The 8 Best Time Management Books for Busy People

Whether you're a budding entrepreneur, working professional, college student, or just somebody who enjoys being productive and effective with their time, time management books are a great tool to help streamline your life.

But, of course, it can get a little overwhelming and rather time-consuming searching for just the right book to boost your productivity skills.

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Never fear, though. We've put this post together to not only save you the effort of searching for the best books on time management. Here are the best books on time management from everyone here at Simplish.

The Best Books on Time Management

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear

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You are your daily habits. 

From James Clear’s perspective, building habits is a journey toward becoming the kind of person you want to be, one step at a time. This book frames your every action as the decisive foundation of your being, advocating for big changes through a change of perspective about control and achievement. For many, the practical wisdom this book offers about building habits that you’re happier with is not only empowering, but truly liberating. It allows you to focus on the activities in your life that will create joy and fulfillment in the long-run 🙌 

“As a psychologist, I often talk about habits with my clients; but some years ago this book changed the way I thought about behavior. I realized that our daily practices, no matter how small, play a significant role in shaping our identities. The power of small, yet purposeful, daily actions became clear to me like never before.”
Clara Roberts Otero, Contributing Writer

CHAT GPT SUMMARY

📖 Atomic Habits is a pivotal guide to mastering habit development..

🔑 Small, daily habits culminate in significant, transformative results.

💡 Habit formation includes four steps: cue, craving, response, and reward

🌳 Environmental factors impact habit formation, so it's important to create spaces that nurture positive habits and diminish negative triggers.

🌟Consistency and perseverence are essential ingredients for enduring success and personal excellence.

Atomic Habits is a comprehensive guide for positive life transformation. This book demystifies the science behind habit formation, offering enlightening insights into creating enduring change through progressive steps. The book is widely acclaimed in the personal growth domain, thanks to its practical, actionable guidance on cultivating good habits and dismantling detrimental ones. 

The book bridges theory and practice through illustrating the principles of habit formation through real-life success stories and experiences. Clear simplifies the complexities of the science of habit formation, providing practical strategies, exercises, and worksheets for immediate application.

One essential new concept from Clear's framework is "habit stacking"; an innovative practice of building new habits on top of existing ones. This methodology optimizes existing neural pathways in the brain, facilitating the seamless integration of new habits, and fostering a cascade of positive actions in daily routines.

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First published in 2018, Atomic Habits stands today as a pillar for personal growth to those prepared to commit to its principles. The book is a versatile resource that can help readers nurture improvements in health, relationships, professional performance, and all other aspects of life. Anchored in robust scientific research, the book also offers extensive references and resources, ensuring a well-rounded, supportive guide for habit transformation and personal development.

 

2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey

Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has become a must-read for both professional and personal time management junkies. One of the book's main focuses is upon creating new habits so that staying on track and eliminating procrastination comes with ease.

3. Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brain Tracy

This is an essential read for anyones struggling with productivity guilt triggered but procrastination. Another great read, Brian Tracy's Eat That Frog. Within this book, Brian Tracy quotes Mark Twain saying “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.”

But what do eating frogs and procrastination have in common? Well, Tracy concludes that procrastination is a result of not tackling the most important daily tasks first and putting them off until later. By tackling the tasks we'd rather put off first thing in the day, he says that poor productivity, a lack of self-discipline, and poor working practice will become a thing of the past.

4. The 4-hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris

 

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No time management book would be complete without The 4-hour Workweek. Published in 2007, Timothy Ferris has a cult following of digital nomads, new age entrepreneurs and those seeking financial freedom with minimal effort. This book is one of the first "how to" guides in the remote work revolution, encouraging readers to build lives that revolve around interests and passions instead of a 40 hour workweek.

CHAT GPT SUMMARY

⏰ Escape the 9-to-5 grind and design your dream lifestyle with the concept of the "New Rich."

🌟 Maximize productivity by focusing on the most impactful tasks, applying the 80/20 rule.

🎯 Embrace remote work and leverage outsourcing to streamline your business.

🏝️ Achieve location independence and explore the world while working.

✈️ Automate income streams to gain financial freedom and free up time.

💸 Challenge the traditional work mindset and embrace unconventional paths to success.

🚀 Pursue your passions and create a business that aligns with your interests.

🌈 Emphasize lifestyle design and prioritize experiences over material possessions.

🌴 The Four Hour Work Week empowers you to break free from societal norms and create a fulfilling and adventurous life.

