At Your Best: How to Get Time, Energy, and Priorities Working in Your Favor

by Carey Nieuwhof

“A perceptive and practical book about why our calendars so rarely reflect our priorities and what we can do to regain control.”—ADAM GRANT
 
“Carey’s book will help you reorganize your life. And then you can share a copy with someone you care about.”—SETH GODIN

You deserve to stop living at an unsustainable pace. An influential podcaster and thought leader shows you how.

Overwhelmed. Overcommitted. Overworked. That’s the false script an inordinate number of people adopt to be successful. Does this sound familiar:
 
● Slammed is normal.
● Distractions are everywhere. 
● Life gets reduced to going through the motions.
 
Tired of living that way? At Your Best gives you the strategies you need to win at work and at home by living in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow.
 
Influential podcast host and thought leader Carey Nieuwhof understands the challenges of constant pressure. After a season of burnout almost took him out, he discovered how to get time, energy, and priorities working in his favor. This approach freed up more than one thousand productive hours a year for him and can do the same for you.
 
At Your Best will help you
● replace chronic exhaustion with deep productivity
● break the pattern of overpromising and never accomplishing enough
● clarify what matters most by restructuring your day
● master the art of saying no, without losing friends or influence
● discover why vacations and sabbaticals don’t really solve your problems
● develop a personalized plan to recapture each day so you can break free from the trap of endless to-dos

Start thriving at work and at home as you discover how to be at your best.

Genres: Nonfiction, Leadership, Productivity, Self Help, Personal Development, Business, Personal Growth

240 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 2021

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are a few things to know before I start this review:
* I rounded up my 1.5 stars to 2 on goodreads because I'm kind.
* I read this for work. In fact, work graciously gave me my own copy. And I LOVE books. So I am and was very grateful. We also discussed this book in our team meetings.
* I have met Carey in person, I've heard him speak, I have enjoyed a bunch of his blog posts, and I generally like what he does.
* I don't have a lot of time for self-help books. I could explain my thoughts on this way more, but I think our society almost lives within a cult of self-help (also included are (self) leadership books).
* I fear my two-star rating is too generous.

I picked up this book generally expecting good things since I had a pretty positive outlook about the author before I started reading it. But my word, it started to annoy me right from the beginning. My book is full of margin notes arguing with the text, and I even drew (and coloured in) a few red flags in the margins as well.

Essentially this book is written as a solution for burnout without at all examining or challenging the culture that creates burnout conditions. Rather than being critical at all of the systems, Nieuwhof suggests that one can work within these [toxic] systems to be even more productive (while promising that if we simply do it his way, we can do it all with less stress).

My first "red flag" note found itself beside the line that says "You actually have the time to do anything you want to do". I have learned to flag this line as toxic in my life because the people who I have heard say it usually do so when you have set a boundary they don't want to respect. Plus, it is a huge lie. And I believe it is healthier to recognize that we actually don't have all the time in the world so that we can properly prioritize and create appropriate boundaries. (I suggest checking out the book Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals instead of this one for a better take on this issue).

Nieuwhof follows up this point (and angered me further) by stating that we have the exact same amount of time as any other person on Earth, including the president. He concluded that since he wasn't great with time management, he'd be a lousy president. And thus we come to one of my major frustrations with self-help books and this book in particular: many self-help books have us looking inside of ourselves to solve problems that are bigger than us. And therefore, we become blind to the larger issues that disenfranchise others around us.

Here's the thing. We do have the same amount of hours as everyone else, including the president. But we do not have the same amount of resources. And there are people with much fewer resources than we have as well. Time and therefore productivity and success are not found in a vacuum.

Beyond this wide blindspot that Carey has, which I suppose I can forgive since it is an easy trap to fall into in this genre, he also seems to be incapable of even imagining that his readers who would pick up this book might have different needs. This book felt like one big anecdote that he assumes will magically solve all the world's ills. In fact, there are many passages that felt like he hadn't even considered that his experience (as a white male, a successful leader of an organization who used to be a lawyer) might be different from, say a woman (not to mention anyone who works in a caregiving role or someone who is marginalized). He mostly uses men as examples (though not exclusively). He denigrates the idea of striving to find life balance, claiming that goal to be less meaningful than the goal he is suggesting for his readers. He even, hilariously, suggests that one can find quiet and alone-time by simply putting headphones on in public. "Just having them on emits the almost-universal signal of 'Dude, don't bug me.'" (page 137). But the fact that men often do not respect this boundary when women have earbuds in is a literal meme! I could continue on with this point but I should stop here.

