20 Best Books About Productivity (2023 Update)

The book lifehack calls "the bible of business and personal productivity."" a completely revised and updated edition of the blockbuster bestseller from 'the personal productivity guru'"—fast companysince it was first published almost fifteen years ago, david allen’s getting things done has become one of the most influential business books of its era, and the ultimate book on personal organization. “gtd” is now shorthand for an entire way of approaching professional and personal tasks, and has spawned an entire culture of websites, organizational tools, seminars, and offshoots. allen has rewritten the book from start to finish, tweaking his classic text with important perspectives on the new workplace, and adding material that will make the book fresh and relevant for years to come. this new edition of getting things done will be welcomed not only by its hundreds of thousands of existing fans but also by a whole new generation eager to adopt its proven principles.

Named one of the best books of the year bythe wall street journal – financial timesnew york times bestsellera young woman walks into a laboratory. over the past two years, she has transformed almost every aspect of her life. she has quit smoking, run a marathon, and been promoted at work. the patterns inside her brain, neurologists discover, have fundamentally changed. marketers at procter & gamble study videos of people making their beds. they are desperately trying to figure out how to sell a new product called febreze, on track to be one of the biggest flops in company history. suddenly, one of them detects a nearly imperceptible pattern—and with a slight shift in advertising, febreze goes on to earn a billion dollars a year. an untested ceo takes over one of the largest companies in america. his first order of business is attacking a single pattern among his employees—how they approach worker safety—and soon the firm, alcoa, becomes the top performer in the dow jones. what do all these people have in common? they achieved success by focusing on the patterns that shape every aspect of our lives. they succeeded by transforming habits. in the power of habit, award-winning new york times business reporter charles duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. with penetrating intelligence and an ability to distill vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives, duhigg brings to life a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential for transformation. at its core, the power of habit contains an exhilarating argument: the key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work. habits aren't destiny. the power of habit is an exception. charles duhigg not only explains how habits are formed but how to kick bad ones and hang on to the good.”—financial times “a flat-out great read.”—david allen, bestselling author of getting things done: the art of stress-free productivity “you'll never look at yourself, your organization, or your world quite the same way.”—daniel h. pink, bestselling author of drive and a whole new mind “entertaining . . . enjoyable . . . fascinating . . . a serious look at the science of habit formation and change.”—the new york times book review

New york times bestseller – from the author of the power of habit comes a fascinating book that explores the science of productivity, and why managing how you think is more important than what you think–with an appendix of real-world lessons to apply to your life. at the core of smarter faster better are eight key productivity concepts–from motivation and goal setting to focus and decision making–that explain why some people and companies get so much done. drawing on the latest findings in neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics–as well as the experiences of ceos, educational reformers, four-star generals, fbi agents, airplane pilots, and broadway songwriters–this painstakingly researched book explains that the most productive people, companies, and organizations don't merely act differently. they view the world, and their choices, in profoundly different ways. a young woman drops out of a phd program and starts playing poker. by training herself to envision contradictory futures, she learns to anticipate her opponents' missteps–and becomes one of the most successful players in the world. a group of data scientists at google embark on a four-year study of how the best teams function, and find that how a group interacts is more important than who is in the group–a principle, it turns out, that also helps explain why saturday night live became a hit. a marine corps general, faced with low morale among recruits, reimagines boot camp–and discovers that instilling a "bias toward action" can turn even the most directionless teenagers into self-motivating achievers. the filmmakers behind disney's frozen are nearly out of time and on the brink of catastrophe–until they shake up their team in just the right way, spurring a creative breakthrough that leads to one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. what do these people have in common? they know that productivity relies on making certain choices.

