Every Day Matters

Reading the title of Brandon Crowe’s little book, Every Day Matters, might leave one wondering its emphasis. Is he suggesting that every day counts, is important, and makes a difference? Or is the focus on every day, as opposed to say, every year? Or is the book about stuff—matters—that require daily attention.

Actually, the answer is yes.

Subtitled “A Biblical Approach to Productivity,” Every Day Matters argues that a productive life will be lived one day at a time, with essential activities carried out daily.

If you’ve read my earlier musings on this general topic (Decide, Do More Better, and Your Best Year Ever), you might get the impression I’m a bit of a junkie for the genre. Not really. I just know myself well enough; I need frequent reminders and encouragement to do the stuff—the everyday matters—that truly matter. Over the years, I have read several of these kinds of books and have found some help in each.

Several nice features about Every Day Matters are helpful. First, it’s short, a mere 135 pages, including a five-page appendix. And the appendix itself—“How to Handle Email”—offers feature number two. I don’t think I read anything new, but Crowe distills several great ideas to provide a structure for dealing with an ever-growing problem in the digital age.

It’s also helpful that the author approaches his subject from a biblical perspective. You’ll find many of EDM’s ideas in secular works on the subject, but grounding them in biblical principle adds weight and significance to their “mattering.”

I also appreciated Crowe’s concise writing. The 130 pages of primary content are divided into twelve chapters and a one-page conclusion, so averaging about eleven pages per chapter. His style is crisp and to the point, and each chapter is suitably subdivided, making for an easy read. My approach was to read one chapter in a sitting, then chew on it awhile.

His opening chapter, “Why You Need This Book,” helps orient our thinking. First, Crowe suggests, we need the book because, in this hectic, complicated world, we need a plan for daily living, and he offers competent counsel for developing a workable one. Secondly, we “need to connect productivity, life, and Scripture” together. Finally, he makes the case that the overarching need is to love God and our neighbor. “Biblical productivity must be guided by the two great commands….” Often, books in this genre tend to focus on productivity as it relates to oneself. EDM shifts our focus on being productive as good stewards of God’s gifts and as good neighbors to others.

Also in this opening chapter, Dr. Crowe admits his title is “a double entendre, which can be taken two ways:

• Every day matters in the sense that each day is significant.
• Everyday matters in the sense that the daily things you do (that is the seemingly inconsequential matters of daily life) are who you really are. Additionally, the results of what you choose to do on a daily basis add up of the long haul either to help you reach your goals, or to keep you from reaching your goals.”

The next two chapters provide the biblical foundation for everything else to follow. Chapter 3 discusses guiding texts on the subject from the wisdom books of the Bible, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. Chapter 4 offers the Apostle Paul’s insights, gleaned from his letters in the New Testament.

Chapters 4-9 comprise Part Two of the book and focus on principles of productivity as they apply in various ways. The author summarizes the section:

In this section, you will find discussions of the need to identify and prioritize your areas of responsibility (ch. 4), the importance of setting goals and how to meet them (ch. 5), the need for intentional and consistent routines (ch. 6), and the role of the family (ch. 7).

He also discusses “the benefits of rest and refreshment as they relate to getting things done (ch. 8), and the relationship of maintaining health and energy to maximize productivity (ch. 9).

I do a good bit of underlining as I read, and every page has multiple ideas highlighted. Allow me to offer a few quotes that stood out:

• Find those few activities that yield the greatest results, and focus your time on them. (39)
• You must know what guides you. You need an overarching purpose. (41)
• Think of [focusing on yourself] as filling yourself up and maintaining yourself so you have the energy, knowledge, and resources to help others. (44)
• Do not neglect the people close to you. (48)
• Goals help you make progress toward the most important things in life by having clear targets. (52)
• If you have the discipline to focus first on those things that must be done, then you will have more time freed up to work on various other things that could be done. (56)
• If you are what you are doing today, then robust routines are critical to be being who you aspire to be. (69)
• To maintain an effective, productive lifestyle, you need rhythms of rest built into your schedule. (84)
• As Winnie the Pooh so wisely put it, “Doing nothing often leads to the very best something.” (89)
• Consistently renew your commitment to the most important things. Resolve to grow each day. (90)
• None of us knows how many days we have; make every day count. (91)

The final section of EDM provides a sort of toolbox, suggesting various practices to help the reader apply the principles of the previous 98 pages. I found nothing new here, but some sound reinforcement of what I’m already trying to do.

Perhaps the most personally beneficial chapter in this section is the last, “Avoiding Pitfalls.” Crowe warns us to stay on task by being alert to the distracting pull of technology. As he says, “[technology] can lead you down cavernous paths of diversion that will suffocate your time.” (122)

He also debunks the myth of multitasking. I ran into this topic on a recent car ride with my six-year-old grandson. He asked me a question from the back seat, and I started to answer and inadvertently spoke of his Grammy, but called her “Mommy.”

“Did you mean ‘Grammy’?” he asked.

“Yes, I did.”

“Why did you say ‘Mommy’?”

“Because I got distracted by something I needed to pay attention to while I was driving.”

“Can’t you multitask?” was his startling question. Well, at least it provided a teaching moment on the myth of multitasking. But with a six-year-old??

Anyway, Crowe offers an excellent corrective to the widely held myth that we can boost our productivity by doing more than one thing at a time.

Along with technology, he also challenges us to evaluate our time spent on entertainment and social media—both of which can suck the life right out of our days, if we’re not careful and intentional. He rounds out this closing chapter, offering advice for when you feel overwhelmed.

As you look at how you spend your days, perhaps looking back over the last several months or years, and sense that you’re wasting too much precious time, I would recommend reading Every Day Matters. You’ll discover sage advice for minimizing waste.

Brandon D. Crowe is associate professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary and book review editor for the Westminster Theological Journal. He is the author of several books, including The Last Adam and The Message of the General Epistles in the History of Redemption.