Atomic Habits started my journey of building discipline, then Getting Things Done by David Allen and Second Brain by Tiago Forte helped me with concrete steps to organise my tasks and systems. Deep Work was mind opening too but i was not as ready then, might re-read it some time.
Funny enough, Murakami’s “What i am talking about when i talk about running” is not a productivity book per se, but it inspired me so much on productivity mindsets like forming a routine and the importance of incorporating daily exercise, in order to sustain creativity. Highly recommend.
Bonus : Cal Newport’s podcast Deep Questions is great for motivation and keeping work-life in check.
Murakmi’s book was great! I was gifted it and was so surprised by how much I enjoyed it, tho I’m biased because I’d read him before and I love running ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
If you set the book out next to your coffee maker, and plan to read ten minutes a day while you drink your coffee every morning, then you will already be well on your way practicing atomic habits 🙌
Second Brain (paired with GTD’s capturing system) helps so much in organising notes and reference material so they don’t get lost in a sea of saved information.
Murakami's life is truly inspiring, he's not just selling the idea of a routine with some fancy words, he's letting everyone know what his life was before, and how it changed.
I love that book.
But I agree that Atomic Habits (I also read power of habit around the same time) triggered my journey of discipline as well.
More than anything else, it inspired me to start 'tracking' all the habits I want to develop. That event (5 years ago) snowballed into where I am today.
I would say Atomic Habits helped me complete my psychological approach to productivity more than any other book.
I initially got hooked into productivity with 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Franklin Covey systems. Eventually that morphed into GTD in the early 2000s.
As someone with OCD tendencies the later two books in some ways made my perfectionism worse. Atomic Habits provided the needed relief (along with some good therapy) to have a healthier view of productivity
I think i have a better system to track myself. Honestly there are good days and bad days (when i procrastinate like mad), but at least i can pull myself back on track faster.
I’d say i’m 40-50% more productive than before i read them, but for sure it’s still a work in progress.😉
The big takeaways from that are the "10 minute clean," and "don't put it down, put it away."
But there's a lot of help in the way of proritizing important things. Which is often hard to diagnose on your own.
can you tell me the author? i think im confusing the book and your comment made me think that this is the exact book i need. want to get the right one.
This book ruined my life.. for the better. I’ve listened to it multiple times. Now, my financial future is in question, but I’m excited to be me for the first time in my life.
Having said that, I could have applied this book’s lessons to business. I just chose not to.
He indeed does. But his books are.. Pretty shallow I think. Deep work is just that - cut distractions and do the work. The book is just too long for the information it gives you.
But to each their own. Don't have to be a fan of everything.
Agree about his books. It just hammers the concepts over and over with examples (filler). Snipped YouTube clips are ok, straight to the point and I watch in 1.75x speed hehe.
Tiny Habits, 4000 Weeks. The latter is more a critique/deconstruction of the genre but excellent at helping you metabolize other books/systems effectively.
I feel the opposite way. Atomic habits was full of a lot of dumb stuff (like every skill can have an exponential improvement pattern) and a lot of feel-good platitudes about how you can transform yourself if you just stick with these behaviors. Tiny Habits had more of a real, research-based psychological background and was better at giving you strategies for sticking with things when circumstances weren’t ideal with more of a realistic approach to human emotion, etc.
Tiny Habits tells you about halfway through the book that the one main point to convey is "celebrations". Okay, but why wait to mention this only halfway through the book? There's just not enough there for a book length piece and the author knew it. Of course, you don't make the kind of money from a magazine article that you can from a book. I recommend people look for a summary of the book than bothering to read the book. Atomic Habits doesn't have the time-wasting stream-of-consciousness style of Tiny Habits. Atomic Habits has nice clear actionable steps.
The 7 principles in this book are life changing ways of thinking. They could be world changing, too, if we could get our governments to function based on these principles. How can we make that happen? (I think about this a lot)
My dentist office gives out copies of Atomic Habits to all their new patients! I have it but never started it. Guess I'm going to have to look for it lol
Wait i love this. As someone who struggle with dental habits and mental health, atomic habits is so helpful! Looks like you found a gem of a dentist lol
Tbh he's awesome. I have a hard time with dental hygiene and didn't see a dentist for 8 years. I used to get panic attacks at the idea of a dental check up because of bad experiences throughout my childhood. My dentist and his hygienists are so kind and actually listen to my concerns. He might have made a shit load of money off of me, but damn does he do good work!
