10 Productivity Books To Read Right Now

Productivity means, how much time you take to finish one task.

For example, I said to myself that I would finish the “10 Productivity Books” article in 5 hours but I only took 2 hours, this means, I was productive and didn’t spend my time on unnecessary tasks.

Now, I wasn’t like this before, I use to take hours to finish a task but as learn more about my brain, I realize that it’s always better to plan work rather doing random tasks at random times.

That being said, whatever I have learned about productivity is from the books. So let me share with you 10 books that have changed the way I see time and work.

10 Productivity Books To Read

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has made a huge impact on my life, whatever I have learned about time is all because of Stephen Covey.

I have read mentioned all the books but if you don’t want to read all the Productivity Books then you can pick any and you will learn a lot about the way you spend your time.

Now, let’s talk about books.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen Covey has changed the way I live my life, he taught me how can I manage my time, and he made me realize, where I was wasting my time.

He has shared simple formula which says, plan your day in advance and write down all the tasks you suppose to do for the next day. Now, prioritize the task by the “Important, Urgent, and Unimportant” tag.

For Example,

Important	Unimportant	Urgent
Write Must-Read 10 Productivity Books Article	Watch New Movie	Write an Article For the Website
Re-Search For Time Management Course	Play Game on PS5	Visit Someone at the Hospital
Come Up with Idea for Next YouTube Video	Scroll on Instagram	Re-Search for Course

You can use this table and write down your task for the next day and start your day with Important and Urgent tasks while leave the unimportant ones.

Now, the author has shared more than what I have written here, so make sure you read this book as it’s all about how you can get the most out of your time.

Also, remember, you don’t have unlimited time on earth, you have limited time, so do the things that matter the most, and the rest can wait.

Keep Going

I started blogging in 2016 and from then to now, I didn’t take any job or done anything else to earn money.

I was running my websites for 5 years and I started getting bored with writing, so wanted to quit writing and do something else, this was that time when I found Austin Kleon.

Keep Going book made me realize that “why I started blogging”.

The author simply says that, if you started something because of the money then one day, you will get out of that job or business but if you started it because you loved doing it then remind yourself “why did you select this over anything”.

In my case, I started writing as a hobby, I didn’t know that it will become my career.

So yes, after reading the Keep Going Book, I recall that day when I started my first website, what I wrote, how I wrote, why I wrote, and everything else.

After that, I took about 15 days of vacation and when I come back to my office, I didn’t feel bored with writing.

So if you’re stuck somewhere in your life then make sure you read the Keep Going as it will give a reason why you’re in that place and how to get out of it.

The author also gives you some tips on, how you can do your work in a way that you don’t get bored and much more.

Atomic Habits

The book simply says if you want to add a new habit to your life then start implementing that new habit in your life by 1% every day.

For example, if you want to develop a book-reading habit then start reading books every day for 5 to 10 minutes, don’t read them for 30 minutes or 1 hour.

Read for 10 minutes and that’s it, repeat this for the next 30 days and you will automatedly increase your reading time.

You won’t have to force yourself to jump from 10 minutes for reading to 30 minutes. The only thing you have to do is, read every day, whatever you want, and don’t skip a day.

For those who are wondering, this technique does work because I have tried it with Mediation.

Also, this is one of those books which you have to read at least for one time, even if you don’t like to read because it will change the way you think about new tasks.

Re-Work

Want to start a new business, build a new team, wanted raise money, wanted to plan your business for the next 10 years, and most importantly, wanted to make time for a side gig then make sure you read the re-work by Jason Fried and David because it will you all the answer that you’re looking for in a simple way.

The book has helped me to grow my business and my team as well, so if you’re stuck somewhere in your business and don’t see a way out then give this book a try and I’m sure that you will find a way out.

Now, the book doesn’t give you spot answers to your problems but it will make you aware of your saturation and you will automatically find answers by yourself.

These two authors have changed my life and I hope it will do the same when you read the book, enjoy and apply whatever you learn from the book in your life and business as well.

Eat That Frog

Everyone on this earth procrastinates, even if someone says, I don’t procrastinate then he or she is lying, that’s the truth.