 Ferris has included easy-to-follow tips and case studies on how everybody has the ability to get more done in less time so we can all get on doing the things that bring us true happiness. He challenges the orthodox approach to work and equips readers with the tools needed to rewrite the traditional script. Through concepts and strategies including "mini-retirement", leveraging tools to boost remote workflow, automating and outsourcing recurring tasks, and developing passive income streams, Ferriss champions a somewhat individualistic vision of working life in the 21st century that is liberated from the constraints of the everyday and embraces a life filled with freedom, purpose, and limitless opportunity. The Four-Hour Work Week isn't simply about working fewer hours; it's about maximizing the value of your time and living life on your own terms.

5. 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam

Bestselling author, Laura Vanderkam has taken real-life stories from a wide range of successful people and detailed how they find the time to do all the tasks that are most important to them. During her writing journey, Vanderkam quickly realized that successful people allocate their time differently to the rest of us. They take all of the most important stuff and prioritize it before anything else. In doing so, they fill all their professional aspiration without sacrificing sleep, health, or family time. And Vanderkam claims, with a touch of examination and prioritization, you can do all of this too.

6. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

Charles Duhigg believers, if fast-tracking the way you work and how better to manage your time is the goal, examining your habits is paramount to your success. Duhigg takes years of scientific research and, using this knowledge, shows his readers how they can shape up their habits so they get more done in less time. He writes: “Rather, to change a habit, you must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine.”

7. The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller

In his book The ONE Thing, Gary Keller tells his readers that the key to getting more done is to free up more time by focusing on less. More specifically, if you want to be more productive, the secret is to focus on one thing at a time. Keller explains that multitasking is a myth, the more endeavors you try to think about at once the less effective you are at completing those tasks in a timely manner. According to Keller, successful people make the least amount of decisions they can during the day and instead direct all of their brainpower to tasks they have highlighted as a priority.

8. The Art of Saying No by Damon Zahari

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"Saying no is not a rejection; it's a re-direction towards self-care and personal growth."

This is perhaps one of the most powerful sentences in The Art of Saying No by Damon Zahari. This statement captures its essence perfectly. With profound wisdom and refreshing perspectives, Zahari challenges common beliefs about saying "no." He demonstrates how this simple word can become a powerful self-care and personal growth tool. Through insightful guidance, the author offers practical strategies for setting boundaries while exploring cultural and spiritual aspects of assertiveness. In exploring its pages, you will discover the transformative power of saying no.

CHAT GPT SUMMARY

🚫 "The Art of Saying No" by Damon Zahari teaches the power of setting boundaries.

🛡️ Learning to say no gracefully is essential for personal growth and self-care.

🙅‍♂️ Saying yes to everything can lead to overwhelm and burnout.

😫 Prioritize your time and energy by declining tasks that don't align with your values or goals.

📆 Practice assertiveness and be honest about your limitations.

🗝️ Embrace the freedom of saying no without guilt or fear of judgment.

🦸‍♀️ By doing so, you create space for meaningful opportunities and focus on what truly matters to you.

🌟 Remember, saying no is not a rejection, but a mindful choice for a more fulfilling life

The Art of Saying No by Damon Zahari is a transformative guide that empowers individuals to reclaim control over their lives by mastering the act of saying no. Zahari innovatively challenges the misconception that refusing is inherently negative, illustrating it instead as a pivotal self-care act fostering personal growth. The book resonates with a universal audience, thanks to Zahari's engaging and insightful writing style, replete with captivating anecdotes and profound quotes.

Zahari’s practical strategies and actionable advice facilitate refusal without guilt, applicable in various real-life contexts such as social events and workplace boundaries. The guide is not merely a manual but a journey towards self-discovery, encouraging readers to delineate their values and boundaries. This exploration reveals the act of saying no as not just a preservation of mental and emotional well-being, but also a crucial stride towards authentic living.

In essence, The Art of Saying No is a beacon for those seeking to break free from the overwhelming cycle of constant acquiescence, promoting a life of balanced fulfillment and authentic self-expression. It’s more than a self-help book; it is a roadmap towards a more self-aware, assertive, and empowered existence.

Final Thoughts on the Best Books for Time Management

Time management books can bring real-world knowledge and serious motivation into your professional and private life. Another great way to up your productivity game and get more done in less time is to use a super-convenient digital task manager.

Simplish allows users to set daily reminders, schedule important appointments, and create weekly to-do lists. Not only that, you can easily share documents, thoughts, and meeting times with both friends and colleagues.