5 Lessons from the most effective productivity books

To be honest, it sometimes feels like most of the content in some productivity books are just filler, and it’s difficult to find the real gems. If you don’t have time to read, or you just can’t be bothered to spend a bunch of money on productivity books, I got you! I’ve assembled a list of lessons from some of the best productivity books I’ve read in the past year.

This Book will Make you Successful – Beating Procrastination

‘This book will make you successful‘ by Jo Usmar has an entire chapter on procrastination! One stategy it describes is being mindful about how you procrastinate. Do I really enjoy scrolling endlessly through Instagram reels? No. So maybe I should do something else! Breaking the cycle of procrastination starts with admitting to yourself that the only person you are hurting is you. Once you start even thinking about the task, Usmar claims that your anxiety levels will drop!

The Productivity Project – Prime Time

Chris Bailey has got to be one of my favourite productivity authors! Although ‘The Productivity Project’ includes tons of advice for becoming more productive, my favourite is the idea of ‘Biological Prime Time’. This is the time at which you’re naturally the most productive. In his book, Bailey says you should track your energy levels through out the day in order to find when you’re most productive. Then, aim to do the majority of your difficult tasks at that time. Because that’s the time at which you’re most productive, the tasks will be easier to get done!

Hyperfocus – Meditation

Another brilliant book by Chris Bailey! In this book, he describes some of the (many) benefits of meditation. Even if you only meditate for 5 minutes a day, there are likely going to be lasting benefits. Through meditation, you’ll be able to improve your focus. Because meditation is all about catching your mind when it starts to wander, you’ll also be able to use this skill when you start to get distracted during a task! You’ll be able to easily nudge your attention back to the matter at hand. If you want to start meditation, one of my favourite apps to use is Balance!

Good Habits, Bad Habits – Creating Friction

Wendy Wood’s fantastic book describes how to change your environment in order to build positive habits. One of the concepts she talks about is ‘friction’. Essentially, this is how difficult it is to do something. This can be applied to both creating and breaking habits! On one hand, if you want to create a habit, you’ll want to reduce friction and make it easier to do the habit daily. On the other hand, if you want to break a habit, you should increase friction and make it difficult to repeat.

Atomic Habits – Visual Reminders

James Clear’s bestselling productivity book is bestselling for a reason – it’s incredibly useful! One of the most useful things he talks about is the importance of visual reminders. These include leaving a bowl of fruit in the kitchen, or putting your work out clothes next to your bed. Because humans are such visual creatures, it becomes easier to stick to a habit when we have a clear, visual reminder.

Although there is no real substitute for reading these books, I hope that these tips and lessons have helped you become more productive. If you have any questions about anything discussed here, you can contact me on Tumblr, Instagram, or by leaving a comment!