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Insightful Books to Teach You How to Be Productive in 2019

Learn how to finally achieve productivity.

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In this modern world of endless distractions available all day, every day, people find it consistently harder to just sit down and do the work that needs to be done. No kidding, attention spans are at an all-time low.

It seems that, in the middle of all these mountains of attention-stealing diversions, we might have forgotten something important, something key to actually being productive in our lives. It is finally time to get it back, with these books on productivity you can finally learn, or rather, re-learn how to focus again on doing actual work instead of entertaining yourself, check them out.

#1 Deep Work by Cal Newport

Deep Work by Cal Newport
If you want to separate yourself from the crowd, then you can’t work like the crowd. Cal Newport sets the stride to what hopefully becomes a new workplace norm. We seem to be working in a world filled with distractions. We find notifications are pulling us away from the most important tasks. Newport teaches us in Deep Work how to stand apart from the crowd.

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

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

#2 Atomic Habits by James Clear

Atomic Habits by James Clear
James Clear started as a student of habit and has now become the teacher. His first book has already claimed a role on The New York Times Best Seller list. Clear understands the high-level concepts of why some habits work, while others don’t and has created a practical way for us to easily create new habits.

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

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

#3 Productivity Planner – Daily Planner

Productivity Planner - Daily Planner
Productivity Planner, It is very easy to get started with. The initial pages are quick and simple guidelines to help you understand how it works, and integrate it into your daily activities. The Productivity Planner helped me establish priorities and ensure I was allowing (or limiting) the proper amount of time for each task. After a while, you start to realise that more can be done in a shorter period of time, and this planner helped me see that.

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

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

#4 Eat That Frog by Brian Tracey

Eat That Frog by Brian Tracey
Procrastination is a killer for many of us, especially in the age of digital distraction. That’s why I love this book–and many others do, too. One of the reasons I love this book is that, because it is broken down into 21 different tips, you can easily open it up and read one in a short setting, and begin experimenting with it right away – you don’t need to read the entire book to get started on making a change in your daily habits.

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

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

#5 Manage Your Day-to-Day by 99U

Manage Your Day-to-Day by 99U
Imagine being able to take the major takeaways of whole books on productivity and distill them down into a few pages? That is exactly what Manage Your Daty-To-Day does.

This book is filled with short (2-10 page) sections that are jam packed with value from a wide variety of experts. You can either read it front to back or use it as a productivity first aid kit that you turn to when your productivity needs a good boost. Which is why I keep my copy on my work desk at all times.

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

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

#6 The ONE Thing by Gary Keller

The ONE Thing by Gary Keller
As a problem solver, I discovered the secret of the 80/20 Rule, 80% of your results come from 20% of your effort. If you can focus on the one thing that gives you the most positive results, your productivity will sky rocket. The One Thing tells you how.

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

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

#7 Is This It? by Ruth Kudzi

Is This It? by Ruth Kudzi
Is This It? will help you get clarity on what is important to you and how you want your future to look so you can identify your driving values and the goals that you want to achieve. It will enable you to develop your confidence and consider new ways of thinking , as well as understanding what your options are. You will learn from case studies of real women how you can change the way that you work and create a life that you love.

Ruth helps readers to identify what you want to do and the steps to take you there.

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

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

#8 Getting Things Done by David Allen

Getting Things Done by David Allen
GTD is a classic on how to get more productive. I have tried using all of the tools off and on over the years, I am not David Allen, but I have found the tools that work for me. My suggestion is to start with following everything and gradually learn what is helpful to your work style, let the rest go.

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

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

#9 Work Simply by Carson Tate

Work Simply by Carson Tate
This books helps you identify the simplest plan that works for your work style, Prioritiser, Planner, Arranger, or Visualiser. Carson provides an assessment on her website to identify what style you need.

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

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

#10 101 Ways to Have a Business and a Life by Andrew Griffiths

101 Ways to Have a Business and a Life by Andrew Griffiths
As a small business owner, I have to appreciate Andrew’s journey. And, he took the time to compile input from many other business owners as well. It’s a hectic lifestyle, and incredibly important to figure out how to manage a sort of work-life balance. I look to this book not only for practical productivity books, but also a bit of inspiring philosophy on how to better manage my life.

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

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

#11 Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt

Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt
This is the newest add to my productivity list. It’s a three-step process to focus on prioritising work to eliminate the nonessential items and leverage your time and energy for maximum productivity. Again, redefining your work style to fit you instead of the other way around.

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

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

#12 The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
This book is all about your mom’s favourite tool, the checklist. My wife is a big fan of ‘honey-do lists’ and this is on her list of favourite books as well. This book shows with positive results how simple checklist can be used to insure mission critical items get checked off your list.

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

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

Contributors to this article
McClain McKinney from McKinney Media, LLC

Adam Clark from Tangible Solutions, Inc

Yaniv Masjedi from Nextiva

Nicholas Rizzo from RunRepeat

Michael Arnold from TheMichaelArnold

Ruth Kudzi from RuthKudzi

Michael Arnold from TheMichaelArnold

Reuben Yonatan from GetVOIP

Michael Arnold from TheMichaelArnold

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