Top Productivity books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Productivity books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Productivity

Understanding the concepts of Productivity starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

The 80/20 Principle

The Pareto principle states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. In other words, a small percentage of causes have an outsized effect. This concept is important to understand because it can help you identify which initiatives to prioritize so you can make the most impact.

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How to Be a Productivity Ninja

How to Be a Productivity Ninja by Graham Allcott gives practical, easy-to-implement tips to improve your productivity and reduce stress. It helps readers to become more efficient and organized in both their personal and professional lives.

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Deep Work

“Deep work” was coined by Cal Newport in his book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. It refers to the capacity for concentrated, high-quality cognitive activities demanding deep focus, creativity, and problem-solving.

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The One Thing (book)

The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan is a productivity book that argues that by prioritizing and focusing on one important task at a time, we can achieve extraordinary results and build momentum towards our ultimate goals.

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The Power of Habit

The Power of Habit (2012) unveils the science behind habit formation and change, making it a valuable read. Key highlights include: The book uncovers the psychology and neuroscience behind our daily routines. It presents practical strategies for replacing bad habits with positive ones.

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Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life

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Additional Productivity Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Productivity, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Work Less, Do More: Designing the 4-Day Week Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

A must read for anyone interested in the 4-day week' - Heejung Chung, professor at the University of Kent and author of The Flexibility Paradox'This invaluable book offers a clear way we don't need to burn ourselves out, we can work less and get more done' - Rebecca Seal, author of How To Work Alone (And Not Lose Your Mind)The 4-day week is no longer just an idea. Following successful trials i…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

23 Anti-Procrastination Habits: How to Stop Being Lazy and Get Results in Your Life S. J. Scott

In the book "23 Anti-Procrastination Habits", you will discover a catalog of ideas to help you overcome procrastination on a daily basis. Whereas many books provide a simple list of tips, you'll learn why a specific strategy works, what limiting belief it eliminates and how it can be immediately applied to your life.

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The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy

Chris Bailey turned down lucrative job offers to pursue a lifelong dream—to spend a year performing a deep dive experiment into the pursuit of productivity, a subject he had been enamored with since he was a teenager. After obtaining his business degree, he created a blog to chronicle a year-long series of productivity experiments he conducted on himself, where he also continued his research a…

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey provides a transformative guide for personal and professional success. It emphasizes proactive thinking, prioritization, effective communication, collaboration, and personal growth.

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The 4-Hour Workweek

The 4-Hour Work Week is all about how to change the way readers look at how they live and work and why they should challenge old assumptions. The author writes from a unique vantage point. He created a life and a career he chose out of consistently questioning the traditional assumptions about life and work.

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The Checklist Manifesto

What is The Checklist Manifesto about? Drawing from his experience as a general surgeon, Atul Gawande's The Checklist Manifesto (2009) reveals startling evidence on how using a simple checklist can significantly reduce human error in complex professions such as aviation, engineering and medicine.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

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