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The Best Books on Productivity

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“Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker

Welcome to the Sources of Insight list of the best productivity books!

Below is a curated collection of the best personal development books I have been able to get my hands on.

Want to know more about how I decided if a book makes it to my list? Read this longer post on how I build my book recommendation lists.

Happy reading!

The Top 10 Productivity Books

Here is a list of my top 10 productivity books that might help you focus, prioritize, use your strengths, improve your energy, and amplify your productivity  …

1. 18 Minutes

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Peter Bregman shares a refreshingly simple approach to productivity.  His framework helps you establish your goals and priorities at the annual, daily, and moment-to-moment level, while dealing with distractions and setting boundaries.

2. Flow

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You know those times where you lose yourself in the moment, or you are “in the zone.”  That’s flow.  Flow is a state of mind where you are fully energized and fully engaged in the task at hand.

You can also think of flow as your “peak” productivity experiences, where you are performing at your best.   Flow experiences are both demanding and rewarding.  This book is how to create more flow experiences in your daily life.

3.  Getting Results the Agile Way

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This is my book.  I share with you a very simple approach for unleashing your productivity and realizing your full potential.

My approach combines what I’ve learned from sports psychology, positivity psychology, project management, and more to help you think better, feel better, and take better action.  It really comes down to “better energy, better results.”

4.  Getting Things Done

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This is a timeless classic for anyone who wants to master time management and, well, as the title says, actually get things done.

In essence, it’s about figuring out what’s worth getting done, and then making a time and place for those things to get done.

5.  Go Put Your Strengths to Work

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This is one of the greatest books on how to actually use your strengths to sharpen your skills, improve your productivity, and generate more energy as you go.

Imagine if you could get better at what you do, while enjoying what you do, and actually have more energy when you are done, than when you started.

Energy is your force multiplier when it comes to productivity, and your strengths are the keys to generating this energy.

6.  Hyperfocus

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This is a great book for helping you direct your attention for maximum results.  Chris Baily does a great job of helping you deal with different types of distractions, create a more effective work environment, control your motivation, and multi-task more strategically to stay engaged and enjoy your productivity.

7.  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

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This is another timeless masterpiece on the art and science of productivity.  Stephen Covey gives you a framework for thinking about priorities and doing them.

He teaches you how to be proactive, how to begin with the end in mind, and how to put first things first.

He also teaches you how to renew yourself and how to achieve better results with other people.  He help you become more productive by focusing on whole person productivity and by helping you collaborate more effectively to amplify your results.

8.  The 80/20 Individual

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This book teaches you how to focus on the small set of activities that produce your greatest results.

A cornerstone concept in this book is that 80 percent of changes in the world result from the most powerful 20 percent of actions and ideas.

Learn how to use your “20 percent spike” as a lever for your own exponential results.

9.  The Power of Full Engagement

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When people think of productivity they often think of time management.  But according to Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, the key is to manage energy, not time, if you want to achieve better results.  And they show you how to master your energy on every level: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

10.  The Productivity Project

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Imagine experimenting with all the different productivity approaches and methods out there to see what works and what doesn’t and then sharing your results and what you learned. Well, that’s what Chris Baily did during his pursuit of improving his personal productivity.

The Best Books on Productivity by Category

With the top 10 productivity books in mind, now here is a list of the best books on productivity by category to help you master your productivity skills…

Getting Started with Productivity

  • 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done, by Peter Bregman
  • Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
  • Getting Results the Agile Way: A Personal Results System for Work and Life, by J.D. Meier
  • Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen
  • Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance, by Marcus Buckingham
  • Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want — Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible, by Brian Tracy
  • Mindset: The New Psychology of Success; How We Can Learn to Fulfill Our Potential, by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.
  • The 80/20 Individual: How to Build on the 20% of What You do Best, by Richard Koch
  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey
  • The Essential Drucker, by Peter F. Drucker
  • The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal, by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz

Advanced Productivity Books

  • Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School, by John Medina
  • How To Think Like da Vinci: 7 Easy Steps to Boosting Your Everyday Genius, by Michael Gelb
  • Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind, by Jocelyn K. Glei
  • Overachievement: The New Science of Working Less to Accomplish More, by John Elliot
  • The 4-Hour Workweek, by Time Ferris
  • The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness, by Stephen Covey
  • The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, by Michael D. Watkins
  • The Obstacle is the Way, by Ryan Holiday
  • Unlimited Power: The New Science Of Personal Achievement, by Tony Robbins
  • What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings–and Life, by Laura Vanderkam

