Whether it’s poor time management, bad habits or Poor planning that dogs you there are ways to fix this problem. I love to talk about books and how useful they can be for the entrepreneur. The following list contains books that tackle various areas that affect your productivity. In order to give you the widest selection of books, I will not be repeating books that have appeared in other lists before such 7 habits of highly effective people.
Deep work by Cal Newport
There are two types of work you do, deep work and shallow work. Shallow work can be done in any environment while deep work requires a distraction-free environment. For me, writing is my deep work. In this book, Cal Newport teaches a system to deal with deep work and to get the best out of your time.
What the most successful people do before breakfast by Laura Vanderkam
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, what comes before breakfast is the most important thing in your day – at least according to Laurel. The book is about morning habits and how to use the morning towards achieving your daily goals. I mentioned that writing is deep work, I also happen to do it in the early morning.
Self-discipline in 10 days by Theodore Bryant
Theodore Bryant’s brilliant book outlines some systems for building self-discipline. By his own admission, Bryant focused on the fastest and not necessarily the best all things considered. That is the book is an amazing resource and can give you access to self-discipline on a level you never knew you had it.
Atomic Habits by James Clear
This is my favourite 2018 published book as Janes Clear does great work of deconstruction good habits & their formation, bad habits & their elimination and the science in between. The book is incredibly practical and teaches you to step by step how o shape your habits towards being more productive.
The power of habit by Charles Duhigg
The power habit is a great resource because it speaks to those who want to work on their own habits as well as those who want to influence the habits of others; perhaps your employees or customers even. The book is concise while littered with many practical anecdotes that serve as evidence of the power of habit.
Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy
Now of all the lessons on habits and time management this one could the most important one you learn. Eat the frog is a system that speaks about scheduling tasks. Combining this book with the quadrant 2 time management system from 7 habits of highly effective people will boost your productivity perhaps beyond belief even.
The one thing by Gary Keller
The book has the subtitle “the surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results”. It’s another one that focuses on the importance of purpose in productivity and not just time management. You have to be going in the right direction first then worry about how fast you are going. It gives practical systems to help you with any project and identify the big and small picture and how to take action towards the attainment of both.
Linchpin by Seth Godin
On this list, there are books on habits, time management and self-discipline. Linchpin is not like any of those. It’s a book about impact, something I feel is the most important element in productivity. Seth Godin takes us through the ideas of being a person of extraordinary impact regardless of the environment or setup. It’s a book for those who realize that managing time and habits are all well and good but the true measure of your productivity is your impact in a situation.
Mindset by Carol Dweck
Having this book on this list may seem a bit weird as it does not talk directly about habits or time management or productivity. Mindset is a book about our approach to things be they ideas, projects, conflict and so on. In many cases, the problem with things is our approach to the issue we are trying to deal with. Having the right kind of mindset will free you from the trap you have become accustomed to open your mind and life to new possibilities.
The compound effect by Darren Hardy
In the words ofAmazon.com founder Jeff Bezos the average overnight success takes ten years. But it’s not 10 years of tenure of creates success but 10 years of showing up every day, all 3652 days or as close to it as possible. That’s where the Compound Effect comes in. The book is about the small daily actions that build towards giant successes. Understanding the structure of success and taking the time to do the little things day by day. This book doesn’t disappoint as it delivers an understanding and a system to you.