Top Productivity books curated by experts

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

  • Curated by industry experts
  • Proven learning resources
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Top Productivity books recommended by experts
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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 Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy

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-lon…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time

Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time

Jeff Sutherland discloses to the non-tech world the elegantly simple process that programmers and web developers have been using since he invented Scrum, showing how a small, empowered, and dedicated team can deliver significantly higher quality work at a faster pace through introspection, itera…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The Checklist Manifesto

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.

The One Thing (book)

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.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The 80/20 Principle

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 …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Getting Things Done

Getting Things Done

Getting Things Done (GTD) is a personal productivity system developed by David Allen and published in a book of the same name. GTD is described as a time management system. Allen states "there is an inverse relationship between things on your mind and those things getting done".

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Additional Productivity Reading

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

The 4-Hour Workweek

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 l…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Essentialism is more than 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 toward the things that really matter.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours

Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours

With Extreme Productivity, Pozen explains how individuals can maximize their time and energy by determining and focusing on their highest priorities. He also provides a toolkit of practical tips and techniques to help professionals at all stages of their careers maximize their time at work.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

What is Flow about? Flow (1990) explores how we can experience enjoyment in our lives by controlling our attention and strengthening our resolve. This is achieved by being immersed in an activity or subject that makes us neither anxious (if it's too hard), nor bored (if it's too easy).

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Atomic Habits

Atomic Habits

Atomic Habits by James Clear is a comprehensive, practical guide on how to change your habits and get 1% better every day. Using a framework called the Four Laws of Behavior Change, Atomic Habits teaches readers a simple set of rules for creating good habits and breaking bad ones.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

How to Be a Productivity Ninja

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.

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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