Action

  • Act Now! A Daily Action Log for Achieving Your Goals in 90 Days, by Peter Winiarski
  • Getting Results the Agile Way: A Personal Results System for Work and Life, by J.D. Meier
  • Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen
  • Just Start: Take Action, Embrace Uncertainty, Create the Future, by Leonard A. Schlesinger
  • The Freakishly Productive Guide to Taking Action, by Annie Mueller

Delegation

  • Delegation & Supervision, by Brian Tracy

Drive, Energy, and Motivation

  • Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, by Daniel Pink
  • Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
  • Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life, by Martin Seligman
  • The Charge: Activating the 10 Human Drives That Make You Feel Alive, by Brendon Burchard
  • The Desire Map, by Danielle LaPorte
  • The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal, by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz

Focus

  • Focal Point: A Proven System to Simplify Your Life, Double Your Productivity, and Achieve All Your Goals, by Brian Tracy
  • Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, by Daniel Goleman
  • The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Absolute Confidence and Certainty, by Jack Canfield, Les Hewitt, and Mark Hansen

Goals

  • Goal-Free Living: How to Have the Life You Want NOW!, by Stephen M. Shapiro
  • Goal Setting: 21 Days To Achieving Life Changing Goals And Being Happy Happy Happy, by Darrin Wiggins
  • Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want — Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible, by Brian Tracy
  • Practical Goal Setting: A Guide for Real People Who Want to Live Unreal Lives, by Mark Milotday
  • Ready, Aim, Fire! Setting and Achieving Goals, by Erik Fisher
  • S.M.A.R.T. Goals Made Simple – 10 Steps to Master Your Personal and Career Goals, by S.J. Scott
  • The One Thing, by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

Learning and School

  • 19 High-Impact Study Hacks: Learn the Techniques Top Students Use To Get Amazing Grades & Cut Study Time in Half, by Richard Glenn
  • How To Win at College: Surprising Secrets for Success from the Country’s Top Students, by Cal Newport
  • The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life, by Tim Ferris

Procrastination

  • Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time, by Brian Tracy
  • No Excuses!: The Power of Self-Discipline, by Brian Tracy
  • The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging and Postponing, by John Perry
  • The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play, by Neil Fiore
  • The War of Art: Break Through the Block and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, by Stephen Pressfield
  • Time Warrior: How to Defeat Procrastination, People-Pleasing, Self-Doubt, Over-Commitment, Broken Promises and Chaos, by Steve Chandle

Strengths

  • Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification, by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman
  • Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance, by Marcus Buckingham
  • StrengthsFinder 2.0, by Tom Rath

Teams and Organizations

  • Exponential Organizations: Why New Organizations are Ten Times Better, Faster, and Cheaper Than Yours (and What to Do About It), by Salim Ismail, Michael S. Malone, and Yuri van Geet
  • Flawless Execution: Use the Techniques and Systems of America’s Fighter Pilots to Perform at your Peak and Win Battles in the Business World, by James D. Murphy
  • Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, by Liz Wiseman
  • Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t, by Verne Harnish
  • Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time, by Jeff Sutherland
  • The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, by Peter M. Senge
  • The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, by Michael D. Watkins
  • The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses, by Eric Ries
  • The Oz Principle: Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational Accountability, by Roger Conners

To-Do Lists

  • Getting Results the Agile Way: A Personal Results System for Work and Life, by J.D. Meier
  • Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen
  • The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, by Atul Gawande
  • To-Do List Makeover: A Simple Guide to Getting the Important Things Done, by S.J. Scott

Work-Life Balance

  • Getting Results the Agile Way: A Personal Results System for Work and Life, by J.D. Meier
  • Goal-Free Living: How to Have the Life You Want NOW!, by Stephen M. Shapiro
  • How Full Is Your Bucket?: Positive Strategies for Work and Life, by Tom Rath
  • Less Doing, More Living: Make Everything in Life Easier, by Ari Meisel
  • Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives, by Richard Swenson
  • The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential…in Business and in Life, by Leo Babauta
  • Work from the Inside Out: Seven Steps to Loving What You Do, by Nancy O’Hara

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