Do you ever feel as if you are wasting away your life doing meaningless and mundane things to get through the day only to find yourself repeating those very things the next day? Well, the good news is that you are not alone, and there are practical solutions out there to get you out of this unproductive haze.
Procrastination and a lack of ambition are sadly rampant in today’s world. Much of it can be attributed to the digital age we live in. Although there is excess to a lot of information and avenues for growth, people are not using it to their advantage and are instead caught up in a cycle of idleness.
Thankfully, there is help for people who are having trouble getting things done. A lot has been written about productivity and how to become the best version of yourself, but most of these self-help books tend to provide little value and more clichéd and repetitive old solutions.
In today’s article, I have collected the books that help and provide practical advice and solutions to problems about a lack of productivity. These are the best books, which definitely will help you get out of a rut.
In this Article
- 10. The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy
- 9. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
- 8. Raise Your Game: High-Performance Secrets from the Best of the Best
- 7. Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business
- 6. Indestructible: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
- 5. The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months
- 4. The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn’t, and Get Stuff Done
- 3. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
- 2. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
- 1. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
10. The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy
Author: Chris Bailey
Published: 2016
This book is the account of a year-long experiment conducted by Chris Bailey. He turned down lucrative job offers to experiment and explore the subject of productivity. Making himself the Guinea pig, he tried out various techniques to boost up his productivity daily. He kept a record of what worked and what didn’t and his finding are what you will read in this book, among countless other insights.
Key Features:
- Slowing down to work more deliberately;
- shrinking or eliminating the unimportant;
- the rule of three;
- striving for imperfection;
- scheduling less time for important tasks;
- the 20-second rule to distract yourself from the inevitable distractions;
- and the concept of productive procrastination.
Get it here.
9. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
Author: Atul Gawande
Published: 2009
In what seems like a pretty self-explanatory and straightforward idea, Atul Gawande dives deep into the utility of a simple checklist and how it can make you achieve your goals the right way. You will be surprised how simple, impactful things can be that we take for granted in our daily lives.
Key Features:
- Get better organized
- Learn how to minimize and avoid failure
- How checklists can bring striking improvements in a variety of fields.
- A surgical list from WHO designed by following the ideas described in this book has been adopted in more than twenty countries as a standard for care.
Get it here.
8. Raise Your Game: High-Performance Secrets from the Best of the Best
Author: Alan Stein JR.
Published: 2019
Alan Stein Jr., a performance coach, has worked out the secrets used by world-class performers and shares them in his book.
Key Features:
- Learn what high-achievers have in common that makes them unique.
- An in-depth examination of top leaders in sports and business.
- Learn to make the basics work instead of trends.
- Will inspire and empower you to commit to the fundamentals and create a winning mindset.
Get It from here.
7. Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business
Author: Charles Duhigg
Published: 2016
Charles Duhigg employs the use of neuroscience, psychology, behavioral economics, and experiences of CEOs, educational reformers, four-star generals, FBI agents, and airplane pilots to understand better why some people and organizations manage to do what they do. This book results from thorough research that proves that successful people don’t merely act differently, but they view the world and their choices in different ways.
Key Features:
- Scientific insight into the work ethic of highly successful people.
- Well researched findings backed by science.
- Explores the commonalities amongst over-achievers.
- Learn to succeed with less stress and struggle, and to get more done without sacrificing what we care about most,
Get it here.
6. Indestructible: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
Author: Nir Eyal
Published: 2019
There is no denying that the modern digital world has just too many distractions. Be it smartphones, computers, social media, cat videos, or the insatiable desire to stay updated every passing second; there is just too much happening all the time. The problem is you only have so much attention, and knowing how to say “indestructible” can help you get in control of your life.
Key Features:
- Why distraction at work is a symptom of dysfunctional company culture – and how to fix it
- What drives human behavior and why “time management is pain management.”
- Why your relationships (and your sex life) depend on you becoming indestructible
- How to raise distractable children in an increasingly distracting world
Get It from here.
5. The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months
Author: Brian P. Moran
Published: 2013
This book will teach you how to avoid the pitfalls of planning your work in the context of annual goals. Instead, Brian P. Moran will show you how to achieve more in 12 weeks by creating a sense of urgency.
Key Features:
- Explains how to leverage the power of a 12-week year to drive improved results in any area of your life
- Offers a how-to book for both individuals and organizations seeking to improve their execution effectiveness
- Authors are leading experts on execution and implementation
Get it from here.
4. The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn’t, and Get Stuff Done
Author: Kendra Adachi
Published: 2020
Kendra Adachi’s best-selling book’s core idea is to do things you think matter without feeling guilt. There is a lot of emphasis on individual “shoulds” by the people we surround ourselves with. However, Kendra argues that for once, you should try to live well by your definition with the help of certain principles that she calls the “thirteen Lazy Genius principles.”
Key Features:
- Learn to be decisive and stick to your decisions.
- It’s okay to start small.
- Ask the right questions.
- Identify the correct order and follow it.
- Rest is important.
Get it here.
3. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
Author: David Allen
Published: 2001
His book’s enormous popularity caused David Allen to revisit his book and publish a revision in 2015. Getting things done is essentially a time management book that lays out methods on how to plan tasks and projects by recording them externally and then breaking them into actionable work items.
Key Features:
- Learn how to store, track and retrieve the information related to the things that need to get done.
- How to eliminate and avoid mental blocks.
- How to use external reminders to take action instead of procrastinating.
- How to think in advance and generate a series of activities that can be undertaken without further planning to start a project.
Get it here.
2. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
Author: Charles Duhigg
Published: 2012
Charles Duhigg attempts to explain why habits exist and how they can be changed by exploring scientific discoveries that better help us understand our brain.
Key Features:
- Learn what makes you adopt certain habits and why you can’t adopt others.
- How to condition yourself into adopting new practices by understanding the habit loop.
- Learn what the golden rule of habit change is and use it to replace bad habits with good ones.
- How to identify keystone habits and avoid triggering unproductive habits.
Get it from here.
1. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Author: James Clear
Published: 2018
James Clear is a world-renowned expert on habit formation. In his book “Atomic Habits” he reveals the practical strategies that will teach you how to form and adopt good habits, let go of the bad ones and master tiny behavioral changes that lead to remarkable results.
Key Features:
- Learn how to make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy).
- Overcome a lack of motivation and willpower.
- design your environment to make success easier
- Get back on track when you fall off course…and much more.
Get it from here.