This book enraged me at times. It would have been a clear DNF had I not been reading it for work. And I am so disappointed because I like and respect many many people who had a hand in working on this book and reading it before publication. I wanted to like it!

So, why the two (really 1.5) stars? I dunno. I rate high, I suppose. I do have some highlights, and it is good to be reminded of certain time management skills. And it was readable, albeit enraging. But I learned absolutely nothing new, the book felt like it needed much more (or really any scientific data rather than simply personal anecdotes, and the author needs a much broader understanding of other people's experiences before he can even begin to suggest he has solutions for many people.

[Chris Everson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will have to admit, I've purchased productivity books, courses, and planners until I'm so overwhelmed by how to be productive I sit there and do nothing.

Carey Niewhof's new book "At Your Best" first felt like another simplified plan to add to the long list of things I've tried but are now on the shelf. But it's not.

Now, I just finished my first reading for this review, but for the first time, I feel excited to take the information from Carey and apply it to my life.

Carey helps you learn to differentiate between Green, Yellow, and Red Zones to focus on priorities. In addition, Carey's book gives practical ways to look at what you are already doing and not reinvite the wheel, but make some shifts to allow you to be at your best.

For me, I've already put into practice tips to be distraction-free from part 4, and I can already see a difference.

I highly recommend "At Your Best" if you want to "Live in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow."

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the practicality of this book. It has jump started several conversations and thoughts for my stress and life management. The chapters are a good length and the summaries at the end are perfect. My only wish would be a discussion on accountability. Sometimes we need outside people to remind us about what we have forgotten.

[Venky · Rating 3 out of 5]

“You do your best when you are at your best”. This philosophy lies at the heart of Carey Nieuwhof’ s upcoming self-help book. a former lawyer and the founding pastor of Connexus Church in Barrie, Ontario, Nieuwhof contends that there are three obstinate culprits who contrive to create a “Stress Spiral” in our professional as well as our personal lives. The trifecta of Unfocused Time, Unlevered Energy and Hijacked Priorities leaves us overwhelmed, overcommitted, and overworked. Sounds familiar? Reminds you of a spoilt old wine in a spanking new bottle? Fret not. Stitching together tidbits of conventional wisdom gleaned from the likes of Cal Newport and Stephen Covey, with some unconventional tenets of his own Nieuwhof lays down a primer for getting one’s life back on track.

A lot of the virtuous transformation from a worn down bundle of nerves to a successful and serene high energy optimist imbued with a Nirvana state in perpetuity, has to do with manipulating calendars. Not the calendars that hang from a rusty nail adjacent to the kitchen cabinet, but the calendars that determine which meeting will have you entering it like a Forrest Gump and exiting like Don Vito Corleone. The ultimate objective is to enable the stressed out soul from making the transition from the Spiral of Stress to the Thrive Cycle.

Nieuwhof argues that the secret to a well balanced and even fulfilling professional and personal life lies in the management of time. Every person according to Nieuwhof needs to divide the time available in a day into three specific zones: The Green Zone, The Yellow Zone and the Red Zone. These Traffic Lights might end up being your unwitting saviours. As Nieuwhof illustrates by drawing on the works of Claire Diaz-Ortiz of Twitter and Cal Newport, the bestselling management author, even the most talented and cerebral genius at work would have at the most three to five ‘deeply productive’ hours every day. There are the hours when the worker’s energy is at its peak. The remaining hours are characterised by a waning of energy and a seeping in of unintended lethargy. The trick, therefore, is to capitalize on the peak productive hours.

As you might have deciphered by now, the productive hours represent your Green Zone. Bt when does this Green Zone manifest? Since there are nocturnal strivers and dawn fanatics it is essential for you to identify your ‘Energy Clock’. This is a clock that depicts when your energy dips and peaks. This is the very key to figuring out when your Green Zone is. Consciously observing your pattern throughout the course of a day will facilitate one to identify your Energy Clock. One surefire way to identify your Green Zone would be to map the 3-5 hours every day during the course of which you are “creative, alert, engaged, efficient, effective, productive and accurate.” In lockstep with these positive attributes, would also manifest virtues such as kindness, optimism, cheeriness and reflection and magnanimity. Once you are done with identifying your Green Zone, schedule all the activities that you are best at performing, to fit within the confines of this Green Zone. For example, mundane, routine and repetitive meetings can be pushed to the Yellow Zone (more of this later). Ensure minimal to no distractions when you are working in the Green Zone. Turn off all notifications from electronic gadgets, place a Do Not Disturb Board outside your room and forget the existence of the phenomenon called Internet (unless such a remembrance is vital to your most productive chores themselves).