The #1 sunday times bestseller 'excellent.' the times 'offers a fresh take on how to create your own balance, be more productive and feel fulfilled in the high-pressure social media age.' cosmopolitan, 12 best new books to read 'serves some serious inspiration for the business-minded.' in working hard, hardly working, entrepreneur and self-proclaimed 'lazy workaholic' grace beverley challenges this unrealistic and unnecessary split, and offers a fresh take on how to create your own balance, be more productive and feel fulfilled. ________________ a book to help you: create your own productivity method: work smart and do more of what you love make your routine work for you: optimise your habits and reap the benefits understand your value: get into your flow and enjoy your everyday engage in effective self-care: how stepping back can help you move forwards

A fresh, personal, and entertaining exploration of a topic that concerns all of us how to be more productive at work and in every facet of our lives. chris bailey turned down lucrative job offers to pursue a lifelong dream to spend a year performing a deep dive experiment into the pursuit of productivity, a subject he had been enamored with since he was a teenager. after obtaining his business degree, he created a blog to chronicle a year-long series of productivity experiments he conducted on himself, where he also continued his research and interviews with some of the world's foremost experts, from charles duhigg to david allen.

Are you overworked and overwhelmed? what if a few new habits could increase your productivity by 5x or even 10x? imagine if you had an extra hour each day to read, exercise, sleep, or to spend with your family. new york times bestselling author, kevin kruse, presents the remarkable findings of his study of ultra-productive people. based on survey research and interviews with billionaires, olympic athletes, straight-a students, and over 200 entrepreneurs–including mark cuban, kevin harrington, james altucher, john lee dumas, grant cardone, and lewis howes–kruse answers the question: what are the secrets to extreme productivity? you will learn: – how to cure procrastination with "time travel" – how to save 8 hours a week with "3 questions" – how to identify your real top priorities – how to get to zero emails in your inbox every day – how the simple e-3c system will 5x productivity – how to reduce stress with the richard branson tool – how to leave work at 5:00 without feeling guilty – how to run meetings like apple, google & virgin – how to conquer social media distractions – bonus: discover your time personality quiz – bonus: 100+ time management quotes

'the bible of business and personal productivity' lifehack 'a completely revised and updated edition of the blockbuster bestseller from 'the personal productivity guru' fast company since it was first published almost fifteen years ago, david allen's getting things done has become one of the most influential business books of its era, and the ultimate book on personal organization. 'gtd' is now shorthand for an entire way of approaching professional and personal tasks, and has spawned an entire culture of websites, organizational tools, seminars, and offshoots. allen has rewritten the book from start to finish, tweaking his classic text with important perspectives on the new workplace, and adding material that will make the book fresh and relevant for years to come. this new edition of getting things done will be welcomed not only by its hundreds of thousands of existing fans but also by a whole new generation eager to adopt its proven principles.

The #1 new york times bestseller. over 4 million copies sold! – no matter your goals, atomic habits offers a proven framework for improving–every day. james clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. – if you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. the problem is your system. bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. you do not rise to the level of your goals. you fall to the level of your systems. here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights. – clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field. – 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. – atomic habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits–whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

An instant new york times bestseller and #1 wall street journal bestseller. jim kwik, the world’s #1 brain coach, has written the owner’s manual for mental expansion and brain fitness. limitless gives people the ability to accomplish more–more productivity, more transformation, more personal success and business achievement–by changing their mindset, motivation, and methods. these “3 m’s” live in the pages of limitless along with practical techniques that unlock the superpowers of your brain and change your habits. for over 25 years, jim kwik has worked closely with successful men and women who are at the top in their fields as actors, athletes, ceos, and business leaders from all walks of life to unlock their true potential. in this groundbreaking book, he reveals the science-based practices and field-tested tips to accelerate self learning, communication, memory, focus, recall, and speed reading, to create fast, hard results. learn how to: flip your mindset your brain is like a supercomputer and your thoughts program it to run. that’s why the kwik brain process starts with unmasking assumptions, habits, and procrastinations that stifle you, redrawing the borders and boundaries of what you think is possible. it teaches you how to identify what you want in every aspect of your life, so you can move from negative thinking to positive possibilities. ignite your motivation uncovering what motivates you is the key that opens up limitless mental capacity. this is where passion + purpose + energy meet to move you closer to your goals, while staying focused and clear. your personal excitement will be sustainable with self-renewing inspirations. your mind starts strong, stays strong, and drives further exponentially faster. our process, programs, podcasts, and products unleash your brain’s own superpowers. finish a book 3x faster through speed reading (and remember every part of it), learn a new language in record time, and master new skills with ease. these are just a few of the life-changing self-help benefits. with kwik brain, you’ll get brain-fit and level-up your mental performance. with the best mindset, motivation and method, your powers become truly limitless.

