Reading productivity books might be a great way to procrastinate, but if you find the best time management books, reading them will not be a waste of time. In other words, you will learn how to avoid procrastination. Here are the seven best-selling books on productivity and time management.
#1 “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change” by Stephen R. Covey
To this day, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” remains one of the most popular books on productivity and time management. It was first published way back in 1989 and has helped millions of people to improve their productivity both professionally and in their personal life. In other words, it’s a go-to book for anyone to get started and has become a classic in this niche that will remain important for years ahead.
What this book does is that it helps you develop healthy habits instead of trying to get rid of the bad ones that will go away with time anyway. The book does this by showing you how to determine what is important for you and identify your goals or priorities. In addition to that, the book teaches you how to create a schedule around your priorities instead of trying to find priorities in your schedule.
#2 “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg McKeown
Another great book on productivity and prioritizing the right things in your life is “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less”. This book goes deeper into how to start determining what is more important in your life. But unlike the previous book, it also teaches you how to get rid of the things that are not necessary for you, yet you keep sticking to them. After all, the whole point of essentialism is about doing the right things rather than doing all the things you want to do.
This book will also help you understand how you should invest your time and energy more wisely to get the most out of your efforts. By doing smart investments, you will be able to become a much more productive person. You will be surprised by how many unnecessary tasks you have performed in your life and how much free time you will get once you stop spending it on the wrong things – and this book will help you understand this.
#3 “The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business” by Charles Duhigg
“The Power of Habit” is another book that focuses primarily on developing good habits. As the full title suggests, the book specifically looks into the causes of our actions both in private and professional aspects of our life. In fact, our habits contribute to this tremendously and can even alter the way we think just because we are used to doing something in a particular way or a particular order.
The author uses scientific discoveries and entertaining stories to show you examples of how habits influence us in our daily lives even without us realizing it. The point is to explain how exactly these habits can be changed and new habits can be developed and adopted over time. If you have the right habits, you can even achieve more than you expect from yourself. If you are looking for a book with many real-life examples, this is the one for you.
#4 “The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich” by Timothy Ferriss
Sometimes it’s all about having a clear step-by-step guide to show you the right way to achieve your aims, and “The 4-Hour Workweek” is all about that. By the way, you can also increase its efficiency by combining your new strategy for transformation with the RoundPie that will help you with time management. The author aims to explain how you can start earning more by managing your time better.
Yes, this does sound outlandish, but the book includes numerous real-life examples and case studies that prove that it is possible to start earning more while working less. For example, one of the tips in the book states that you need to be able to quit things that don’t work and focus your attention on those that do. If you don’t know how to say “no”, you will continue being in a situation that you don’t like.
#5 “Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time” by Brian Tracy
If you don’t want to focus on your habits and want to direct your attention specifically to your procrastination, “Eat That Frog!” is the book you should definitely try. By the way, the title of the book was inspired by a quote attributed to Mark Twain that states, “Eat a live frog the first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” It’s an interesting piece of advice, but it is actually very useful.
The author takes a simple approach to working your way through the day. You need to deal with your most difficult task in the morning before moving on to the less complex ones. This way, you will feel that everything you do afterward is easy. The book also includes various practices you can use to set yourself long-term and short-term goals, become more organized, and so on.
#6 “How to Stop Procrastinating: A Simple Guide to Mastering Difficult Tasks and Breaking the Procrastination Habit” by S.J. Scott
A great book on procrastination, “How to Stop Procrastination” focuses on two main things: how to stop procrastination and how to deal with difficult tasks that cause procrastination. This book has a ton of real-life stories that you will be able to relate to along with scientific research to support the tips the author provides for preventing procrastination and tackling challenges head-on.
If you are looking for specifics, “How to Stop Procrastination” has your ideal training guide with tips that were tested by the author himself and are guaranteed to work. The techniques in this book are practical rather than theoretical which means you will be able to apply them in your own life immediately. Moreover, after reading it, you will finally understand why procrastination is as bad as everyone claims it to be.
#7 “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” by David Allen
Last but not least, “Getting Things Done” takes an unusual approach to being productive. The author explains that in order to improve your productivity, you must first learn how to relax. If you know how to set your mind off your work, you will be able to organize thoughts much better and create a schedule that is most suitable for you.
If you think that the approach you are currently using to deal with procrastination and time management is not as effective as you expected it to be, this book will definitely help you analyze what your pain points are and change the way you approach your responsibilities.
Bonus books:
“Automate Your Busywork: Do Less, Achieve More, and Save Your Brain for the Big Stuff” by Aytekin Tank
Automate Your Busywork by entrepreneur, founder, and CEO of Jotform Aytekin Tank is a must-read handbook for everyone who wants to make the most of their most precious asset: time. In this book, you’ll discover how to automate your busywork and focus on what really matters in your business and life.
This book shows you what is possible when you offload repetitive tasks and use delegation to automation. When you learn to use an automation-first mindset and no-code automation tools, you’ll transform your ability to focus on your most important work. You will unlock your productivity potential and achieve “timefulness,” the state of having enough time.
With this book, you will move from busywork to less work and finally gave the time you need to accomplish your most important work.
“The Pomodoro Technique: The Life-Changing Time-Management System” by Francesco Cirillo
And, as a bonus, it is worth noting that Francesco Cirillo’s “The Pomodoro Technique” offers an incredibly simple technique for time management. Moreover, it is particularly suitable for procrastinators who are looking to, well, stop procrastinating.
The author explains how you can predict the time it will take you to complete a particular task, how to monitor your productivity, and how to set yourself goals that you will definitely be able to achieve.
Final Thoughts
All in all, don’t worry about your laziness because everyone likes procrastination. With the help of the books listed in this article, you will be able to stop procrastinate and start managing your time much better.
About the author:
Nancy Howard has been working as a writing expert at Online Writers Rating for a year. She is also a professional writer in such topics as blogging, IT and marketing. She loves travelling, photography and always welcome to meet new people.
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