If your Green Zone is the panacea for all ailments, the Red Zone represents the biggest ailment itself. This is the period of time which finds you listless, devoid of creativity, “tired, disengaged, inefficient, ineffective, unproductive and inaccurate.” In sync with these merciless demons, negative state of mind attributes such as frustration, pessimism, short-temper, selfishness, miserliness and a hardened disposition rule the roost. Ensure that you do not reserve the tasks that you are best at for this stretch of time by any stretch of imagination. Keep reserved for the Red Zone tasks that are unimportant, uncritical and insignificant in terms of negative and costly ramifications.

So that leaves you with the Yellow Zone. Sandwiched in between the astonishing and the abject, the Yellow Zone is an ambivalent chunk of time that is benevolent as well as stubborn. According to Nieuwhof, this time zone is characterised by states of mind that are “moderately creative, partially engaged, fairly efficient, relatively effective, mostly productive, somewhat accurate, and producing decent work.” The moods associated with this Zone are “pleasant, realistic, civil, introspective, slightly bothered by others, and somewhat generous.” Since this time zone does not signify collapse or disaster, tasks that are not absolute priority but still visibly important can be adjusted to fit within the confines of the Yellow Zone.

Similarly energy levels may be leveraged to produce the maximum impact by introspecting on three critical questions: “What tasks do I most look forward to doing? What things energize me as I do them? When do I lose track of time because I’m enjoying what I’m doing so much?”

Nieuwhof also warns that a blank calendar is nothing but a recipe for unmitigated disaster. A calendar which looks squeaky clean for the next three months might just be a canvas waiting to be painted on by someone other than the painter (this is the reviewer’s own analogy). Nieuwhof urges you to prioritise your calendar by setting out reminders and tasks for the foreseeable future so that your much anticipated family time is not ruined by a sudden invitation to a party which no one is keen on attending.

The message purveyed in “At Your Best: is neither new nor novel. A multitude of authors have already waxed eloquent on almost every concept that is addressed and attested to by Nieuwhof. However, what makes the book a very engrossing read is the simplistic and easily implementable manner in which it has been written.

(At Your Best: How to Get Time, Energy, and Priorities Working in Your Favor by Carey Nieuwhof is published by WaterBrook & Multnomah and will hit the stands on 14th September 2021)

Thank You Net Galley for the Advance Reviewer Copy

[Larp · Rating 4 out of 5]

คู่มือบริหารเวลาที่มีค่ากับพลังงานที่มีอยู่อย่างจำกัดในแต่ละวัน เพื่อหลีกเลี่ยงอาการหมดไฟ

่คอนเซ็ปหลักคือ การให้ความสำคัญกับ"พื้นที่สีเขียว" ซึ่งคือ ช่วงเวลาประมาณ3-5ชั่วโมงที่เรามีพลังงานระดับสูง มีสมาธิ สมองปลอดโปร่ง มีความคิดสร้างสรรค์​มากที่สุด เพื่อประสิทธิภาพการทำงานที่สูงที่สุด

ทำอย่างไรให้เราสามารถใช้ประโยชน์จากพื้นที่นี้ได้สูงสุด และทำอย่างไรที่จะจัดการกับสิ่งรบกวนต่างๆทัังปัจจัยภายใน(ตัวเรา)​และภายนอก(คนอื่นและสิ่งแวดล้อม)​ ที่จริงๆเราควบคุมได้

เหมาะสำหรับคนที่รู้สึกว่าตัวเองงานยุ่ง ไม่มีเวลา(จริงหรือ?)​ กลับบ้านดึก แบกงานไปทำ ไม่มีเวลาให้ครอบครัว รู้สึกหมดพลังงานและburnout


ช่วงแรกของหนังสืออรัมภบทเยอะไปหน่อย แต่ช่วงหลังคือให้อารมณ์แบบ guidebook ดังนัันต้องลองลงมือทำถึงจะเห็นผล

ให้ 4/5 คะแนน

[کافه ادبیات · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب «بهترین تو» یک راهنمای عملی برای حرکت به سوی پیشرفت فردی است. کری نیوهوف، نویسنده این کتاب با تکیه بر تجربه‌های خود در مدیریت و رهبری نشان می‌دهد که چگونه زمان، انرژی و اولویت‌های خود را همگام کنید تا بتوانید به اهداف خود برسید، انرژی بیشتری برای اهداف و فعالیت‌های خود داشته باشید و هم در محل کار و هم در خانه شروع به پیشرفت کنید.

[Jackson Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Possibly the best productivity management guide. The emphasis on prioritizing priorities convicted and challenged me to make the best use of my time. I’m convinced chapters 4 and 9 will impact my life for years to come.

