10 Great Books on Productivity and Focus
Working in Product can be stressful. We all know this situation: You just finished your daily stand-up, you have 30 minutes until your next meeting, you put on your headphones. A colleague asks you: Do you have a minute? This minute turns into 20… Attention has become a real challenge. We need to check our emails, Slack, social media, stay up-to-date with news, attend meetings, then get back to our work. Short: It’s hard to find time to get real work done. In most cases, the best work we deliver happens when we have time to focus. But how do you regularly put productive hours into your workday? How do you get rid of all distractions? We’ve collected 10 books that can help you to become more focused and productive.
The Bullet Journal Method
Why read?
The Bullet Journal Method is about much more than organizing your notes and to-do lists. It’s about what Carroll calls “intentional living”: weeding out distractions and focusing your time and energy in pursuit of what’s truly meaningful, in both your work and your personal life. It’s about spending more time with what you care about, by working on fewer things. His new book shows you how to… * Track the past: Using nothing more than a pen and paper, create a clear and comprehensive record of your thoughts. * Order the present: Find daily calm by tackling your to-do list in a more mindful, systematic, and productive way. * Design the future: Transform your vague curiosities into meaningful goals, and then break those goals into manageable action steps that lead to big change.
320 pages, 2018
It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work
Why read?
Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the authors of the New York Times bestseller Rework, are back with a manifesto to combat all your modern workplace worries and fears. It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work is a direct successor to Rework, the instant bestseller that showed readers a new path to working effectively. Now Fried and Heinemeier Hansson have returned with a new strategy for the ideal company culture - what they call “the calm company”. It is a direct attack on the chaos, anxiety and stress that plagues millions of workplaces and billions of people working their day jobs. Working to breaking point with long hours, excessive workload, and a lack of sleep have become a badge of honour for many people these days, when it should be a mark of stupidity. This isn’t just a problem for large organisations; individuals, contractors and solopreneurs are burning themselves out in the very same way. As the authors reveal, the answer isn’t more hours. Rather, it’s less waste and fewer things that induce distraction, always-on anxiety and stress. It is time to stop celebrating crazy and start celebrating calm. Fried and Hansson have the proof to back up their argument. “Calm” has been the cornerstone of their company’s culture since Basecamp began twenty years ago. Destined to become the management guide for the next generation, It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work is a practical and inspiring distillation of their insights and experiences. It isn’t a book telling you what to do. It’s a book showing you what they’ve done–and how any manager or executive no matter the industry or size of the company, can do it too.
227 pages, 2018
Indistractable
Why read?
In his new book Nir Eyal — the author of the Product Management classic “Hooked” — reveals the hidden psychology driving us to distraction. He describes why solving the problem is not as simple as swearing off our devices: Abstinence is impractical and often makes us want more. Eyal lays bare the secret of finally doing what you say you will do with a four-step, research-backed model. Indistractable reveals the key to getting the best out of technology, without letting it get the best of us.
300 pages, 2019
Make Time
Why read?
As creators of Google Ventures’ renowned “design sprint,” Jake and John have helped hundreds of teams solve important problems by changing how they work. Building on the success of these sprints and their experience designing ubiquitous tech products from Gmail to YouTube, they spent years experimenting with their own habits and routines, looking for ways to help people optimize their energy, focus, and time. Now they’ve packaged the most effective tactics into a four-step daily framework that anyone can use to systematically design their days. Make Time is not a one-size-fits-all formula. Instead, it offers a customizable menu of bite-size tips and strategies that can be tailored to individual habits and lifestyles.
Make Time isn’t about productivity, or checking off more to-dos. Nor does it propose unrealistic solutions like throwing out your smartphone or swearing off social media. Making time isn’t about radically overhauling your lifestyle; it’s about making small shifts in your environment to liberate yourself from constant busyness and distraction.
304 pages, 2018
Essentialism
Why read?
The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s about getting only the right things done. It is not a time management strategy, or a productivity technique. It is a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution towards the things that really matter.
272 pages, 2014
The Productivity Project
Why read?
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. The Productivity Project — and the lessons Chris learned — are the result of that year-long journey. Among the counterintuitive insights Chris Bailey will teach you: · slowing down to work more deliberately; · 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 the inevitable distractions; · and the concept of productive procrastination.
304 pages, 2017
Deep Work
Why read?
Who should read this book? Deep work is an indispensable guide to anyone seeking focused success in a distracted world. Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It’s a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In short, deep work is like a super power in our increasingly competitive twenty-first century economy.
304 pages, 2016
Atomic habits
Why read?
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 behaviours that lead to remarkable results.
320 pages, 2018
Extreme Productivity
Why read?
Robert C. Pozen, one of the business world’s most successful — and productive — executives, reveals the surprising secrets to workplace productivity and high performance. Extreme Productivity is an essential handbook for every business professional, empowering them with proven methods for prioritizing efficiently and maximizing time at work, while leading a full and productive personal life as well.
304 pages, 2012
Lateral Thinking
Why read?
Through a series of special techniques, in groups or working alone, Edward de Bono shows how to stimulate the mind in new and exciting ways. Soon you will be looking at problems from a variety of angles and offering up solutions that are as ingenious as they are effective. You will become much more productive and a formidable thinker in your own right.
272 pages, 2016