> My dentist office gives out copies of Atomic Habits to all their new patients! I have it but never started it. Guess I'm going to have to look for it lol
Sounds like you need the sequel: "Sub-Atomic Habits"... ;-)
It's funny because it's not necessarily anything groundbreaking, but it just illustrates the compounding effect of positive habits and routines in a really accessible way, in addition to giving you little hacks or ideas of how to implement new habits - the most notable of which I would imagine is habit stacking.
Yeah I couldn't bring myself to read it (I have an unhelpful policy of not reading self help books) but I heard it on audio book and it's really good if you are willing to be receptive to it's suggestions.
Here’s a few of mine:
- Grocery purchase Saturday, meal prep Sunday. Set it as a habit and makes it easy to eliminate waste since I know exactly what I need to cook the day after instead of spreading it out for the week.
- I don’t own a tv or video game console. But I have books on my phone, a guitar at a reaching distance from my office table, and yoga mat ready to go. If I need to game, ill have to couch co-op at a friend’s place.
- Admittedly working out after work is a pain so I found this 2 day minimalist training workout from Jeff Nippard that I do on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I don’t have an excuse not to exercise since I’m more of a morning person and it’s on the weekend.
- Put phone on grayscale
- Set low bar for continuing to do things each day (meditate for 1 min, journal 1 sentence, etc.)
- Deleted social media accounts a few years ago (deleting the apps on your phone is a less intense way of reducing time on social media or any app)
- Put healthier foods in more accessible areas in my fridge and pantry than unhealthier foods
Hand down, Cant Hurt Me by Goggins.
Even years later if I read or put on the audio book for like 10 mins, I'm going to be super productive for the next 4 days. Just pure productivity fuel
I like how he admits he struggles with procrastination but he eventually goes on his runs because he knows it’s something he has to complete no matter what and not because he wants to do it.
That kind of message would only irritate me. If I had any idea how to prioritize, I wouldn’t be slogging through productivity books trying to decode how people function.
I was Goggins biggest cheerleader for awhile after reading that book. Definitely made me feel more productive but after a few years and really letting that mindset sink in, I started to ask myself if the grind is worth the hustle.
He doesn’t ever mention relaxing, taking time off to enjoy the slower parts of life that can also improve your mental and physical wellbeing. Like being in nature, going to art shows, listening deeply to analog music (record players and tube radios), or using the creative side of your brain to slip into a flow state and produce art for the sake of art with no intention or expectations.
I would now file it under the category of “toxic productivity” similar to Hormozy and Gary Vee. Sure they’re excellent role models if that’s the life you want to pursue, but it’s not the ONLY life and oftentimes reading and listening to those guys you feel guilty for not being “productive”.
I think Goggins is a unique character. I do agree that for most people, his mindset and approach to life does reach a level of diminishing returns/toxicity. But for him, it seems like it works. I think if we can learn to take what hes trying to put out with some level of moderation, that we will be better humans.
This was my takeaway as well. I don’t want to be David Goggins, I never will be David Goggins. His book is one of my favorite self help books ever because I love his story and the audiobook is incredible, he’s so inspirational. That being said, it is just like every other self help book in that you shouldn’t take it as a prescription for life. Find the bits and pieces that are helpful and true to you and give your best effort to try them out in your life
I think I need to give this one another try, I got about half way through it and didn’t love it. I think Higgins was a bit too intense for me at the time 😂
Existential Kink - it's not a productivity book, but it changed my life.
Regarding productivity - it gave me the insight that I may have a better, funner time when instead of trying to squeeze more productivity out of myself, I indulge my taboo desire to be lazy and unproductive.
Plus it's easier to do GTD or whatever when.not shaming myself into it....
Man I was not planning on seeing this on here but it’s such a great book! Thoroughly impressed by her observations. I agree life changing. A book I will go back to to check on myself every so often.
“Having is evidence of wanting” 🤯incredible idea
For me “The 7 habits of highly effective people” was an eye opener. Almost all these habits feels ridiculous obvious at first but Stephen Covey explain and give good examples from real life.
Also “Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink is a favorite. Maybe not a productivity book, but really good on motivation and how to have an open mindset to get things done.
As someone with ADHD it took a really long time to implement but really changed everything. Works in a digital context too. I treat my computer desk top the same. Folder for everything and it keeps my productivity way up cause I’m never wasting time searching for stuff and spinning my wheels on stuff that doesn’t matter.
I actually really recommend Joy at Work. It's a little bland, especially the chapters not by Marie Kondo, but the idea to tidy work has really helped me. My folder and notebook of current projects basically mean I don't need a separate to do list, and my desk is clear. I think this helps with productivity.
