Carey Nieuwhof, At Your Best: How to Get Time, Energy, and Priorities Working in Your Favor (aff). Colorado Springs: Waterbrook, 2021. 210 pages.
Carey Nieuwhof is a leadership expert and former pastor based north of Toronto, Canada. I have been binging his writings lately, because I have found him to have much practical wisdom and insight into the art of leadership.
I found this book interesting. He promotes several things I also teach, and he made some great “Tweetable” statements. He also taught some things I have learned intuitively but had never labelled. He personally suffered from burnout fifteen years before he wrote the book, and he realized he had to change how he led (15). He recognized that many people are headed toward burnout or feel frustrated because they never have time to do all they want. He wrote this book to help people maximize their energy and time so they accomplish the most important things and have margin to enjoy their life.
Nieuwhof makes several statements with which I can identify. He confesses, “I spent the first decade of my time in leadership convincing myself that I was just in a busy period” (11). I can certainly relate. I told my wife for the first thirty years of our marriage that as soon as life slowed down, we could finally do a bunch of things we had always wanted to do. He notes, “If your busy season has no ending it’s not a season—it’s your life” (11).
Interestingly, Nieuwhof suggests we must not only manage our time but also our energy (15). Doing so requires more than a vacation or a sabbatical leave. He observes, “Time off won’t heal you when the problem is how you spend your time” (23). He suggests, “A sustainable pace is the solution for an unsustainable pace” (24).
One of his great takeaways is that not all the hours in the day are of equal value (25). He claims that “I only have three to five hours a day when I am at my best” (60). He suggests that our energy and focus wanes throughout the day. The quality of our work at the end of the day may be far inferior to what it was at the beginning. The key, therefore, is to do our most important work when we are at our best.
Nieuwhof suggests that we have three zones each day. Our Green Zone is when we are at our best. We have the most energy, focus, and creativity. This stage may last between three and five hours. Our Yellow Zone is when we can still be productive, but we are not functioning at our peak. Our Red Zone is when we are tired and struggle to focus. Nieuwhof suggests, “When it comes to time, you and I are rich” (45). He claims we all have enough time to do what is most important. The key is to do our most important work when we are the most productive. He also suggests moving less critical work to time zones when we don’t have to be at our best.
Nieuwhof suggests that we have more control over our time than we might imagine. I frequently remind CEOs that they are the boss. They can control their schedule for the most part. But even those who work for a boss generally have a great deal of discretionary time. Likewise, most managers are willing to make adjustments if it allows their staff to be more productive. Nieuwhof suggests that when you identify your gifting, passion, and impact, you know what to do in your Green Zone (86). He does acknowledge that you must temper your expectations depending on your season of life (103). If you have small children, your Green Zone time may need to be used mostly for them.
Nieuwhof offers practical advice for handling people and activities that can eat up a great deal of our productive time if we’re not careful. He warns that the “wrong” things will always clamor for our attention (118). He also notes that it generally takes 25 minutes to refocus after we have been interrupted (134). We need to develop strategies so we can do our most important work in our Green Zone.
Nieuwhof comments, “The quality of your work is determined by the quality of your thinking. And high-quality thinking is incompatible with constant output” (141). He also examines whether “morning people” have an advantage over “night people” (142). He believes they do!
He notes that the key is not simply to add more activities into your schedule. What matters is doing the most important things at your peak times. I believe that also addresses burnout. When you spend your best waking hours doing what brings the most results and energizes you, you are far less likely to burn out.
I enjoyed this book. It’s an easy read. Nieuwhof has an engaging, authentic style. He offers practical advice that most leaders could benefit from. This book made me want to read another one. I highly recommend you read this book too!
Rating: 4
