Best 20 Must-Read Productivity Books of All Time
Last Updated on February 26, 2024 by Editorial Team
Productivity is a key determinant of success, both personally and professionally. Whether you’re striving to achieve more in less time, improve focus and concentration, or enhance work-life balance, productivity books offer valuable insights and actionable strategies to help you maximize your efficiency and achieve your goals. Here in this article, we have listed the best productivity books that will help you run your business more efficiently or boost your career by effectively managing your time and efforts.
These productivity books will teach you about how your brains function, how your habits are formed, as well as how to encourage them to work for you. Please go through them carefully to find the one best suited to your needs.
List of 20 Productivity Books
1. The ONE Thing by Gary Keller
Starting with this classic – The One Thing. We all realize that multitasking at the workplace spoils the day and reduces productivity substantially. Instead of wasting your energy, this book tells us that psychologists recommend that you select ONE item to focus on, and the author demonstrates how.
You’ll receive less – stress, confusion, and turmoil. And you will get more: greater satisfaction, the opportunity for yourself, and more results in less time if you focus on just one item – these are what the book delves into.
It also teaches us how to set up a productivity system, release our imagination, and increase our day-to-day effectiveness in three easy stages.
2. Essentialism by Greg Mckeown
If you frequently feel like you need to simplify your life but don’t have the time to do it, this book could be for you. Essentialism emphasizes doing the right things. It provides a methodical method for evaluating which duties are necessary and eliminating the rest.
This helps people to focus on the most important aspects of their lives. The theme here is quality over quantity, and after you’ve cut out the non-essential, the fight to be successful is drastically increased.
The author also provides excellent advice on gracefully refusing non-essential commitments, which is particularly useful if you’re someone who can’t say no and habitually overcommits.
3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R.Covey
Regardless of where you are in your profession, almost everyone has read—or must read—this book. It’s all about being efficient, keeping organized, and making it happen- but it’s also about a lot more.
The book teaches us that we have influence over our lives, that our opinions have an impact on our behaviors, and that we can transform our lives. Readers have regarded this work as “strong and interesting.” It’s full of interesting moments that they can easily relate to in their daily lives.
This book is also featured in the list of the best books for management professionals. If you’re trying to be more productive, this is a must-read.
4. Getting Things Done by Davin Allen
Getting Things Done demonstrates how to improve your productivity. It may appear impossible to fulfill your objectives and goals on such hectic days when time is limited.
After a few weeks, you may realize that you do not have enough chances to reflect on your objectives. Organizing and laying down your thoughts can assist you in breaking down each activity into its smallest components and working on them gradually until you reach your goal.
It is one of the top business productivity books that has helped transform work habits and to achieve better performance and productivity.
5. Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg
Do you want to learn more about productivity in a scientific method? The author of this book gives wonderful productivity advice and then backs it up with facts to illustrate how and why it works.
This is an excellent pick for anybody intrigued by biology, sociology, or social interactions since the research is engaging and compelling. The author also discusses the lives of successful entrepreneurs and how their perspectives on the world and their decisions have influenced their achievements.
It is one of the top business productivity books that explains 9 productivity ideas that describe why certain people can do much more than many others. It’s very well-written, approachable, engaging, and simple to read, it contains some significant concepts on boosting productivity.
6. The Effective Executive by Peter F. Drucker
This book is geared toward business executives and focuses on time management to achieve optimum productivity. One of the top business productivity books you can read is this one.
But there’s a lot more to it than that. This book emphasizes productivity and time management. However, it also covers business, organization, and management, among other topics. The central theme of this book is time management.
This book will show you how to take basic measures to attain your full potential as a manager or executive. Effectiveness, according to the author, may be learned and practiced until it’s a routine and a skill.
7. Decisive by Chip Heath
Prejudices and reactionary tendencies impact people’s decisions, according to research. People are often sidetracked by their feelings and have difficulty making decisions.
So, what can be done to address this flaw? This book outlines a four-step strategy for eliminating prejudices. It teaches individuals how to make better decisions by using real-life tales, tactics, and practical tools. This book is written in compelling and approachable language that leaves a lasting effect on the reader.
The writers never veer from their core message, and every story and example they offer in the book connects back to their established approach, which readers enjoy.
8. The Idiot Brain by Dean Burnett
We choose to be more focused on our job and resist the allure of the boundless Internet – but we eventually wind up forgetting things, forgetting crucial to-dos, and, in general, unknowingly undermining our efforts. Why? The author, a neurologist, states, “Hi to the idiot’s brain.”
He discusses how our grey matter functions and what our brain does. It touches on many facets of our lives, not just employment. Procrastination may be a little problem that only affects your work, or it can be a huge one that prevents you from completing your objectives.
You’ll be able to handle it once you grasp how it all works… Alternatively, once again, count on your intellect.
9. The Now Habit by Neil Fiore
The factor that kills our performance is procrastination. This book can assist us in getting away from procrastination so that we can focus on everything we’re doing. The author’s writing is optimistic and uplifting, and it might help you identify and conquer your procrastination issues.
Not only does procrastination stymie productivity; perfectionism is another major roadblock, and the author offers strategies to overcome both. He does not consider procrastination to be a personal failing or the result of unbridled laziness.
It is one of the top business productivity books which presents a solution to identify procrastination and cure the deeper causes rather than merely working harder.
10. 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam
A week is made up of 168 hours. Is it sufficient for everything we wish to accomplish? Is it possible to juggle work, home, gym, interests, and friends while still sleeping eight hours a night? It is, according to the author.
While everyone wants to achieve their objectives, travel to new places, and spend quality time with friends and family, time seems to fly by. The author outlines her interactions with hundreds of healthy and prosperous people in this top business productivity book.