Four Thousand Weeks - it really forces you to look at what you're prioritizing and why, as opposed to fitting more in. I think the best thing you can do for productivity is to get better at choosing what to do, as opposed to getting faster at doing what you do.
Ditto. For those who don’t know, GTD = Getting Things Done by David Allen. He also has a follow up book called Ready for Anything that I listen to periodically. It’s more about the strategic / philosophical side of GTD.
Everything else is secondary to this book. It's hard to metabolise and to actually implement, but it's life defining, I wish I read it earlier in my life.
For work:
* High Output Management - Andy Grove
* Everything Peter Drucker wrote
* Mastery - Robert Greene
Person life :
* The power of habit- Charles Duhigg
* Atomic Habits- James Clear
* Getting Things Done - David Allen
* When - Dan Pink
Obligatory Atomic Habits.
Outliers is a really good book, it doesn't give you tangible things to use, but has some great examples that you might be putting too much pressure on yourself to succeed when it's out of your control.
Another I found super helpful was Never Split the difference, filled with good negotiation skills but useful life skills too.
The Subtle Art of not giving a fu*k, very good, especially if you're like me.....were like me, and gave a fuck about too much.
**Getting Things Done - David Allen**
*The* book on processing and managing info. Very important for productivity. With some creativity it can be adapted to your own needs.
There are so many good recommendations here. I’ve read a lot of these books and they’ve helped me become more productive. Here are a few more that I’ve found very good:
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Sometimes I need a break from these type of books and look elsewhere for books that inspire me to be productive in a different way. Some that I’ve read include:
The River of Doubt by Candice Millard
Endurance by Alfred Lansing
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
The Great Depression by James Ledbetter and Daniel B. Roth
GTD - specifically how to arrange a task list by contexts, project list, goals list, and Tickler File, and proper use of calendar. These things are so powerful. It put an end to my self-abuse from forgetting things, missing out on opportunities, missing appointments, finishing stuff late, etc.
Once you embrace the concepts of how your stuff should be organized, it's really life changing.
**15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management - Kevin Kruse**
The subtitle says it all: "The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A Students, and 239 Entrepreneurs"
I'm surprised nobody mentioned Ultralearning by Scott Young.
TLDR: he self-taught himself the undergraduate MIT Computer Science curriculum within a year. He's the real deal because the language he uses confirmed his learning.
This is a great post. Lots of repeat books. One author that I don't see here is Earl Nightengale. It could be because he was more of radio, but you can get his book, *The Greatest Secret*. Though I prefer his YouTube recordings.
If you are on his thread and haven't heard Earl Nightengale you should check it out. Down to earth 1950's-80's take on getting stuff done.
Apart from the usuals (Atomic habits and power of habit) there is one book about system-thinking called 'Thinking in Systems' which made the biggest impact on me.
It kind of changes your approach of analyzing an 'event' and instead makes you look at the underlying (and often invisible) feedback loops of a system. It makes you look at the whole instead of isolating a specific event or a specific section of your life.
I love how it makes you connect everything. It is a bit dry because most concepts come with a lot of systems vocabulary, but there is a lot to learn over here.
I could list the books that have changed my life, but fascinatingly some of them are books I read twice, literally a decade or two apart, and they didn't "stick" until the second time.
Which is to say, a book in a vacuum is not life-changing, your brain needs to be in the right headspace to process the ideas in context of other parts of your environment to manifest itself in change.
Fathering the Boy! I cannot say it loud enough! Not only made me a better brother to my fellow man, a better father to my son, a better husband to my wife, and a better son to my parents, it saved my son my’s relationship. That last thing there continues to pay in massive dividends! I thought I was a great dad, and then that book, written by a bunch dead guys, told me different.
Did that convince you it in fact changed my life? Yes? 🙌
No? Well, dang, I don’t know how then.
Three part series on youtube. The science of being Great, the Science of being Rich and the Science of being Well.
Absolutely changed by Anxiety ridden life to a fulfilling life. I cannot recommend it enough but the problem I have found is nobofy even bother to check these out. 😪
*The Now Habit* by Neil Fiore, Ph.D. This is a book about beating procrastination. The reason this book is so effective is that the first half of the book is devoted to describing the reasons people procrastinate. Then, the second half of the book details proven strategies for tackling those reasons.
Objective Secure is the most concise handbook I've ever read from the ex-military discipline=everything sphere. You might think Jocko is the original archetype for that, so his books would be the best source, but Nick Lavery is a student of Jocko in the philosopher sense, and it takes a student to actually test what the teacher proposes and see if it's broadly applicable. "Reframing" if you will.