Do people see you as the kind of leader you want to be? are your strongest leadership qualities getting in the way of your greatness? after decades of advising and inspiring some of the most eminent chief executives in the world, lolly daskal has uncovered a startling pattern: within each leader are powerful abilities that are also hidden impediments to greatness. she’s witnessed many highly driven, overachieving leaders rise to prominence fueled by well-honed skill sets, only to falter when the shadow sides of the same skills emerge.now daskal reveals her proven system, which leaders at any level can apply to dramatically improve their results. it begins with identifying your distinctive leadership archetype and recognizing its shadow:■ the rebel, driven by confidence, becomes the imposter, plagued by self-doubt. ■ the explorer, fueled by intuition, becomes the exploiter, master of manipulation. ■ the truth teller, who embraces candor, becomes the deceiver, who creates suspicion. ■ the hero, embodying courage, becomes the bystander, an outright coward. ■ the inventor, brimming with integrity, becomes the destroyer, who is morally corrupt. ■ the navigator, trusts and is trusted, becomes the fixer, endlessly arrogant. ■ the knight, for whom loyalty is everything, becomes the mercenary, who is perpetually self-serving.using psychology, philosophy, and her own experience, daskal offers a breakthrough perspective on leadership. she’ll take you inside some of the most cloistered boardrooms, let you in on deeply personal conversations with industry leaders, and introduce you to luminaries who’ve changed the world. her insights will help you rethink everything you know to become the leader you truly want to be.

Don't try to do it all. i am no productivity guru. i am a writer, a church leader, a husband, and a father with many responsibilities and with new tasks coming at me all the time. i wrote this short, fast-paced, practical guide to productivity to share what i have learned about getting things done in today's digital world. whether you are a student or a professional, a work-from-home dad or a stay-at-home mom, it will help you learn to structure your life to do the most good to the glory of god. in do more better, you will learn: > common obstacles to productivity > the great purpose behind productivity > 3 essential tools for getting things done > the power of daily and weekly routines > and much more, including bonus material on taming your email and 20 tips i have learned along the way. it really is possible to live a calm and orderly life, sure of your responsibilities and confident in your progress. you can do more better. and i would love to help you get there. -tim challies

Insane productivity for lazy people is a comprehensive, step-by-step system for making productivity your superpower. it is based on 10 years of research and experiments to find out exactly what can increase the productivity of an average lazy person several times. many elements of this system are used by billionaires, olympic champions, ceos and even presidents of countries. the book is entertaining to read and has plenty of examples and insights about what can destroy or skyrocket productivity. the goal of this book is to change your mindset and encourage you to implement several simple productivity tools that will allow you to do more work in a day than the majority of people can do in a week – while working less hours and having more fun.

