12 Best Productivity Books You Must Read in 2023
Become your most productive self by reading one (01) of the 12 best productivity books every month & implementing the learning.
“One day you will look back and recall all the time you spent on social media and wonder why you didn’t invest that time someplace else.” — Germany Kent
All of us have the same amount of time. What we do with that time defines our destiny.
Productivity is the key that opens the door to growth & success.
However, productivity is also a word that isn’t often used with patience. You need to remember that like a tree can’t grow in an hour, you also need enough time to build yourself up.
‘Most people overestimate what they can do in a year and they underestimate what they can do in two or three decades.’
You can learn to become more productive if you give it ample time.
What if you choose to spend a year on becoming your most productive self — by reading one book and implementing learning from that every month?
Here are twelve books to help you do that.
January — Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
Atomic Habits is one of the most well-written books on the subject of habit building.
James Clear understood that attaining any sustainable goal without a process is impossible. And that process is nothing but a habit.
Start your January with Atomic Habits — because the learnings will help in what you’ll need to do in the coming months.
Google Review 4.7/5
Goodreads Review 4.4/5
95% Google Users (Readers) liked the book
February — 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam
Reading a book about time management during the shortest month is appropriate.
Laura Vanderkam provides a framework that can help you free up more time for doing what you care about more.
Google Review 3.9/5
Goodreads Review 3.6/5
83% Google Users (Readers)liked the book
March’s Entry to Best Productivity Books— The Power of Story: Change Your Story, Change Your Destiny, by Jim Loehr
“Your story is your life,” — Jim Loehr
In this simple yet well-written book, Jim Loehr gives a methodology to create life stories for different aspects of your life.
This book has a section that helps you discover and define your ultimate mission. And from there, the book guides you to create stories you tell to aid your ultimate mission.
Google Review 3.8/5
Goodreads Review 3.6/5
April — The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play, by Neil Fiore
Neil Fiore provides a plan to overcome your habit of procrastinating.
This book provides tools to identify your procrastination problems so that you can fix the root cause. And from there, Neil Fiore shares more tools that can help you address your issues and start moving forward.
Google Review 3.9/5
Goodreads Review 3.9/5
90% Google Users (Readers)liked the book
May — The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, by Gary Keller
Gary Keller argues that we work on too many things at the same time.
And he’s right. Even when it comes to new year’s resolutions, we tend to make so many that we overwhelm ourselves.
Keller builds on this argument and suggests that we’d achieve more if we focus on just one thing at a time.
Google Review 4.7/5
Goodreads Review 4.1/5
92% Google Users (Readers)liked the book
June — Getting Things Done: How to Achieve Stress-free Productivity, by David Allen
Getting Things Done is not a simple book.
Even going through the book requires a level of self-discipline. However, it provides a customizable framework to meet your needs. Following the system, you get to bring all your trackers under one umbrella.
Google Review 4.2/5
Goodreads Review 4.0/5
84% Google Users (Readers)liked the book
The First Six-Month — What To Expect from the Best Productivity Books
From January to June, if you follow the list of best productivity books, you’ll cover—
- Ways to build sustainable habits
- Time management
- Creating a life story and purpose
- Getting rid of procrastination
- The power of focus
- A comprehensive system for getting things done
The first six books will give you enough to significantly improve your productivity levels. These will likely give you a system and change you as a person to be a highly productive person.
The next six books will build on the system by allowing you to level up. Let’s dive into the second half of 2023 (or the next six books).
July in Best Productivity Books— The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, by Atul Gawande
After a book with a complex system, the Checklist Manifesto may appear to be too simple.
However, the checklist has quite a few benefits, and sometimes it’s even superior to other production techniques.
This book will change the way you think about checklists.
Google Review 4.9/5
Goodreads Review 4.0/5
89% Google Users (Readers)liked the book
August — The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey
This book is not only a productivity gem but also a guide for business leaders.
Stephen Covey’s methods give you a way of thinking about life and work. This book is so popular that it has expanded into courses as well.
Google Review 4.7/5
Goodreads Review 4.2/5
91% Google Users (Readers)liked the book
September in Best Productivity Books— The Power of Full Engagement, by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz
Based on their research on athletes and high performers, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz identified that these performers are at their best when certain aspects of their bodies & life are being managed correctly.
This book not only gives a specific method to be more productive but also a way of maintaining energy and focus.
Google Review 4.0/5
Goodreads Review 4.0/5
93% Google Users (Readers)liked the book
October — Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
Considered one of the best books on productivity, this book is an actionable guide that shows how you can train yourself to focus even when you’re dealing with tempting distractions.
Additionally, the book shares tips on efficient ways of working and the benefits of a consistent work ethic.
Google Review 4.5/5
Goodreads Review 4.2/5
95% Google Users (Readers)liked the book
November — What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings–and Life, by Laura Vanderkam
A very enjoyable read with useful information, Laura Vanderkam’s book shows how to handle morning routines like a boss.
You’d realize by now that morning gives you uninterrupted personal time. The sooner you can create a set of morning routines & rituals for you, the better off you’ll be.
Storyshots Review 4.4/5
Goodreads Review 3.4/5
December — Time Warrior: How to defeat procrastination, people-pleasing, self-doubt, over-commitment, broken promises, and chaos, by Steve Chandler
Steve Chandler’s book is about “non-linear time management.”
Our brain tends to think linearly about the future when we consider what we should get done. This book breaks that mold and rewires the way you handle time and productivity.
Apple Books Review 5/5
Goodreads Review 3.9/5
Final Thoughts on Best Productivity Books
Becoming a better self is a journey. You can’t just flip a switch and do that. A well-planned journey over 12 months is a good enough plan to drastically improve yourself.
These best productivity books give you all the tools you need to do that as well. Thanks to the writers & researchers, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel.
Download 7 Proven Steps to Create A Perfect Routine and start with your 100-day challenge.
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