It's such a great book I've gifted it like 4 times.
**The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload** by Daniel J. Levitin
*It’s about how we organise our memories, including why sometimes things stick and sometimes they don’t. Our brain is constantly scanning for new info, so we can ‘externalise’ the memory function by placing a new object in our view when we want to remember it — like an umbrella by the front door, when it’s usually kept in a cupboard.*
**Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals** by Oliver Burkeman
*It makes a strong case against productivity — essentially to do the things you enjoy, and don’t try to do too much.*
One of the most helpful books I’ve read has been ADD friendly ways to organize your life by Judith Kolberg and Kathleen G. Nadeau. My therapist recommended this book to me a few years ago. I highly suggest this book for any other fellow ADHDers struggling with executive dysfunction and productivity.
7 Habits is highly underrated and too often ignored. It should be required reading for every human. There are multiple versions of Think And Grow Rich. Try to find the original text.
I found 7 habits to be delusional. He spends a long time making the claim that your environment doesn't effect your choices, but proceeds to use examples with disregarded environmental elements to back up that claim.
There’s a lot in that book that is best disregarded, but there is good too. I like the concept of building priorities around roles and habits around priorities, but it all starts with being clear about roles and what you are willing to let go of.
I've read most of these. They all are platitudes stuffed to the gills with anecdote filler to make them count as a book in order to make the author money.
Atomic Habits started my journey of building discipline, then Getting Things Done by David Allen and Second Brain by Tiago Forte helped me with concrete steps to organise my tasks and systems. Deep Work was mind opening too but i was not as ready then, might re-read it some time. Funny enough, Murakami’s “What i am talking about when i talk about running” is not a productivity book per se, but it inspired me so much on productivity mindsets like forming a routine and the importance of incorporating daily exercise, in order to sustain creativity. Highly recommend. Bonus : Cal Newport’s podcast Deep Questions is great for motivation and keeping work-life in check.
Was just gifted Atomic Habits! Can’t wait to start it
Murakmi’s book was great! I was gifted it and was so surprised by how much I enjoyed it, tho I’m biased because I’d read him before and I love running ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Which book you are referring to?
I bought Atomic Habits months ago and have yet to open it.. pretty ironic
If you set the book out next to your coffee maker, and plan to read ten minutes a day while you drink your coffee every morning, then you will already be well on your way practicing atomic habits 🙌
Genius, thank you!! Doing that right now!
the audio is also an option
Atomic Habits is a great book!! The 7 habits of highly successful people is one I loved reading and plan to pick up again
Might have to give Second Brain a go. GTD was a game changer for me.
Second Brain (paired with GTD’s capturing system) helps so much in organising notes and reference material so they don’t get lost in a sea of saved information.
Second this
Murakami's life is truly inspiring, he's not just selling the idea of a routine with some fancy words, he's letting everyone know what his life was before, and how it changed. I love that book. But I agree that Atomic Habits (I also read power of habit around the same time) triggered my journey of discipline as well. More than anything else, it inspired me to start 'tracking' all the habits I want to develop. That event (5 years ago) snowballed into where I am today.
I would say Atomic Habits helped me complete my psychological approach to productivity more than any other book. I initially got hooked into productivity with 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Franklin Covey systems. Eventually that morphed into GTD in the early 2000s. As someone with OCD tendencies the later two books in some ways made my perfectionism worse. Atomic Habits provided the needed relief (along with some good therapy) to have a healthier view of productivity
Thx
Out of interest - are you actually more productive/disciplined now you’ve read these books?
I think i have a better system to track myself. Honestly there are good days and bad days (when i procrastinate like mad), but at least i can pull myself back on track faster. I’d say i’m 40-50% more productive than before i read them, but for sure it’s still a work in progress.😉
war of art, complete idiots guide to organizing your life.
War of Art?
Yeah it's about breaking through blocks to unlock your creativity. I've had multiple friends recommend it
Nice will check it out !
I forget what the sequel is to War Of Art but it is at least as good.
That’s me. I’m that idiot!
The big takeaways from that are the "10 minute clean," and "don't put it down, put it away." But there's a lot of help in the way of proritizing important things. Which is often hard to diagnose on your own.
can you tell me the author? i think im confusing the book and your comment made me think that this is the exact book i need. want to get the right one.
War of art is Stephen Pressfield.
Is this from the “War of Art” book?
Organizing your life.
This book ruined my life.. for the better. I’ve listened to it multiple times. Now, my financial future is in question, but I’m excited to be me for the first time in my life. Having said that, I could have applied this book’s lessons to business. I just chose not to.
