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11 Productivity Books for Fighting That Creative Rut and Getting Stuff Done

published on 6/2/21 by Mindy Chung

Okay, who here can agree that freedom is great and all, but too much in your business can be just as bad as not enough? Like, as creative entrepreneurs we thrive on the ability to pursue our passions… but suddenly gaining the ability to sleep in until you want to? Killer for your productivity. (And not fabulous for your mental health, either). So if you’ve been feeling stuck, or like you’ve been holding yourself back, here’s a round-up of productivity books centered on positive habits and techniques all freelancers and creative professionals can adopt to reinvigorate your mindset and get moving.

12 productivity books for creatives via wallflower

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Clear’s book focuses on building a positive system that encourages forming good habits, breaking old habits, and making small changes to permanently be more productive.

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

A New York Times Bestseller and a classic that’s still relevant today, 7 Habits communicates the importance of shifting perspectives for lasting lifetime changes.

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

Duhigg’s book focuses on recognizing habits and the brain functions responsible for making them so tough to change. Inspiring tidbit: good habits breed more good habits!

“As people strengthened their willpower muscles in one part of their lives—in the gym, or a money management program—that strength spilled over into what they ate or how hard they worked. Once willpower became stronger, it touched everything.”

The Psychology of Procrastination: Understand Your Habits, Find Motivation, and Get Things Done by Hayden Finch

Finch’s book tackles the negative connotations of procrastination by observing what triggers it, and providing evidence-based techniques meant to help you work with your brain, not against it.

The Pomodoro Technique: The Life-Changing Time-Management System by Francesco Cirillo

Do you have colleagues who use the Pomodoro method? The Pomodoro Technique touts maximized productivity based on the method where the implementor typically works 25 minute intervals with 5 minute breaks in-between.

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande

Gawande’s book articulates a common struggle for most people in this day and age; an inability to fully tackle an ever-growing volume of work. He posits that going back to the simplest task management tool, the checklist, holds immense power for finally taking your life back from the clutter of work.

The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future by Ryder Carroll

The Bullet Journal Method emphasizes intentional living as a means of releasing unnecessary stressors and focusing on what really matters in your life.

The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn’t, and Get Stuff Done by Kendra Adachi

For all of my *Gifted and Talented* burnouts (myself included), Adachi’s book tackles the root of productivity paralysis—meeting external expectations—and reframes what it means to be productive for yourself and your happiness.

Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal

Indistracable discusses the psychology behind distraction, and articulates a four-step model meant to finally get you to improve your follow-through.

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

After a year spent auditing productivity methods on himself, Bailey’s book highlights some of the methods that actually worked, like slowing down to work with more deliberation.

Zen To Done: The Ultimate Simple Productivity System by Leo Babauta

Zen To Done takes different parts of pre-existing productivity systems and melds them into a new one to streamline the reader’s journey to good habits for simplifying work and freeing up time.

Dream First, Details Later: How to Quit Overthinking & Make It Happen! by Ellen Bennet

Based on real events in Ellen Bennet’s life, Dream First, Details Later encourages you to take a leap of faith in yourself, and why you should refuse to let overthinking stop you from even starting. So cool to get insight into Hedley & Bennett’s roots!

What do you struggle with the most as a creative, and which productivity book will you read next?

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Born and raised in LA, Mindy considers herself a lifelong Angeleno. When she's not crocheting scarves or eating tacos, you can find her taking long romantic walks with her pitbull-mix, Lola.
see all posts by Mindy Chung
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