Brain Tracy has shared 21 ways to stop procrastination and it does work, really well. I mean, after reading the book, if you don’t change the way you live your life then you really need some help.

Also, the book is very small, so you will finish in an hour. So don’t give an excuse to not read because this is actually a small book but it will make a huge impact in your life.

At the same time, the book will make you aware of the things you do every day whether you watch movies or do any sort of work, this is better as you will realize where you’re wasting your time and spending.

Essentialism

One of two takeaways from Essentialism for me was the art of saying no and the power of routines. Greg McKeown gives you clear-cut answers on how you can say no to almost everything,

For example, I’m writing this article which is important and if someone asks for help, let’s say, one of my friend comes to my home and asks me, “can you come with me, I have to go to that place and I need your car”

Here, I can easily say NO to him because he doesn’t need me, he needs my Car.

Now, even if my friend wants me to go with him even then I will say No because I have work to finish and I can’t push that article to the next day because the next day is already planned.

If I keep saying YES to every single person then I will never be able to write this article.

So say YES when you have free time but never say YES when you’re already working on something or you have padding tasks.

The book has a lot more than what I have written here, so do read it to know more about routines, choices you make in your life, and of course, your thoughts as well.

Deep Work

You started working on a project that you suppose to finish by Monday, you worked for about 2 hours and you got a notification that your favorite TV show has launched a new season and you said, let me just watch 1 episode, and I will again work on the project.

Now, tell me, will you watch only 1 episode or finish an entire season, the answer is, you wasted your entire day on the new season rather than working on the project.

I have done the same thing in the past till I realize what is important and what’s not. This doesn’t mean I don’t want TV shows, I do but when I have free time.

This is what Cal Newport talks about in his Deep Work book, its masterpiece. It teaches you how you can focus 100% on the task you’re doing, no matter how many new seasons come.

The authors gave you a sense of realization that, what is important and what’s not

So don’t miss this book, if you wanted to master the art of working.

Can’t Hurt Me

Can’t Hurt Me is an Autobiography of David Goggins, this man has archived something that no one on this earth can even imagine doing it.

One of the core lessons I learned from him was, no matter how messed-up your childhood was, you can always come back stronger and show the world that you’re not done yet.

In life, hard things always pay off, the only thing you will have to do is, fight with yourself because no one will come to your house and force you to do anything, only you have the power to do that.

In short, the book teaches you the power of discipline. Also, you will learn how Fat guy becomes the toughest man alive.

The 4-Hour Workweek

One of my favorite quotes from Tim Ferries is “Doing something unimportant well does not make it important”

Let’s say, you have a project to finish at the same time, you also have another project to finish but this is not as important as the first one.

But the issue is, the first project will take 4 to 5 hours to finish at the same time, it needs a lot of research while the second project doesn’t need any research but it will take 3 hours to finish, so you choose 2nd project and finished it in 2 hours.

Now tell me, did you do the right thing or not?

The answer is, you choose the wrong project first because you wasted all of your energy in the first 2 hours and now, you won’t give your 100% on the task which was important.

So the core idea of The 4-Hour Work Week is, first pick those tasks that are very important, it doesn’t matter, how much time they took, and once you finish those tasks, move on to other tasks.

Again “Doing something unimportant well does not make it important”… remember it

Effortless

The Effortless is 2nd book by Greg McKeown and its extension of Essentialism. The Effortless talks about how you can work on an important task and stick with them, the things you found easy to do years ago now you find harder, while even after working for hours you’re not getting results.

The author has also included lots of his and other research which will give further clarity on work management.

So if you feel that you wanted to read the latest book then this is the best option as it released in 2021.

Final Thoughts

I hope you read at least one book from the list have given you. If you only want to read 1 to 3 books then I would highly recond you to read The Atomic Habit, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and Eat That Frog.

Now, that doesn’t mean the remaining books are not worth reading rather it means, that, these 3 books offer greater value compared to others.

By the way, if you want to chat about the books then join me and others on Telegram, come inside, other readers are waiting for you.