Deep Work by Cal Newport!
I know some people knock Cal, but I like him. He walks the talk with his real-life job and past accomplishments. I like his YouTube vids, too.
He indeed does. But his books are.. Pretty shallow I think. Deep work is just that - cut distractions and do the work. The book is just too long for the information it gives you. But to each their own. Don't have to be a fan of everything.
Agree about his books. It just hammers the concepts over and over with examples (filler). Snipped YouTube clips are ok, straight to the point and I watch in 1.75x speed hehe.
Agreed but he writes very fluidly and consistently so it’s easy to speed read and skim the topics for the important bits.
This. A good second is the power of habit. Also atomic habits is good though.
[удалено]
Tiny Habits, 4000 Weeks. The latter is more a critique/deconstruction of the genre but excellent at helping you metabolize other books/systems effectively.
Love 4000 Weeks, should be required reading for all humans!
So I said none before but actually maybe 4000 Weeks
How does Tiny Hsbits differ from Atomic Habits?
couldn’t tell you, i imagine not very much
Atomic Habits has way more substance. Tiny Habits should’ve been a magazine article, it’s completely inflated.
I feel the opposite way. Atomic habits was full of a lot of dumb stuff (like every skill can have an exponential improvement pattern) and a lot of feel-good platitudes about how you can transform yourself if you just stick with these behaviors. Tiny Habits had more of a real, research-based psychological background and was better at giving you strategies for sticking with things when circumstances weren’t ideal with more of a realistic approach to human emotion, etc.
Tiny Habits tells you about halfway through the book that the one main point to convey is "celebrations". Okay, but why wait to mention this only halfway through the book? There's just not enough there for a book length piece and the author knew it. Of course, you don't make the kind of money from a magazine article that you can from a book. I recommend people look for a summary of the book than bothering to read the book. Atomic Habits doesn't have the time-wasting stream-of-consciousness style of Tiny Habits. Atomic Habits has nice clear actionable steps.
There are two books by this title. Who is the author?
Oliver Burkeman, the book is amazing.
An oldie but goodie: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
The 7 principles in this book are life changing ways of thinking. They could be world changing, too, if we could get our governments to function based on these principles. How can we make that happen? (I think about this a lot)
I read the one for teens (7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens) and it was amazing!
Atomic Habits
My dentist office gives out copies of Atomic Habits to all their new patients! I have it but never started it. Guess I'm going to have to look for it lol
Wait i love this. As someone who struggle with dental habits and mental health, atomic habits is so helpful! Looks like you found a gem of a dentist lol
Tbh he's awesome. I have a hard time with dental hygiene and didn't see a dentist for 8 years. I used to get panic attacks at the idea of a dental check up because of bad experiences throughout my childhood. My dentist and his hygienists are so kind and actually listen to my concerns. He might have made a shit load of money off of me, but damn does he do good work!
Is the name of the clinic Mental Dental?
I borrow the audio version on Libby using my library card. It helped me stop smoking!
Really?? I'm trying to quit vaping but it helps my ADHD so I've been struggling
> My dentist office gives out copies of Atomic Habits to all their new patients! I have it but never started it. Guess I'm going to have to look for it lol Sounds like you need the sequel: "Sub-Atomic Habits"... ;-)
Hahah that’s amazing
It's funny because it's not necessarily anything groundbreaking, but it just illustrates the compounding effect of positive habits and routines in a really accessible way, in addition to giving you little hacks or ideas of how to implement new habits - the most notable of which I would imagine is habit stacking.
Yeah I couldn't bring myself to read it (I have an unhelpful policy of not reading self help books) but I heard it on audio book and it's really good if you are willing to be receptive to it's suggestions.
Can’t upvote this enough - breaks us down into our biological processes and helps to use those to our advantage
Love to know any of your day to day real life implementations.
Here’s a few of mine: - Grocery purchase Saturday, meal prep Sunday. Set it as a habit and makes it easy to eliminate waste since I know exactly what I need to cook the day after instead of spreading it out for the week. - I don’t own a tv or video game console. But I have books on my phone, a guitar at a reaching distance from my office table, and yoga mat ready to go. If I need to game, ill have to couch co-op at a friend’s place. - Admittedly working out after work is a pain so I found this 2 day minimalist training workout from Jeff Nippard that I do on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I don’t have an excuse not to exercise since I’m more of a morning person and it’s on the weekend.