A must read for busy people.

[Humaira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting and one of the first books I’ve read that focuses on energy levels rather than trying to cram everything in to make yourself feel productive.

[Esther Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

once i figure out my green zone i think i might be wonder woman. i might save the world or solve child hunger. i might go back to school or give attention to my favorite friends.

stay tuned, this book could change everything.

[Kingsley Layton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always had an innate sense of what this book illustrates.

What I love about this book is that it seems to give credence to how I want to work! As a result, I now follow the outline given quite precisely. I am delighted with the results.

So, if you have the freedom to set at least 70% of your working week, and 70% of your working calendar, then this book is terrific.

More than 70%? Even better!

Less than 70%? It will harder and harder to implement the resources here.

In my opinion, although the author says otherwise, you need to be in that 70% bracket or higher for this book to help you; and it certainly has helped me.

[Brandon Hair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great books with some super practical thoughts around using the best parts of your day to accomplish the most meaningful work. The concept is simple but it is often very difficult to actually do. Nieuwhof does a great job of unraveling many of the excuses we often use when it comes to managing our time and gives some great encouragement and practical steps toward resolving those excuses and roadblocks. If you've read similar books about the "green, yellow, and red energy zones, you may not find much new in this one. However, you will find a great deal of encouragement and practical application points along with resources that will help you put these tools into practice.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce qui me parle le plus, c’est qu’un calendrier vide est l’un des plus grand ennemi de l’efficience du calendrier. Planifier les périodes à venir avec des RDV récurrents autant perso que corpo semble une bonne clef de succès. Personne ne va t’appeler pour s’occuper de tes priorités. Selon moi plusieurs stratégies applicables que je vais instaurer graduellement à mon horaire. Je recommande.

[Maira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This booked helped me realize that not all time is created equal & how to identify the time of day when I’m most productive. You’ll learn about the green, yellow & red zones & how to most effectively use your time. This book offers practical tools & strategies for managing your priorities. Carey is pretty funny & I found myself laughing out loud at some points in this books.

[Conor Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing groundbreaking but did draw my attention to things I’ve experienced in work and productivity but never really thought deeper about. A good overview with some good practical takeaways. Been applying some of them already and has been cool to see growth in productivity and priorities. Got my brain turning and will be a gateway for other books of its kind for me!

[Jon Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ish
I really liked it. I can really relate to the energy zones. These are times of the day when your energy is at its peak. They are divided into red, yellow, and green. The concept is to do your most important work when you are in the green energy zone. Sounds simple, and sometimes the simplest changes have the biggest impact. Also, the idea that we have between 3-5 hours of productive time makes sense to me. This is the amount of green zone time most people have in a day.

With all these types of books, it isn't the information that is the problem (it is all good stuff), it is actually doing it. For me, I can stop gaining knowledge and start plowing the ground.

[Grace Stetler · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10 would rank with James Clear and Jon Acuff.

[Jeffrey McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the level of Atomic Habits, in my opinion.

[Zachary Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the mindset shift from time management to time AND energy management pretty helpful! I resonate with the idea of green, yellow, and red energy zones and something about the visual helped for things to click with me.

However, the book is also very self-helpy, which isn’t necessarily bad, but it falls into some well-worn characteristics and cliches of the genre, including having a limited perspective by which it approaches the issue and addresses (or doesn’t address) the larger problems of cultural idolatry of productivity and grind. But it was definitely helpful!

3.5 stars, but I’ll give it 4 to be generous.

[Rachelle Cobb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in a day. For a book about time-blocking, it doesn’t once mention the term and I thought that was funny. If you’re well-versed in the practice (as I am), you may not get much out of Carey’s “zones.” Even so, I highlighted a lot because he’s a communicator who explains things well.

I have enjoyed several of his podcast episodes (the one with his assistant is gold), and he does a good job with this system, albeit a bit cheesy with the naming (just call it time-blocking, dude). If you want to try it, you will probably get a lot out of this book. If you want the cliff notes version, just read a blog post about time-blocking (Kalyn Brooke’s is my favorite) and look up Michael Hyatt’s ideal week calendar.

[Carly Voinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I love about this book is that the principles found inside are practical. They’re actually doable in your every day life.

I’ve personally put Carey’s strategies into place in my life and I’ve seen an impact that I haven’t noticed from other books I’ve read.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

You've got a great deal to do and feel overwhelmed. You feel you are on your way to burnout. Many productivity books will suggest you evaluate your tasks and cut some out. You know that is just not a possibility.

