Productivity is more than just a buzzword. It’s a vital quality that helps us accomplish our daily tasks, organize our lives, and achieve our goals.
Although numerous tricks and tools can help boost productivity, sometimes, we need more help. We need to dive deep into the topic with structured instructions. Books can help.
Discover 11 of the best books for productivity that can help you shift your mindset and accomplish your goals.
How Can A Book Improve Productivity?
You might be thinking that productivity can’t be found in books. While technically correct, books can help people change their thoughts about what it takes to be productive.
Some books offer tips for dealing with distractions, while others may include tools to help you stay on track.
Books for productivity can help in another critical way as well. Reading a book on productivity can give us the mental boost needed to follow through with what we read. If we are dedicated enough to buy a book, we are probably motivated enough to read it and use the tools we learn in it, which will, in fact, help boost our productivity.
The Best Books for Productivity
Now that you know how books can help, here are the best books for productivity. Pick the one that’s right for you, and start achieving your goals today!
Hey folks! Transparency Disclosure- Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. That means I’ll receive a small commission if you decide to click on it and buy something. Don’t worry, it doesn’t cost you anything extra!
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a timeless classic in productivity. First published in 1989, it became a New York Times Bestseller and was re-released in 2014 as a 25th-anniversary edition.
There’s a reason this book has endured. The advice by author Stephen Covey transcends daily tasks. It’s not about hours spent staring at a computer or putting down modern distractions.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is about developing value-based personal habits that will lead to success. Covey won’t tell you to go to bed early or work out X times per week. Instead, he implores you to change your thinking, especially regarding goal setting. As one of the most classic books for productivity, this is a great place to start.
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
Getting Things Done was first written and published in 2001 by David Allen, a productivity consultant. He based his book on the productivity system he teaches, which is aptly named “Getting Things Done.”
The book was revised and re-released in 2015, but the core message remains the same. If you are stressed out and overwhelmed, getting things done is difficult. Clearing our minds and organizing our thoughts helps us overcome these roadblocks, and Getting Things Done offers tools for doing just that.
How to Stop Procrastinating: A Simple Guide to Mastering Difficult Tasks and Breaking the Procrastination Habit
Procrastination is one of the biggest enemies of productivity. Most of us are guilty of it. We take one look at that giant to-do list and decide to waste our time instead.
How to Stop Procrastinating by S.J. Scott can help.
In this book, Scott identifies eight common reasons for procrastination and gives you the tools you need to overcome them. With his help, you can eliminate your lousy procrastination habit and start building healthier habits that will help you accomplish your goals.
Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day
Make Time is all about getting the most out of your day. Authors Jake Zeratsky and John Knapp are masters of time management skills for everyday people. They are so obsessed with making the best use of your time that they’ve dubbed themselves the “Time Dorks.”
But Make Time excels because the focus isn’t on enhanced productivity. It’s more about redesigning your work around your life so that productivity naturally follows. And with over 80 different methods of achieving this, there’s bound to be one that works for you.
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What Do in Life and Business
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg is a different kind of book on productivity. It looks at the science of building habits and tries to explain how to get things done from a human behavior perspective. Building good habits might be as simple as understanding how habits work.
Duhigg illustrates his findings with real-life examples from boardrooms to football fields. He describes how Proctor & Gamble used human behavior to make their Febreze product successful and how learning how habits work was crucial for Michael Phelps’s rise to Olympic stardom.
The premise is that anyone can use these scientific findings to build better habits.
15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management- The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A Students, and 239 Entrepreneurs
To unlock the secret to productivity, Kevin Kruse decided to ask the professionals. His research led him to interview many famous and not-so-famous, highly productive people to see if they had anything in common.
As it turns out, they do.
Productive people tend to keep their inboxes clear, work from their calendars, and maximize their available time. 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management goes in-depth on these and other productivity hacks. In addition, it includes an easy-to-use list of things you can do to save time and energy.
The Four-Hour Work Week
The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss is the only book that made my must-read finance books list and my list of best books on productivity. It applies to both!
The Four-Hour Workweek is about maximizing your productivity by automating as many things as possible and using your newfound time and freedom to live the life that you want.
Although modern audiences may find Ferriss’s ideas outdated and privileged, his main point, that you need to determine what’s most important to you and find ways to automate the rest, remains valid.
Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind
Edited by Jocelyn K. Glei, Manage Your Day is one of the more recent books on productivity that made the list. Published in 2013, it’s actually a collection of contributions by various authors on their best tips for effective time management in a world where disconnecting seems impossible.
Manage Your Day is interesting because it acknowledges the challenges our interconnected world has brought, from constant notifications to feeling like you always have to be on. The tips each author provides will help you focus on what matters most in your busy world.
Eat That Frog
What a weird name for a productivity book, right?
Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy is based on a metaphor that dates back to Mark Twain. Twain is credited with saying that if the first thing you do each morning is eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that will happen to you all day.
Tracy expands on this metaphor, using it as a guide stone to help you achieve maximum productivity. Identify the worst tasks on your to-do list and get them done first.
He offers many vital details, including tips on how to eat the frog and what to do if you have multiple frogs. Tracy also stresses the reasons behind eating the frog: we will have more time to focus on what matters most to us.
Extreme Productivity
In Extreme Productivity, author Robert Pozen emphasizes focusing on your highest priorities. He posits that identifying and completing tasks with the highest impact on organizational goals is a secret hack to feeling more productive.
Extreme Productivity focuses on careers, but the tips and techniques listed can also be used to attain results at home. His focus on producing results rather than just putting in the time will help anyone be more productive, whether in their professional or daily lives.
Productivity Super Charger
Productivity Super Charger by Matthew McClure is a well-rounded instructional manual on productivity. McClure offers valuable advice on everything from determining what’s more important to overcoming procrastination to delegating menial tasks.
If you’re looking for a well-laid-out book with relatable and actionable tips for enhancing your productivity, Productivity Super Charger is the book for you.
Not Today: The Nine Habits of Extreme Productivity
Not Today offers a slightly different perspective on productivity. Authors Mike and Erica Schultz learned how to embrace productivity through an immense challenge in their personal lives—the unexpected tragedy of a sick child.
Through their trials, they discovered the secrets to living more intentionally while maintaining high levels of productivity. This experience led them to conduct even more research into productivity, which led them to develop this helpful guide.
The Dangers of Reading Books for Productivity
Though many of these books offer helpful tips for boosting productivity, there’s a hidden pitfall.
Some of us get so caught up in needing advice from books that we constantly buy new self-help books but never follow through. We read it, toss it aside, and move on to the next book.
Reading books makes us feel productive because we feel like we did something. But in reality, we’re still frozen and don’t get much done.
If you want to boost your productivity, you must follow through with the advice in the books.
More Tools to Help You Be Productive
I get it; books aren’t for everyone. Maybe you learn better through courses or need a better journal or notebook to help you increase your productivity.
Some people want all the tools. If that’s you, the Ultimate Bundles Super Productivity Bundle is a great choice, but unfortunately, it’s only available in February.
You can add your name to the wait list for a notification the instant it hits the shelf.
But for those who need something different, here are my favorite resources for boosting productivity.
The Best Courses On Productivity
There are a plethora of online classes that will help you be more productive. Some may help you grow your organizational skills, while others focus on helping you achieve deadlines.
Whatever you’re looking for, there’s an online course for you on these great platforms.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning has numerous f options for learning about productivity online. They have courses on the exact topics I already mentioned, courses about managing your to-do list, and courses on developing better habits in general.
A bonus to LinkedIn Learning is that you don’t pay by the course; you pay a monthly subscription fee and gain access to the thousands of courses offered. When you’re done learning about productivity, put those new skills to the test and learn about graphic design or program management.
Udemy
Udemy is a leader in online education. Its classes cover nearly everything you could imagine, including productivity.
Udemy offers a few fantastic courses specific to productivity.
The 30-day Challenge to a More Productive and Much Happier You is a fantastic course that provides productivity tips that are achievable for almost everyone.
If you only want to take one class to be more productive, check this one out.
Journals, Calendars, Planners, and More!
Writing makes me feel most productive. I use lists, journals, notebooks, and other visual boards to guide my creative process.
If you stroll through any office supply store or online journaling store, you’ll find an overwhelming amount of calendars, journals, and planners designed to boost productivity and creativity.
Check out some of my favorites:
Ivory Paper Co All-in-One Planner
The Ivory Paper Company’s all-in-one planner is the perfect solution to organizing your day (and life!). It features an address book, monthly calendars, and daily pages where you can write your goals, tasks, and achievements.
Perfect Planning Calendar
If you are just looking for a calendar, you should snag this wall calendar from Staples.
I love calendars with vertical alignment, but they are hard to find. I searched so many stores before I finally found one at Staples. Since then, I’ve gotten one yearly and use it to plan my finances, trips, and important events. I love it so much.
More Planners
The world abounds with planners, each with unique features designed for your needs. Check out our in-depth review of the best planners to grab the one that’s right for you.
The Journal for All Your Needs
Sometimes, you just need a traditional journal for all of your bulleting, notetaking, brain dumping, and planning needs. Franklin Planner has a wide variety of journals with a beautiful selection of covers and page types for a reasonable price.
What’s Your Favorite Book for Productivity?
What book helped you slay your goals and enhance your productivity? I’d love to hear about more titles I haven’t read! Share your favorites in the comments!