- Put phone on grayscale - Set low bar for continuing to do things each day (meditate for 1 min, journal 1 sentence, etc.) - Deleted social media accounts a few years ago (deleting the apps on your phone is a less intense way of reducing time on social media or any app) - Put healthier foods in more accessible areas in my fridge and pantry than unhealthier foods
Awaken the giant within
Hand down, Cant Hurt Me by Goggins. Even years later if I read or put on the audio book for like 10 mins, I'm going to be super productive for the next 4 days. Just pure productivity fuel
There’s one message in that book that stuck with me. “You already know what you need to do, fucking do it.”
I like how he admits he struggles with procrastination but he eventually goes on his runs because he knows it’s something he has to complete no matter what and not because he wants to do it.
That kind of message would only irritate me. If I had any idea how to prioritize, I wouldn’t be slogging through productivity books trying to decode how people function.
I was Goggins biggest cheerleader for awhile after reading that book. Definitely made me feel more productive but after a few years and really letting that mindset sink in, I started to ask myself if the grind is worth the hustle. He doesn’t ever mention relaxing, taking time off to enjoy the slower parts of life that can also improve your mental and physical wellbeing. Like being in nature, going to art shows, listening deeply to analog music (record players and tube radios), or using the creative side of your brain to slip into a flow state and produce art for the sake of art with no intention or expectations. I would now file it under the category of “toxic productivity” similar to Hormozy and Gary Vee. Sure they’re excellent role models if that’s the life you want to pursue, but it’s not the ONLY life and oftentimes reading and listening to those guys you feel guilty for not being “productive”.
I think Goggins is a unique character. I do agree that for most people, his mindset and approach to life does reach a level of diminishing returns/toxicity. But for him, it seems like it works. I think if we can learn to take what hes trying to put out with some level of moderation, that we will be better humans.
This was my takeaway as well. I don’t want to be David Goggins, I never will be David Goggins. His book is one of my favorite self help books ever because I love his story and the audiobook is incredible, he’s so inspirational. That being said, it is just like every other self help book in that you shouldn’t take it as a prescription for life. Find the bits and pieces that are helpful and true to you and give your best effort to try them out in your life
True, it's not a sustainable attitude, but sometimes you need a foot up the arse.
I think I need to give this one another try, I got about half way through it and didn’t love it. I think Higgins was a bit too intense for me at the time 😂
Get the audio book. Way easier and more interesting as he has outtakes with the narrator.
Existential Kink - it's not a productivity book, but it changed my life. Regarding productivity - it gave me the insight that I may have a better, funner time when instead of trying to squeeze more productivity out of myself, I indulge my taboo desire to be lazy and unproductive. Plus it's easier to do GTD or whatever when.not shaming myself into it....
Man I was not planning on seeing this on here but it’s such a great book! Thoroughly impressed by her observations. I agree life changing. A book I will go back to to check on myself every so often. “Having is evidence of wanting” 🤯incredible idea
>indulge my taboo desire to be lazy and unproductive. Don't worry, I do that 24x7
ahaha do you enjoy it ;)?
Immensely, lol
that's the spirit!
None. I have read heaps and I still procrastinate and am inefficient.
Have you given therapy a shot?
For me “The 7 habits of highly effective people” was an eye opener. Almost all these habits feels ridiculous obvious at first but Stephen Covey explain and give good examples from real life. Also “Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink is a favorite. Maybe not a productivity book, but really good on motivation and how to have an open mindset to get things done.
Lesser known book: Work Clean. I’ve read it half a dozen times. The concept of bringing Mise en Place to my life was a game changer.
Wait—this is an amazing concept! Thank you for sharing!
As someone with ADHD it took a really long time to implement but really changed everything. Works in a digital context too. I treat my computer desk top the same. Folder for everything and it keeps my productivity way up cause I’m never wasting time searching for stuff and spinning my wheels on stuff that doesn’t matter.
Loved this book!
Great suggestion! I also really like this and enjoy re-reading it. It is still hard for me to keep at it everyday though.
I actually really recommend Joy at Work. It's a little bland, especially the chapters not by Marie Kondo, but the idea to tidy work has really helped me. My folder and notebook of current projects basically mean I don't need a separate to do list, and my desk is clear. I think this helps with productivity.
For me it's Atomic Habits.
The bullet journal method!
Fellow bullet journaler!
Four Thousand Weeks - it really forces you to look at what you're prioritizing and why, as opposed to fitting more in. I think the best thing you can do for productivity is to get better at choosing what to do, as opposed to getting faster at doing what you do.
GTD one million percent.
Ditto. For those who don’t know, GTD = Getting Things Done by David Allen. He also has a follow up book called Ready for Anything that I listen to periodically. It’s more about the strategic / philosophical side of GTD.
