’s a good summary: personal effectiveness is the skill of leading yourself every day to get the right things done in the right way, for the right reason, and in the shortest possible amount of time. We could say it’s knowing how to get things done, make ideas happen, and do great work. It’s the skill that goes underneath everything else you do and enables you to do it. It’s how you figure out what your mission is, stay on track with your mission, manage your tasks, schedule your activities, keep your stuff organized, and assess problems (such as procrastination and distraction) to find ways around them.”

He goes on, “You could call it time management if you want, but it is really about much more than managing your time. Personal effectiveness goes beyond time management. Personal effectiveness includes time management, but the time management has to be based in vision and purpose and principles for our entire lives. In fact, if we conceive of time management apart from the other aspects of personal effectiveness, we will likely end up mismanaging our time.

“We can go further and say that being unstuck is about extraordinary achievement. It is really the science of attaining extraordinary results. It is about excellence, high performance, and flourishing. The greatest writers on effectiveness, from Jim Collins to Stephen Covey, will tell you they are actually writing about unleashing human potential and achieving extraordinary results. This is also one reason why personal effectiveness is central to getting unstuck, for being unstuck is, stated positively, about being personally effective. It is about unleashing extraordinary achievement, excellence, and flourishing.”

And that is what God wants and what we want, isn’t it? 

Yes, yes!
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