Here are 100 books that The Myth of Multitasking fans have personally recommended if you like
The Myth of Multitasking.
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Though I’ve coached endurance athletes to world championships, I’m an expert on not working out. It’s what you do when you’re not training that matters most! All the books on this list teach habits that help you relax about things that don’t matter while guiding you to define what does matter and explaining ways to most efficiently focus your energies there. This jibes with my work as a yoga teacher: we seek to find the right application of effort, and to layer in ease wherever possible. I don’t think it’s stretching too much to call each book on the list both a work of philosophy and also a deeply practical life manual.
I think about this book every day, even though it was written almost 25 years ago, and the edition I read explained how to manage your paper file folders! (One of my most-used apps, the to-do manager Things, is built on this system.)
I love how much time this book has saved me as I juggle running several businesses, staying active in my hobbies, and running a household. Allen’s approach to capturing your ideas and then deciding how to organize them so that you can keep track of what needs your attention is both simple and really profound.
For athletes who need to be as efficient as possible to reserve time and energy for training, this book is a lifesaver.
The book Lifehack calls "The Bible of business and personal productivity."
"A completely revised and updated edition of the blockbuster bestseller from 'the personal productivity guru'"-Fast Company
Since it was first published almost fifteen years ago, David Allen's Getting Things Done has become one of the most influential business books of its era, and the ultimate book on personal organization. "GTD" is now shorthand for an entire way of approaching professional and personal tasks, and has spawned an entire culture of websites, organizational tools, seminars, and offshoots.
Allen has rewritten the book from start to finish, tweaking his classic text…
The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction.
On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band they rob from the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive…
I am the former Enterprise Editor of The Sunday Times and author of eight books about entrepreneurship, personal development and smart thinking. I first became interested in the idea of people taking control of their own destiny when I was a foreign correspondent and met many people who had decided to turn their back on the traditional 9-to-5 and seek a life of adventure and excitement instead, even though they didn’t have much money. I discovered people earning a living by making wine and running cafes and realised that we all have the ability to take control of our own destiny if we really want to.
I love this book partly because my publisher decided to take on one of my other books because he missed out on this one. If you compare the original cover of my book to Tim’s book you will see they have a very similar palm tree vibe!
But more than that, this book shows clearly how technology has made it possible to totally rethink the way we work and live, and free us up to have much greater control over both–and that’s very exciting.
A new, updated and expanded edition of this New York Times bestseller on how to reconstruct your life so it's not all about work
Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan - there is no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, this book is the blueprint.
This step-by step guide to luxury lifestyle design teaches:
In order to earn my Ph.D. in Psychology before I turned thirty, I had to learn how to be efficient and productive. As a life coach and author of two dozen books, I’ve spent the past twenty years helping people overcome challenges, get things done, and get more out of life.
People have productivity challenges for different reasons. Sometimes, we need to learn specific skills or techniques. Sometimes we are unproductive because of external factors out of our control. More often, we have to identify, address, and overcome internal factors that are hampering our ability to get things done – which is the focus of this book.
A thoroughly updated and expanded edition of the definitive guide to managing and freeing up time
Applying the groundbreaking from-the-inside-out approach that made Organizing from the Inside Out a New York Times bestseller, Julie Morgenstern set a new standard for the time- management category. Her system has helped countless readers uncover their psychological stumbling blocks and strengths, and develop a time-management system that suits their individual needs.
By applying her proven three-step program-Analyze, Strategize, Attack-and following her effective guidelines, readers will find more time for work, family, self-improvement, or whatever is most important to them. Time management is a learnable…
Jake Sledge, a rugged ex-cop turned private eye, teams up with his colossal partner Bobo to navigate the gritty streets of River City.
A murdered lawyer drags them into a web of political intrigue, neo-Nazi thugs, and bloody showdowns. With sharp wit and hard-hitting action, Jake tackles scumbags the only…
In order to earn my Ph.D. in Psychology before I turned thirty, I had to learn how to be efficient and productive. As a life coach and author of two dozen books, I’ve spent the past twenty years helping people overcome challenges, get things done, and get more out of life.
I recommend this book to my coaching clients and friends and family members because it provides clear, practical, effective advice for getting things done without beating yourself up. Using Fiore’s “Unschedule” is so motivating and positive, you avoid feeling guilt-ridden or otherwise miserable with yourself. My favorite part? Rewarding yourself with guilt-free play.
Learn how to overcome procrastination and enjoy guilt-free play! One of the most effective programs to combat procrastination, THE NOW HABIT has sold over 100,000 copies, has been translated into 11 languages, and is now revised and updated.