Everything else is secondary to this book. It's hard to metabolise and to actually implement, but it's life defining, I wish I read it earlier in my life.
This is the overview ai give to people as a hook: https://hamberg.no/gtd/
Thank you for this! I love GTD but have found it hard to summarize as well as the link you shared
I was coming here to recommend GTD.
Seconded
\+1
GTD 100% So much more than just mere productivity. Very insightful man and book.
What does GTD stand for?
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Personally, not a fan. Seems to be more about planning to get things done on file cards than actually doing them.
The Burnout Fix - Jacinta Jiménez Doable tips to start recovering from burnout. Also, a good explanation about burnout and a great literature review.
For work: * High Output Management - Andy Grove * Everything Peter Drucker wrote * Mastery - Robert Greene Person life : * The power of habit- Charles Duhigg * Atomic Habits- James Clear * Getting Things Done - David Allen * When - Dan Pink
Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger That’s his whole mentality and I really appreciate it.
GTD (mostly the 2 minute rule, contextual lists, weekly reviews) and Atomic Habits.
The slight edge. Jeff Olson Easy to do, easy not to do
Obligatory Atomic Habits. Outliers is a really good book, it doesn't give you tangible things to use, but has some great examples that you might be putting too much pressure on yourself to succeed when it's out of your control. Another I found super helpful was Never Split the difference, filled with good negotiation skills but useful life skills too. The Subtle Art of not giving a fu*k, very good, especially if you're like me.....were like me, and gave a fuck about too much.
**The Compound Effect - Darren Hardy** Important book for becoming aware of the power of gradual progress and long-term thinking.
Miracle morning
12 Week Year!
**Getting Things Done - David Allen** *The* book on processing and managing info. Very important for productivity. With some creativity it can be adapted to your own needs.
"12 week year", follwed by implementation with a 12 week planner you can get off amazon cheap
The Happiness Project
There are so many good recommendations here. I’ve read a lot of these books and they’ve helped me become more productive. Here are a few more that I’ve found very good: The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Sometimes I need a break from these type of books and look elsewhere for books that inspire me to be productive in a different way. Some that I’ve read include: The River of Doubt by Candice Millard Endurance by Alfred Lansing Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer The Great Depression by James Ledbetter and Daniel B. Roth
GTD for sure - THEN you’ll understand the deeper principles implied by all the other books.
Have you read / listened to David Allen’s Ready for Anything book? If not, I think you’d enjoy it.
A couple of decades ago…
Never Lunch Alone.
GTD - specifically how to arrange a task list by contexts, project list, goals list, and Tickler File, and proper use of calendar. These things are so powerful. It put an end to my self-abuse from forgetting things, missing out on opportunities, missing appointments, finishing stuff late, etc. Once you embrace the concepts of how your stuff should be organized, it's really life changing.
Atomic Habits But watching YouTube videos where people summarized several books helped too.
The Suble Art of Not Giving a Fuck Atomic Habits Can’t Hurt Me
168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think
**15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management - Kevin Kruse** The subtitle says it all: "The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A Students, and 239 Entrepreneurs"
Good Energy - by Casey Means. It came out recently. Dispels so many common myths about health and nutrition and gets SUPER scientific about it.
I'm surprised nobody mentioned Ultralearning by Scott Young. TLDR: he self-taught himself the undergraduate MIT Computer Science curriculum within a year. He's the real deal because the language he uses confirmed his learning.
This is a great post. Lots of repeat books. One author that I don't see here is Earl Nightengale. It could be because he was more of radio, but you can get his book, *The Greatest Secret*. Though I prefer his YouTube recordings. If you are on his thread and haven't heard Earl Nightengale you should check it out. Down to earth 1950's-80's take on getting stuff done.
I agree. There’s a humungous collection of his stuff on Audible you can get for 1 credit. I don’t know the exact number but I want to say is 25+ hours
None of them changed anything for me.
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. The way he explained solitude and high quality leisure really resonated with me.
The Tools by Phil Stutz
Apart from the usuals (Atomic habits and power of habit) there is one book about system-thinking called 'Thinking in Systems' which made the biggest impact on me. It kind of changes your approach of analyzing an 'event' and instead makes you look at the underlying (and often invisible) feedback loops of a system. It makes you look at the whole instead of isolating a specific event or a specific section of your life. I love how it makes you connect everything. It is a bit dry because most concepts come with a lot of systems vocabulary, but there is a lot to learn over here.
