3 Productivity Books that Changed My Life

When I approach a book, I don’t try to take a bunch from it. It’s too overwhelming to try to retain every bit of wisdom packed inside the pages. Instead I simply try to take one big concept from each book I read and make it something that’s actually useful in my life. I’ve found this approach of focusing on LESS actually allows me to retain MORE and implement more real change in my life.

Here are three productivity-related books I’ve enjoyed over the years, and the ONE big lesson I took from each and put to use to change my life.

(1) The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

My big takeaway: Time blocking and the 80/20 principal helping me do things I love doing every day.

I read this book for the first time early on in my entrepreneurial journey when, like most entrepreneurs, I was wearing a bunch of hats juggling a lot of demands. I had already personally felt connected to Tim from his Podcast as someone I can very much identify with. He has a lot of aspirations as an entrepreneur, likes to write, wants to find a way to influence people in a positive way. All of these things drew me to him and his approach.

In the fifth chapter of the book, called “The End of Time Management,” I found my one big principal to take away and put to use in my life. He starts the chapter with this incredible quote from Antoine De Saint-Exupery: “Perfection is not when there’s no more to add but when there’s no more to take away.” So many people are trying to be more effective by ADDING stuff instead of identifying what's most important and removing other stuff. This realization inspired a mantra I hold in my life to this day: “Say ‘no’ to everything, so you can say ‘yes’ to the one thing.”

I use the 80/20 Rule to understand what the “one thing” is on any particular day. Understanding that 20 percent of my activities will produce 80 percent of my results helps me prioritize what to focus on and say “yes” to and what to say “no” to. Instead of working for working’s sake, or working with people you don’t like or employees or customers or clients that aren’t a cultural fit, this book helped me re-frame how I think about my day. It made me think about how I structure the work I live in around the things I enjoy doing. Not only does it make my work and my life more fulfilling, but it also pushed me to think about how I use my time.

That thought led me to implement time blocking in my days. This strategy for time management has had a massive impact on my productivity, my fulfillment, and my ability to impact my business and my life toward the goals I’ve set out to achieve.

(2) Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

My big takeaway: Do something intentional with the first waking moments of my day.

I read this book in the last couple of years because I heard Hal Elrod on a podcast and was intrigued by his story. He’s personally been through a lot and his story is incredibly inspiring.

His book teaches you the steps of the “Miracle Morning”:

• Read
• Exercise
• Affirmations
• Silence
• Visualize
• Scribe (write)

To be 100% transparent and truthful, I have rarely put all of these pieces together every morning. What the book did teach me was to be intentional in those specific areas during every day. There are a few that have become more regular practices for me and now they’re a part of my routine I can’t live without.

First, although I don’t do it consistently, I go in long spurts of journaling and it’s been very useful in understanding my goals and how to get to them. I enjoy writing down what I’m grateful for -- both personally and professionally -- and then being able to go back and look at those past journal entries and see my growth. I especially like doing this in the morning as a way to start my day on a positive note and set the tone for my day.

Second, I’ve adopted meditation. I do this many days and really appreciate the focus that comes out of what meditation brings. A lot of people, when they think of meditation, they think of monks and a practice that is outdated and, honestly, boring. But, I’ve found that it can be what you want it to be. I’ve tried multiple different apps to help me with my meditations. The one I’ve used most consistently and like the most is called “Waking Up App” by Sam Harris. It’s incredibly well done and has great meditations that are only about ten minutes long. It’s what finally really helped me commit to these sessions more regularly.

Third is reading. Although I don’t necessarily read in the morning to start my day, I average 15-20 hours per week listening to books. Engaging with books continually pushes me in learning, being inspired, and feeling personally-challenged. Anyone doing any job, anywhere should be reading. And now it’s easier than ever because it’s no longer about having to have the book in your hand. The kindle, the audio version can change when and where you’re able to read. Physical books themselves can be tough if you’re not a visual learner. I personally can retain much more now because I can listen to books on audio at 1.5 speed. It’s propelled me in all aspects of my life, and I encourage everyone to make it a part of their regular life.

Finally, of the Miracle Morning practices Hal Elrod outlines in his book, Exercise is an absolute MUST for my life. I work out 5-6 days per week. Some days I do two-a-days. I find that I’m a complete wreck if I don’t work out. Exercise is important to feeling better and it’s an incredible mental break in your day no matter when you do it. For me, it’s an integral part of having a re-set in the middle of my day. Many times people make excuses for various parts of their life whether it’s nutrition or time to work out or motivation or all of the things on this list. The fact is, I'm not perfect, but when I’m at my best and feeling my best, I am exercising regularly. Exercise can also be an incredible community-building practice. If you go to a gym or participate in classes, you have people around you to motivate you, challenge you, encourage you, and make you better. I encourage everyone to not just exercise for fitness, but to do it because you love it. It’s worth finding the type of exercise you enjoy, so you do it regularly because you actually love it.

(3) Traction: Get a Grip on your Business by Gino Wickman

My big takeaway: Understanding the visionary / integrator language, having a goal laid out, and understanding who is responsible for helping manage and maintain that goal.

Gino Wickman’s book Traction is on this list because it changed my company, Bridge Turnkey Investments, significantly and thus changed my ability to contribute to and feel fulfilled in it. The book lays out the roles of two leaders in the business: the Visionary and the Integrator. As defined by Wickman, the Visionary is a person who has lots of ideas, is a strategic thinker, always sees the big picture, has a pulse on your industry, connects the dots, and researches and develops new products and services. In comparison, An Integrator is the person who is the tie-breaker for the leadership team, is the glue for the organization, holds everything together, is accountable for the P&L results, executes the business plan, holds the Leadership Team accountable, is the steady force in the organization, is the filter for all of the Visionary’s ideas; harmoniously integrates the Leadership Team; and helps to remove obstacles and barriers.

Understanding these definitions was transformative for me. Once I had the language around it (I am 100% a Visionary) I could identify what I wasn't good at and why I was so frustrated with doing the things that I wasn’t good at. This helped me name the things I was good at and where my area of expertise, natural ability, and skill was, so I could focus on those things.

Once we got a coach to implement Traction, it dramatically increased the usefulness of this approach and the focus of our team to run it in our business. Without it, we wouldn’t have the level of process, clarity, and synergy at Bridge Turnkey that we have today.

Wrap Up: Why My Life Really Changed

If I didn’t make it clear already, books have transformed my life in significant ways. Choosing just three for this article was nearly impossible because I’ve consumed so many and gotten so many good things out of them. I learned a TON from The 4-Hour Work Week, Miracle Morning, and Traction, but my life is more focused, more healthy, more fulfilling, and more fun because I put those lessons into practice. If you’re like me, and big, inspiring books can be a bit overwhelming, I highly recommend focusing on ONE thing you can truly implement in your daily life to make a difference. When you look back at your journey and your success, you’ll see how those small “one things” added up to some truly MASSIVE change.