Featuring a new introduction and a new section providing strategies to understand and deal with the role technology plays in procrastination today, THE NOW HABIToffers a comprehensive plan to help readers lower their stress and increase their time to enjoy guilt-free play. Dr. Fiore’s techniques will help any busy person start tasks sooner and accomplish them more quickly, without the anxiety brought…
Dave Ulrich is the Rensis Likert Professor at the Ross School of Business and a partner at the RBL Group, a consulting firm focused on helping organizations and leaders deliver value. He has published over 200 articles and book chapters and over 30 books. The organizations where we live, work, play, and worship affect every part of our lives. Organizations turn individual competencies into collective capabilities, isolated events into sustained patterns, and personal values into collective values. In short, organizations matter in our lives. By adapting their answer to “what is an organization,” leaders, employees, customers, and investors will be better able to improve their organization's experiences.
Ed Lawler has a lifetime of melding academic theory and organization practice. In this research based book, he and his colleagues not only recognize that agility matters, but they do research to validate processes that create organization agility. Agility is one of the emerging capabilities for a successful organization in today’s changing world. Anything El Lawler works is well thought out, researched, and usable.
A research-based approach to achieving long-term profitability in business What does it take to guarantee success and profitability over time? Authors Christopher G. Worley, a senior research scientist, Thomas D. Williams, an executive advisor, and Edward E. Lawler III, one of the country's leading management experts, set out to find the answer. In The Agility Factor: Building Adaptable Organizations for Superior Performance the authors reveal the factors that drive long-term profitability based on the practices of successful companies that have consistently outperformed their peers. Of the 234 large companies across 18 industries that were studied, there were few companies that…
I’ve read countless books and articles on business, leadership, and sustainability—but the ones I return to are those that grapple with purpose. I’m drawn to anything that challenges the "business as usual" status quo and shows how business can be a force for good. Having worked across sectors and shaped my own thinking around the challenges facing business and society, I know how powerful purpose can be when done right. But more than that, I feel it—these books fuel my belief that meaningful change is possible. If you care about business’s potential to positively shape society and the planet, give them a go.
I’ve long admired Gary Hamel—not just because, like me, he’s a management consultant (albeit a far more famous one!), but because of the clarity and accessibility of his writing, which is much like Tom Peters–another breakthrough thinker I admire.
This book really hit home for me. I loved how Hamel puts values front and center, arguing that purpose isn’t just a nice-to-have, but a strategic imperative. I found myself deeply aligned with his call for innovation, adaptability, and unlocking human potential—principles I’ve built into the SOI methodology.
This book didn’t just affirm my thinking; it expanded it. It also reminded me why I do what I do–and actually why it’s important.
This is not a book about one thing. It's not a 250-page dissertation on leadership, teams or motivation. Instead, it's an agenda for building organizations that can flourish in a world of diminished hopes, relentless change and ferocious competition.
This is not a book about doing better. It's not a manual for people who want to tinker at the margins. Instead, it's an impassioned plea to reinvent management as we know it-to rethink the fundamental assumptions we have about capitalism, organizational life, and the meaning of work.
Leaders today confront a world where the unprecedented is the norm. Wherever one…
Caroline Herschel has always lived in the shadows. Beholden to her wildly popular older brother, William, who rescued her from servitude, she's worked hard to build a life for herself – one where she can go unnoticed and repay the debt she believes she owes him. But when her brother…
My passion for helping organisations, industries, and communities to make better decisions led me into the field of strategic foresight more than 20 years ago. I am particularly passionate about scenario planning as the most valuable tool for improving decision-making in a volatile and uncertain environment. Scenarios enable people to question their (often implicit) assumptions about the future and to reframe their perceptions of the future. It’s this enlightening quality about scenarios that makes them so special to me. My quest is to see scenario planning become a mainstream activity in organisations throughout the world.
This is an outstanding read! Art Kleiner has undergone an enormous amount of research on so-called heretics of the business world in the 20th century. Kleiner is a great writer, and whether you have heard of the heretic in question or not, it doesn’t matter.
Kleiner’s storytelling and the depth of his research will keep you engaged as a reader. The section on scenario planning is why I was attracted to this book in the first place; however, the entire book is first class.
In this second edition of his bestselling book, author Art Kleiner explores the nature of effective leadership in times of change and defines its importance to the corporation of the future. He describes a heretic as a visionary who creates change in large-scale companies, balancing the contrary truths they can't deny against their loyalty to their organizations. The Age of Heretics reveals how managers can get stuck in counterproductive ways of doing things and shows why it takes a heretical point of view to get past the deadlock and move forward.