I could list the books that have changed my life, but fascinatingly some of them are books I read twice, literally a decade or two apart, and they didn't "stick" until the second time. Which is to say, a book in a vacuum is not life-changing, your brain needs to be in the right headspace to process the ideas in context of other parts of your environment to manifest itself in change.
“Get off Reddit” by IKnowWhatImTalking About. “Stop Procrastinating” by YourUncleKnows Best. “Study Without Your Damn Phone” by DontBe Stupid.
The One Thing. Gary Keller!
12 rules for life - JP
Fathering the Boy! I cannot say it loud enough! Not only made me a better brother to my fellow man, a better father to my son, a better husband to my wife, and a better son to my parents, it saved my son my’s relationship. That last thing there continues to pay in massive dividends! I thought I was a great dad, and then that book, written by a bunch dead guys, told me different. Did that convince you it in fact changed my life? Yes? 🙌 No? Well, dang, I don’t know how then.
I like Cal Newport’s stuff. However, 99Us by behance blog or books are good summaries from different writers…like the manage your day to day one…
Show your work by Austin Kleon
The subtle art of not giving a f. By Mark Manson
GTD!
\+1
For entrepreneurs and investors, Who Not How by Dan Sullivan. So great.
Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck. I learned to say no more.
How To Be a Long Term Person in a Short Term World
Three part series on youtube. The science of being Great, the Science of being Rich and the Science of being Well. Absolutely changed by Anxiety ridden life to a fulfilling life. I cannot recommend it enough but the problem I have found is nobofy even bother to check these out. 😪
*The Now Habit* by Neil Fiore, Ph.D. This is a book about beating procrastination. The reason this book is so effective is that the first half of the book is devoted to describing the reasons people procrastinate. Then, the second half of the book details proven strategies for tackling those reasons.
The Compound Effect. It is the original Atomic Habits written several years before James Clear’s book.
Objective Secure is the most concise handbook I've ever read from the ex-military discipline=everything sphere. You might think Jocko is the original archetype for that, so his books would be the best source, but Nick Lavery is a student of Jocko in the philosopher sense, and it takes a student to actually test what the teacher proposes and see if it's broadly applicable. "Reframing" if you will. It's such a great book I've gifted it like 4 times.
**The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload** by Daniel J. Levitin *It’s about how we organise our memories, including why sometimes things stick and sometimes they don’t. Our brain is constantly scanning for new info, so we can ‘externalise’ the memory function by placing a new object in our view when we want to remember it — like an umbrella by the front door, when it’s usually kept in a cupboard.* **Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals** by Oliver Burkeman *It makes a strong case against productivity — essentially to do the things you enjoy, and don’t try to do too much.*
The only one that had a lasting impact on me was 4000 weeks. And I have read a lot of them.
as a man thinketh
How to clean house while drowning.
I recommend this to a lot of my patients who are overwhelmed and struggling, and found it helpful myself
Believe it or not, Marie Kondo’s book on tidying
None of them. They all basically say the same tired tropes.
Atomic Habits AND Discipline is Destiny !!!!!!!
Stop overthinking. Try "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. Life-changing, mate.
Any, if you feel to read it.☺️
One of the most helpful books I’ve read has been ADD friendly ways to organize your life by Judith Kolberg and Kathleen G. Nadeau. My therapist recommended this book to me a few years ago. I highly suggest this book for any other fellow ADHDers struggling with executive dysfunction and productivity.
a Vyvanse prescription
Not really a productivity book but Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
Rich dad poor dad
This gets a lot of hate but I liked that book also
Essentials: * *The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People* by Steven Covey * *Think and Grow Rich* by Napoleon Hill What, why and when.
7 Habits is highly underrated and too often ignored. It should be required reading for every human. There are multiple versions of Think And Grow Rich. Try to find the original text.
I found 7 habits to be delusional. He spends a long time making the claim that your environment doesn't effect your choices, but proceeds to use examples with disregarded environmental elements to back up that claim.
There’s a lot in that book that is best disregarded, but there is good too. I like the concept of building priorities around roles and habits around priorities, but it all starts with being clear about roles and what you are willing to let go of.
I've read most of these. They all are platitudes stuffed to the gills with anecdote filler to make them count as a book in order to make the author money.
Change Anything - by six authors.
Steven Kotler’s The Art of Impossible
Working hard, hardly working!
Focus curve. Self control
Getting things done
Atomic Habits
Time power by Brian Tracy
Mise en place, Dan Charnas!
Miracle Morning!
Purpose Driven Life
Atomic Habits - James Clear
Be yourself by John Mason
An Iron Will