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Would you like to increase your productivity?
If you are a Mum (or a Mom if you’re the other side of the pond), you’ll know that life is busy and being productive with your time is essential. If you are a working Mum or even a work-at-home Mum like me, increasing productivity becomes even more important in order to keep all of those juggling balls in the air.
As a self-employed Mum of 4, several books have really helped to increase my productivity and focus my days on what really matters. I would say that I have “read” these books, but the truth is, I listened to them on Audible while doing other things (#multitasking).
In this post, I am sharing the books that have impacted my productivity the most, plus video summaries with the key takeaways from each. I have also linked each book to purchase on Amazon or to download and listen to free when you sign up for a free trial of Audible.
The Miracle Morning: The 6 Habits That Will Transform Your Life Before 8AM
The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod is all about how implementing the right practices before you start your day can change your life. There are 6 key practices which are referred to as “Life S.A.V.E.R.S”
The Miracle Morning Practices are…
- Silence
- Affirmations
- Visualisation
- Exercise
- Reading
- Scribing
In this book, Elrod goes into detail about what these practices really are and why they will impact your life, make you more productive and help you to achieve your goals, whatever your goals may be.
He talks in-depth about when you should be getting up, teaches you how to make getting up easier and gives tips for applying these practices to improve your life.
Check out the video below for a summary of the book.
Finish – Give Yourself The Gift Of Done
Finish – Give Yourself The Gift Of Done by Jon Acuff really spoke to me. You see, I was not born organised. In fact, I was raised as a procrastinator. Completing things does not come naturally to me and it’s something I’ve had to work at. Although even before reading this book, I had become better at seeing things through, I was still guilty of procrastination being my default setting and something I very much had to fight daily.
In this book, Acuff talks about how procrastination is often dressed up with nicer labels such as “perfectionism”, which is the main reason that most people don’t get things completed.
“If it can’t be perfect I won’t do it” – does that sound familiar? The book uses multiple examples such as “Oh, I “cheated” on my diet and now it’s all ruined so I may as well eat the whole cake” (I’ve totally done that). Or when you skip one day of training, break your streak ten don’t train again for months. (Yes, I’ve done that too).
This book does a brilliant job of identifying areas where we may not even be aware that we are procrastinating and leaving things unfinished. Acuff comes up with brilliant strategies and actionable steps to stop procrastination ruining your productivity. Check out the video below for more information.
The 5 Second Rule
The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins teaches you this oh-so-simple rule that will transform your productivity. (And no, it’s nothing to do with food falling on the floor).
The 5 Second Rule is simple…
When a thought about something that needs doing enters your mind, you count backwards “5-4-3-2-1 and you’re doing it”.
Robbins explains in the book how her life was in a total rut. She was in such a funk that she could barely get out of bed in the mornings, plunging each and every day into lateness and chaos. She talks us through how she discovered and applied the rule to totally transform her life, starting by something as simple as getting out of bed in the mornings.
The book is jam-packed full of numerous ways to utilise the rule in every corner of your life and inspirational stories of people all around the globe who have done just that.
Check out the video below of Mel Robbins explaining a bit more about the rule and how it may not be easy, but this simple rule will change everything.
High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way
High Performance Habits by Brendan Burchard shares research conducted into the habits of people top of their game. Each of the people interviewed by Burchard and his team was extraordinary in their own way. Although they all came from different walks of life and excelled in different fields, the same habits and practices showed up consistently across the board. This book shares exactly what these habits are and how we can incorporate them into our own lives to boost productivity.
The 6 High Performance Habits (or HP6) are…
- Seek clarity
- Generate energy
- Raise necessity
- Increase productivity
- Develop influence
- Demonstrate courage
So how do we go about forming these habits? Brendan breaks each one down in the book, including practices to implement and a whole host of free tools too.
Check out the video below where the author explains a little more.
The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
The One Thing by Gary Keller talks about how we are often so busy being busy, that all of the “busy work” gets in the way of us really ever getting anywhere. What is the use of being a busy fool when you’re not really productive or achieving what really needs to be done?
In this book, Keller shares exactly how to identify your real priorities and structure your days to focus on what matters most. Check out the video below for more information.
Which are your favourite books that have increased your productivity?
I’m always keen to hear about more amazing books that can help with productivity as a work at home Mum, let me know your top picks in the comments.
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