My passion for helping organisations, industries, and communities to make better decisions led me into the field of strategic foresight more than 20 years ago. I am particularly passionate about scenario planning as the most valuable tool for improving decision-making in a volatile and uncertain environment. Scenarios enable people to question their (often implicit) assumptions about the future and to reframe their perceptions of the future. It’s this enlightening quality about scenarios that makes them so special to me. My quest is to see scenario planning become a mainstream activity in organisations throughout the world.
Peter Schwartz uses an easy, storytelling style that had me engaged instantly and held my interest throughout the book. He uses multiple personal case studies and stories to teach you how to think about the future. I found these stories both interesting and educational, as they were no doubt intended.
It’s a very easy and very engaging book to read. When people ask where they should start to improve how they think about the future, I point them to this book.
"Artful scenario spinning is a form of convergent thinking about divergent futures. It ensures that you are not always right about the future but-better-that you are almost never wrong about the future. The technology is powerful, simple, and enjoyable, and so is Schwartz's book." -Stewart Brand What increasingly affects all of us, whether professional planners or individuals preparing for a better future, is not the tangibles of life-bottom-line numbers, for instance-but the intangibles: our hopes and fears, our beliefs and dreams. Only stories-scenarios-and our ability to visualize different kinds of futures adequately capture these intangibles. In The Art of the…
Entrepreneurs have a tough lot in life. We dream of creating value for others, yet we are often cursed to pay a huge price in our own lives.
My experience as an entrepreneur is no different – I struggled through three mediocre business startups, learning a little bit more with each one. Along the way, I have put my lessons learned into writing: textbooks, how-to guides and even cover stories for Entrepreneur magazine.
Combining my own experience and the best advice from other entrepreneurs, I have systematically improved my current company… and have finally broken free of the curse! Now I love to share my experience with other business owners like you!
If you really want to transform your business into a lean, mean profit machine, then Rhythm is the capstone to your journey. This is the book that pulls it all together and turns everything into a powerful growth system.
Rhythm is an easy read—full of colorful illustrations, short personal stories, and easy discussions of the impact that team building can have on the operations of a business—small or large.
I took it, hook line, and sinker, implementing the full range of metrics, reporting, planning, and goal setting. I also use the associated software. Rhythm and its ancillary tools help me to be comfortable and confident that my leadership team is hard at work, doing the right things at the right times.
As I step away from the day-to-day operations of my business, I rely on the structures taught by Rhythm (and the lessons from all the books above!).
From USA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author! Want to achieve breakthroughs and get exceptional results? Discover the system that successful growth companies have used to achieve their results.
All growing companies encounter ceilings of complexity, usually when they hit certain employee or revenue milestones. In order to burst through ceiling after ceiling and innovate with growth, a company must develop a reliable system that prompts leaders to be proactive and pivot when the need arises.
You also need to learn simple systems to empower everyone in your company to become and stay focused, aligned, and accountable.
Rodney Bradford comes into Lindsay's restaurant, offers to buy her small house for double its value, eats her brownies, and drops dead on the sidewalk in front. Next, her almost-ex-husband offers to sign the divorce papers, but only if she'll give him her small,…
We are relatable women who have successful careers in a predominately male industry. We have run businesses, built teams based on trust and inclusion, become authors, speakers, and advisors, while simultaneously raising children with our also working husbands. This is not done with ease or without making trade-offs, but we will share our stories and hope to inspire other women. We believe in supporting women in all areas of our lives and we love to lift up the ones who have impacted us.
Kathy loved this book by Jane Dutton, and found herself exclaiming, “Yes!” as she read through this book that validated the energy she did receive abundantly through small moments of connection at work!
As a senior executive, Kathy could have thousands of people in her organization. Wanting to know each and every one of them was a luxury she could not afford, so she did her best to make those opportunities she did have for meaningful connections, no matter how brief, to count for her and the other person with whom she was interacting.
Jane systematically provides the science of how and why this works, along with so many useful tools for those to whom this does not come naturally!
Corrosive work relationships are like black holes that swallow up energy that people need to do their jobs. In contrast, high-quality relationships generate and sustain energy, equipping people to do work and do it well. Grounded in solid research, this book uses energy as a measurement to describe the power of positive and negative connections in people's experience at work. Author Jane Dutton provides three pathways for turning negative connections into positive ones that create and sustain employee resilience and flexibility, facilitate the speed and quality of learning, and build individual commitment and cooperation. Through compelling and illustrative stories, Energize…