Want to stop being held hostage by deadlines? tired of seeing what truly matters rarely getting completed? would you like to live a fuller life? one where you achieve results, have a rewarding personal life whilst nurturing your whole personal and professional being? the grid can unlock the secret to success for you… magdalena bak-maier, trained neuroscientist (phd, caltech), top coach and author of get productive provocatively suggests that you can 'have it all'. in this her second book, bak-maier shows how to cultivate balance and truly thrive using her original, tested, creative and easy to master grid system. the grid is for you if you find yourself saying… – 'i work hard but feel i'm not getting anywhere.' – 'i lack time for life outside my work (dating, hobbies, friends, holidays or family).' – 'my to-do list is never-ending.' – 'i don't have energy for anything other than work and need weekends to recover.' – 'i'm settling for less because "having it all" seems unattainable.' too many lives are skewed towards work, careers, care for others and neglect of self she says. what's even worse, many people hardly notice how out of balance their lives have become while they "chase their tail", feel stressed, overwhelmed and unfulfilled. bak-maier makes a case for an attractive alternative using her tried and tested grid method. this practical book sets out to help you transform your life by teaching you how to surf your energy so that instead of tiring and reacting to life, you continuously refuel your heart and mind to be the artist of it. the grid shows you how to create results and success by engaging with key parts of life you choose to have. once you start applying the grid approach to your life, you will start to feel clear, inspired and energised. the grid will help you balance your energy and effort in a way that restores you and helps you achieve more. with exercises to get you started, the gridding process is your key to succeed, thrive and sustain yourself and others. the grid is a useful approach for those who want results without burnout and those in leadership roles who want to model good practice and create cultures grounded in wellbeing. committed 'gridders' find that they live more in tune with their values, act with integrity, achieve more and find time to be spontaneous and creative more often. their confidence soars as they see the practical steps they take towards creating lives they truly want. in other words their heart and mind get on the same track and what's important gets done more often and better than what seems urgent. this book will show you how to take the same approach and make it your own to help you truly make time count.

Trying to remember a bunch of details and tasks isn't the best use of your brainpower. by collecting all of your tasks in one place, you can reserve your mental energy for work that drives significant results, both in your professional life and your personal life.to start, productivity expert maura thomas takes us through an exercise called brain dumping, which will clear your mind of all the things you're trying to remember you have to do–all the things that are distracting you or keeping you up at night. she then shows us the right way to use a calendar, the tools you'll need to succeed, and a better way of categorizing your tasks in order to identify the best use of your time and inspire you to take action.this is not another book on time management; this is a book on how to take back control of your busy life. not only will you be focusing on the things that truly matter, but you'll also experience boosts in your mood and mindset–you'll feel more in control and less overwhelmed; you'll feel a greater sense of accomplishment now that you're focusing on what's truly important to you.

From the author of the anxiety toolkit, a guide to creating your own personalized productivity plan, using self-science to make systems that work for you.there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all productivity plan. the tricks that work for your colleague may not work as well for you. or perhaps they don’t work at all. the fact is that everyone has their own productivity quirks to make them work efficiently and effectively. they just don’t know how to crack them. enter former clinical psychologist alice boyes. in this innovative guide, she will help you diagnose your unique productivity profile and give you the framework to formulate a powerhouse personalized system. drawing on groundbreaking research, countless examples, and quizzes in every chapter, this book will help you be the most growth-oriented, most effective and efficient, and most creative and visionary version of yourself. if you’ve ever felt that you’re too much of a perfectionist to be productive, or if the prepackaged advice from experts just doesn’t work, this is the book for you. it will help you achieve more success and have the freedom to spend more of your time and energy on what’s most meaningful to you.

Rewire your brain and overcome the 20 key time drains that diminish productivity for anyone who's felt valuable time frittered away in checking emails or answering wrong phone numbers, or listening to a coworker giving you a minute-by-minute account of their previous night's date, help is finally here. your time is, indeed, your own. and this handy guide, written by a leading executive coach, shows you how to retool your brain, reclaim your schedule, become a master of each minute, and make yourself more productive. using a method that is intuitive, easy to remember, and simple to use, this book will help you transform how you think, what you focus on, and what you do so that you can begin to create tangible results. includes exercises that help you learn important thinking skills—essential to tackling important projects and attaining all those once elusive goals features highly visual exercises that are quick to complete, allowing you to change your habits and see improvements right away identifies the 20 key time drains that interfere with productivity and happiness full of creative, fun, and proven solutions to the common bugaboos of procrastination, feeling overwhelmed, and a general dissatisfaction with results, get productive! offers concrete steps toward rethinking how you work and reworking how you think.

