By Carey Nieuwhof

I couldn’t get it out of my head. I was hanging out with some friends, and the topic came up of meeting more frequently. We all expressed the desire to meet more, but there was the dreaded caveat in the conversation.

You know the word.

Busy.

That’s right. We’re all men, husbands, some of us dads, employees, friends, leaders. And we’re all busy.

But I couldn’t get the bad taste out of my mouth.

I didn’t like that the thing we all desired, community, relationship, friendship was being hijacked because we said we were busy.

I’ve given too much time to busy. You know. It’s not specific, but you know you are. Or at least you feel like you should be. All the important people look like they are busy.

Is that the status of today.

“Oh, you have time, I remember those days, when I had time to be healthy, spend time with my wife, go out with friends, play with my kids. Once you grow up, say good bye.”

We all seem ascribe to this mindset, but why?

What if we didn’t have to live that way?

What if we lived like we wanted, and were efficient? What if we lived investing in what every other person says at the end of their live that made a difference—relationships? Kids? Sunsets.

That’s what I want. 

It wasn’t that I couldn’t, there are those who do live that way, but I think, oh, they must have less things to do.

Then I find out that they do even more.

Sometimes a lot more.

Why do I subscribe to the mindset that I’m just so busy.

Actually it’s an excuse I use too often.

But I don’t want to live that way in 2023. 

Do you?

Check this out: 

“To put it simply, the reason you don’t have traction on the goals and priorities you’ve set for yourself is that you often get distracted.” – Carey Nieuwhof

What’s your goals this year? Spend time with your family? Work out at the gym? Invest in relationships with your friends?

You don’t, because you don’t manage your time.

John Maxwell said that we can’t manage time, no one can manage time. You can be effective, but no one can tell time to do more or do less.

Time is time no matter what.

“Not only will building margin and health in the rest of your week make your downtime better, but you’ll also show up to work with a full tank rather than an empty one.”

Carey Nieuwhof

So instead of managing it, why don’t we use it better?

And that’s the blessing in At Your Best by Carey Nieuwhof. It’s about better using your time so you can truly give your time to what matters most—whatever that means to you.

He breaks down how to best use our time, our energy, and our priorities, by scheduling our calendar and our tasks based on our most productive and least productive times.

I like to run, and for much of 2022, I tried to run during my most productive time of the day. The morning.

But I was challenged in this book. Did I want to be an Olympic runner? 

No.

So why use my most productive time for running? Why not reprioritize my schedule to run when I am less energized so that I can give myself fully to what matters most. I’m okay with not running my best or having a PR, I’m not a professional athlete. I just don’t want to look like a pear.

So I changed my schedule.

And my life, my wife, my kids are better for it.

And this year, I’m doing it even more. I’m working on writing content, growing my talents to have the best return.

What if you had the opportunity to have the best returns on your skills simply by changing your schedule to be more effective.

Would you do it?

“You cheat your gift when you use it but never take time to develop it.”

Carey Nieuwhof

Ooh. Good golly. 

What have you been cheating?

Take the time to develop it. Cultivate it.

Learn.

That’s what I did with this book. I needed to learn how to be at my best and not give in to the excuses of “I’m just too busy.” Oh, we need to be realistic, as with any goal, but instead I might be using busy as an excuse.

Are you?

It’s a practical book with tools to help you be at your best, should you choose to use it.

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Here’s some standout quotes that might encourage you today—and spur you on to learning about how to manage your day and your energy to the next level. 

“You know that saying no to good things allows you to say yes to great things.” – Carey Nieuwhof

“Remind yourself that you can’t prioritize the people who matter most to you if you say yes to everyone else.” – Carey Nieuwhof

“So many leaders have nothing left to give because they’ve given it all away to people who, honestly, weren’t helped by the interaction.” – Carey Nieuwhof

“Being at your best is to some extent about what you accomplish, but to a much deeper extent, it’s about creating the space you need to focus on what you’re becoming. That’s what motivated me to write this book—a vision of the future you years, even decades, down the road.” – Carey Nieuwhof