This has led her to conclude that how you arrange your time has a significant influence on your general wellness.
11. Superhuman By Habit by Tynan
Our behaviors have a lot of influence on what we’re doing and looking to acquire. As a result, a methodical approach to developing healthy habits and overcoming harmful ones may turn any of us into superhumans by habit.
A person who doesn’t have to rely on willpower will perform more difficult activities. The author explains how to do so: form the required habits so that tasks become automatic and independent of willpower.
This book is an excellent guide for developing beneficial habits in business and life since it combines academic study with practical guidance making it one of the top business productivity books. It is simple and has a step-by-step approach that will take you from beginning to end, with plenty of concrete tips.
12. 18 Minutes by Peter Bregman
This book – 18 Minutes discusses how incredibly busy may eliminate distractions from their life that prevent them from focusing on high-priority activities.
The greatest approach to avoid interruptions, according to the author, is to generate beneficial diversions. Readers should be able to manoeuvre through the cacophony of frequent phone calls and emails after finishing this book.
This book is unusual in that it combines first-person accounts with case studies to get the audience on the correct course in just 18 minutes. This book is extremely intelligent and easy to read, making it a useful guide to increasing performance and general life happiness.
13. Work Smarter by Nick Loper
They advise you to work more to become successful. But what about smarter? The author decodes the principles of such uber-productive and successful individuals we read about.
They do, however, have a trump card: there are numerous options available to assist us in making the most of our schedule. Several of the proposed tips may appear self-evident, yet the most basic technique is the most effective. It gives the reader useful advice and tactics for working smarter and making it happen faster.
This book has helped a lot of individuals making it one of the top business productivity books, and it’ll help you too.
14. How to Stop Procrastinating by Steve Scott
The solution for procrastination may seem too wonderful to be believed, but the author of this book demonstrates that it is not only possible but also realistic.
This book explores why we postpone and how to address these challenges. It is a fantastic resource for learning how to avoid procrastinating. The author deftly blends particular lessons and suggestions with personal anecdotes and academic research findings.
This book is chock-full of useful and actionable ideas. It does not merely preach to the reader about the “wrongs” of procrastination. Furthermore, it also provides practical instruction to help the reader avoid procrastinating.
It is a book to read if you want to learn how to cope with procrastination.
15. Master Evernote by S.J Scott
Evernote is a fantastic tool for organizing your life’s chaos. This book will show you the need to arrange all of your paperwork, beliefs, and goals in one area and forget unorganized days behind.
It teaches the reader all they need to know about the program, from the fundamentals to the more sophisticated features. This is a fantastic book for both newcomers and for individuals who have already been using it for some time. It is one of the top business productivity books that has been praised by readers for being both motivational and thorough.
This book can be a decent alternative if more conventional tactics aren’t effective for you.
16. Time Warrior by Steve Chandler
Some of us are frustrated by putting in too much effort to get things done that have been scheduled. This is not an issue that a successful time fighter would face.
Usually, books discuss functioning in a linear mentality, however, this one focuses on being stable and reasoning in a non-linear manner. The author proposes a novel approach to time management. Delay, people-pleasing, emotion, excessiveness, failed promises, and disarray are all stated there in the book.
Know how to prevent frequent distractions, increase productivity, and organize your tasks so that it works. It is one of the top business productivity books and will assist you in overcoming any obstacles to your achievement.
17. To-Do List Makeover by S.J Scott
While everyone can make a to-do list, the challenge is coming up with a series of tasks that fits into your hectic schedule. People frequently develop lists that are jumbled jumbles of tasks to do, tasks they desire, activities they need, and miscellaneous thoughts.
They then question how they are circling in circles in life. This book’s proposed solution is to reconsider how you organize your life.
It walks the reader through a step-by-step process for creating to-do checklists that will motivate you to complete your responsibilities.
18. Making It All Work by David Allen
The reader is given a chart that shows them not just where they are in their career right now, but also how to reach their desired destination. The author delves into the finer points of trip planning, babysitting, and even healthcare for an elderly parent.
He claims that doing a comprehensive evaluation of one’s present obligations may assist individuals to concentrate and make smarter choices. The techniques presented in this book will assist the reader, especially people in the HR profession to win the trust of your employees.
By structuring their chores and objectives, learners are shown how to seize power and change their perspectives.
19. The Productive Person by Chandler Bolt
This is a realistic, easy-to-read book that discusses how to make use of your schedule without sacrificing your social relationships or independence. It informs the readers how to make the most of the work hours so that they may concentrate solely on the job at hand.
The writers inform the reader about their strategies by using instances from their own lives. You’ll learn productivity tricks, planning ideas, how to perform fast work and how to form effective routines after finishing the book.
This is one of the top business productivity books for individuals who are having trouble balancing their professional and personal lives.
20. The Psychology of Procrastination by Hayden Finch
This is an excellent book for those who are unsure where to begin when it comes to concentrating their attention, managing finances, and overcoming procrastination. This book differs from other top business productivity books in that it contains several thorough and effective suggestions, methods, and techniques to assist you in taking control of your life.
The author outlines seven key efficiency rules that individuals must understand to thrive. You can also read the book to improve your nutrition, mindset, and performance in any aspect of your life.
The writer provides the key skills that readers may utilize to accomplish further than they thought possible each day.
Conclusion
We’ve looked at a number of the top business productivity books. But ultimately, it is up to you to figure out what works best for you. Some of them are game-changers, capable of rewiring your mind and changing your behavior.
More Book Reviews
Discover which books are most helpful to you, and then consider following their recommendations to see what occurs. You might be on your way to more success and achievement.
The benefit of productivity is that it allows you to complete your tasks while still enjoying the things that are important to you.