Nieuwhof's philosophy is different. As a previous lawyer and current business owner, he knows the amount of tasks that must be accomplished. Cutting some out is just not an option. He suggestions fall into the working smarter category. He delves into best utilizing the three resources every person has: time, energy, and priorities.

Nieuwhof advocates doing what we do best at the time when we are at our best. That means finding out the rhythm of our day. We all have the same number of hours but not all hours have the same potential for us. It was surprising to find out that most people have 3-5 productive hours each day. That's why finding one's highest energy time is so important. One can accomplish much more in fewer hours when utilizing the proper time. I'm a morning person and I'm at my best before noon. I'll focus on what's most important then. But that means I have to establish priorities and Nieuwhof helps me do that too.

This is a good book for people who want to make the best use of the hours God has given them. You'll have suggestions for finding your most productive hours and determining the tasks you want to do in that time. You'll find ways to protect that time and your priorities, including preventing people from distracting you with their priorities. You'll have suggestions for getting back on track when life is disrupted. Soon you'll be doing your best when you're at your best.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple but helpful book. If you haven’t read much in the realm of productivity, this is an excellent place to start. Nieuwhof explains that research shows that we only have 3-4 peak performance hours a day. Those hours can fall at different times of the day depending on who you are. We ought to make the best use of those hours, then, and optimize where we put our most strategic tasks for the day.

Nieuwhof also has the reader consider who and where we are at our best, although he spends less time on these components.

The only area I wish Nieuwhof would have explored more was digging into the why. I know he is trying to appeal to a broad audience, but I think there was quite a bit that could have been said on this front that I know he has the ability to articulate clearly. For this reason, I would still point to Challies’s or Perman’s books on productivity as my favorites.

For more reviews see thebeehive.live.

[Tori · Rating 1 out of 5]

Since the study group focusing on this unraveled I'm not going to force myself to finish. But Nieuwhof feels like he's writing for the person who has complete control over their schedule, which rather ignores the vast majority of people who aren't entrepreneurs or high enough in an organization to be flexible. He also way over promises how much his system can help, and anyone who promises they can help the reader find at least an extra hour in their day is someone who I distrust. Lastly, the system itself rather failed me. My "productive zone" is when I have time to do something. Putting it off for a more "energetic time" does not give me a restful break, it gives me one more thing on my mental to-do list that keeps me from relaxing. Maybe that's just me.

[Travis Stroup · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super practical and sensible. This has definitely impacted my schedule and how I will plan things. Free, instructed time is never truly unstructured or free. You have to plan your times off, so that others don’t plan it for you. I really resonated with that. He also had this great line, “Being present doesn’t guarantee that you will have a meaningful relational experience, but being absent is an absolute guarantee nothing meaningful relationally will happen.” I really needed to be reminded of this.

I have heard a lot of similar things, but I really like his explanation of green, yellow, and red zones depending on energy and enjoyment. He also has several resources you can download and fill out while you read through the chapters.

[Joshua Stansbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the Audiobook version of "At Your Best." It is read by the author which I always appreciate. Practical insight and suggestion how to use your green, yellow, and red zones to your advantage. Carey does a good job of relating this concept to your work and professional life. If you want a good resource on your road to becoming more productive at all aspects of your life than this book will relate to you. Carey also provides links to go download examples of what he is sharing. The examples are easy to understand and relate greatly to the book.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nieuwhof combines well-known principles you'll have seen in countless other business books (Dunbar's number, book your own calendar, learn to say no, Covey's important/urgent grid, etc.) but his approach is unique enough to make it worth finishing the book.

The substance of the author's contribution: identify what times of day you're typically at your best and use that time for the most important things in your life. Do menial tasks when you're low-energy. Use "medium-energy" times for non-critical-yet-important things. Prioritize and say no to everything else. That's the book.

[Maude · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good personal development and productivity book. I didn't learn a lot, but that's most definitely because I read a lot on this topic already - not by any fault of the author. This was well structured, and I really liked the way it was written ! Read it very fast during my commute time, and would definitely recommend it to my stressed-out and overworked friends.

[Blair Stretch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate the author's heart and application of energy management in and out of the workplace. This book spoke to me in profound and practical ways. Unfortunately there's quite a bit of repetition throughout, and I get the sense that this book only applies to a modest selection of people. Having said that, I do recommend it, and feel thankful for what I could learn from it.

[Brennen Schmitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed my life (no exaggeration) 2 years ago when I heard it’s concepts on a podcast. I was nearing burnout and constantly overwhelmed at work. Learning to do what I’m best at/what’s most important when I’m at my best is foundational to my life now.

[Haley Carney]

Read this with my team at work - the energy part was the most meaningful to me