For readers who made david allen's getting things done a perennial bestseller, a fresh and entertaining exploration of a topic that concerns just about everyone over the course of their careers: how to be more productive at work, and in every facet of our lives. after earning his business degree, chris bailey turned down several lucrative job offers to pursue a lifelong dream–to spend a year performing a deep dive experiment into the subject of productivity. bailey had been fascinated with productivity since he was a young teenager, when he began researching every paper and every book available on the topic. after graduating college, he created a blog to chronicle his year long series of productivity experiments on himself, and well as his continuing research and interviews with some of the world's foremost experts, from charles duhigg to david allen. among the experiments that he attempted: bailey went several weeks with getting by on little to no sleep; he cut out caffeine and sugar; he lived in total isolation for 10 days; he stretched his work week to 90 hours; a late riser, he got up at 5:30 every morning for a month, all the while monitoring the impact of his experiments on the quality and quantity of his work. this book–the productivity project–and the lessons chris learned–are the result of that year-long journey. among the many counterintuitive insights chris discovered that had the biggest impact on his productivity: 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 distractions; and the concept of productive procrastination. bailey offers over 30 best practices that will help every one of us to accomplish more.

For readers who made david allen's getting things done a perennial bestseller, a fresh and entertaining exploration of a topic that concerns just about everyone over the course of their careers: how to be more productive at work, and in every facet of our lives. after earning his business degree, chris bailey turned down several lucrative job offers to pursue a lifelong dream–to spend a year performing a deep dive experiment into the subject of productivity. bailey had been fascinated with productivity since he was a young teenager, when he began researching every paper and every book available on the topic. after graduating college, he created a blog to chronicle his year long series of productivity experiments on himself, and well as his continuing research and interviews with some of the world's foremost experts, from charles duhigg to david allen. among the experiments that he attempted: bailey went several weeks with getting by on little to no sleep; he cut out caffeine and sugar; he lived in total isolation for 10 days; he stretched his work week to 90 hours; a late riser, he got up at 5:30 every morning for a month, all the while monitoring the impact of his experiments on the quality and quantity of his work. this book–the productivity project–and the lessons chris learned–are the result of that year-long journey. among the many counterintuitive insights chris discovered that had the biggest impact on his productivity: 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 distractions; and the concept of productive procrastination. bailey offers over 30 best practices that will help every one of us to accomplish more.

Tim ferriss is an extraordinary young man on a mission. the twenty-nine-year-old serial vagabond and successful entrepreneur has been teaching a wildly popular course at princeton university: a how-to and why-to guide to throwing out the old methods for success (balancing life and work, retiring well, having a great nest egg) and replacing them with an entirely new way of living. the 4-hour workweek explains what a lifestyle entrepreneur is and why you should want to become one. it teaches you how to kill your job and design a life, the 80/20 rule and how it increases productivity, how to replace your dreams with goals, and more. listeners can lead a rich life by working only four hours a week, freeing up the rest of their time to spend it living the lives they want. the 4-hour workweek shows and explains what is a lifestyle entrepreneur and why you should want to become one, how to kill your job, how to design a life, how to replace your dreams with goals, the 80/20 rule and how it increases productivity, how to add life after subtracting work, how to deal-define, eliminate, automate, and liberate-and how to find your muse. there is no reason to wait to live the life you want.

Tim ferriss is an extraordinary young man on a mission. the twenty-nine-year-old serial vagabond and successful entrepreneur has been teaching a wildly popular course at princeton university: a how-to and why-to guide to throwing out the old methods for success (balancing life and work, retiring well, having a great nest egg) and replacing them with an entirely new way of living. the 4-hour workweek explains what a lifestyle entrepreneur is and why you should want to become one. it teaches you how to kill your job and design a life, the 80/20 rule and how it increases productivity, how to replace your dreams with goals, and more. listeners can lead a rich life by working only four hours a week, freeing up the rest of their time to spend it living the lives they want. the 4-hour workweek shows and explains what is a lifestyle entrepreneur and why you should want to become one, how to kill your job, how to design a life, how to replace your dreams with goals, the 80/20 rule and how it increases productivity, how to add life after subtracting work, how to deal-define, eliminate, automate, and liberate-and how to find your muse. there is no reason to wait to live the life you want.