Learn Time Management and Enhance Productivity with These Books in 2019

Family gatherings, romantic dates, work reunions, friends’ hangouts, watching Netflix, etc. Honestly, how can you even successfully plan a week that involves all of these, let alone a day that involves even a fifth of all that you are supposed to do? There has to be a way to actually do this.

There is, of course, but it takes a mighty amount of mindful discipline to master. It doesn’t matter if you try out all the methods available if you do so half-heartedly, it must be done with purpose and consciously.

We are not saying they are impossibly hard, we are saying that you must focus as much as possible when applying the methods outlined in the books on time management and productivity listed here. Guaranteed to give back ownership over your time that you desperately need, but only in the measure of the dedication you put into it.

#1 Work Less, Do More: The 7-Day Productivity Makeover by Jan Yager, Ph.D.

This international hit book covers all the bases in how to become more productive but it’s concise and a quick read. Important topics like work-life balance as well as recognising, and conquering, time wasters, like procrastination, are covered.

Before buying a copy make sure to compare the price at various outlets:

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#2 Getting Things Done, by David Allen

Getting Things Done is what can be described as the seminal work in the time-management and productivity space. David Allen really hammers down that we need a system outside of our heads to keep track of everything we have to do, and he describes an easy to follow system for doing so.

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#3 Smarter, Faster, Better, by Charles Duhigg

Most books focus on individual productivity. In Smarter, Faster, Better, Duhigg dives deep on how and why certain teams are more productive than others (among other things). For anyone running a business, understanding how your company culture affects productivity is key, and this book helps you to understand those team dynamics.

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#4 How to Finish Everything You Start by Jan Yager, Ph.D.

I’m suggesting this book because it deals with a specific problem within the time management area, one that more and more are dealing with these days because of an epidemic of unfinished projects and actions.

What are the causes behind leaving something unfinished? It can be fear of failure or perfectionism as well as doing too many things at once, among other causes. Once you understand what’s behind the delays, it is more likely you can overcome each one. There is also a chapter on when you SHOULD leave something unfinished but for the RIGHT reasons.

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#5 Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams by Tom DeMarco and Tim Lister

Reading this book, you’ll learn how to build strong teams and be a productive manager, find lots of interesting topics, including popular methodologies.

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#6 Off the Clock: Feeling Less Busy while Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam is an author, podcaster, and speaker who covers time management and productivity. She has tracked days-in-the-lives of thousands of working people (highly successful business people, women who make more than $100,000/year, single moms, married moms, academics, CEO’s, and so on) for her projects.

She also asks people how they feel about how the spend their time (and subsequently classifies them as having a time scarce or time abundant orientation). Her results are and recommendations offer grounded insight – you don’t have to change your personality or worldview to pick up helpful tips, or to think about your days and weeks differently.

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#7 The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

This is probably one of the most famous books about productivity and it’s worth to be explored. It will help you to be organised and stay on track doing what’s most important.

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#8 Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

Cal Newport is a computer scientist who argues that we can’t rely on the same apps and devices that pelt us with constant distractions to help us to hack our way to regaining control of our attention. He makes the very important point that to resist the trap of low-quality leisure (namely, scrolling and streaming) we must have both a philosophy on our relationship to network tools (i.e., social media, email, the chat function on anything) and a plan for high-quality leisure.

In other words, what good is freeing your mind from the your smart phone and inbox if the result is just sitting there, wishing you had something to scroll?

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#9 The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

This classic book will be useful if you want to change habits and become more efficient and productive. The power of habit will demonstrate how to analyse your habits and change them for the better.

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#10 The Power of Approachability by Scott Ginsberg

I recommend this book if you want people to open a line of communication with you easily. The book shares great insights about how to become memorable and make an excellent first impression, how to feel approachable and become an admired leader.

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#11 Eat That Frog, by Brian Tracey

This is one more classic edition that has helped my team and me to stay motivated, stop procrastinating and to get stuff done. 21 great tips shared by the author are very accessible and easy to implement.

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Book Depository (International)Waterstones (International) Read more reviews and buy the book here