Focus, Productivity & Energy

Published by Harvard Business Review Press, Driven to Distraction details why common solutions, like making a to-do list or learning how to manage your time better, just don’t work.

In Part 1, author Edward M. Hallowell MD goes over six of the most common ways anyone could lose the ability to focus while working.

From internet and social media addiction to multitasking and idea hopping, you may be guilty of these habits at work.

Dr. Hallowell not only explains the underlying psychological and emotional dynamics to such behaviors, but in Part 2, he offers advice to help you train your attention and become less susceptible to faltering into distraction.

The guidance offered in this book can help you make sense of your busy world to the point that you could help your team learn how to better handle theirs.

Does your workday ever feel superbly busy? Does it ever get to the point where by the time you clock out, you realize you didn’t really get that much done?

You may have spent all your brain power dealing with distractions and interruptions, and this left you working at a shallow level, distractedly skimming the surface of your workload and never getting to the important part.

In Deep Work, written in an academic paper style, Cal Newport discusses how your mindset can affect your work and how you can develop a practice of distraction-free productivity.

While this book doesn’t read like a story or novel, it does have verified advice and plenty of references to help you dive into the details.

Starting a deep work practice, for yourself and your company, is vital in today’s world so that you and your business can stay ahead in this complex information economy.

Don’t just survive, thrive! You can succeed in your work environment, no matter how overwhelming, and still feel energized in the evening.

Relate to the main characters of this book, Emily, a Vice President at a large corporation, and Paul, a work-from-home independent consultant, and their busy lives filled with many of the same things in your calendar right now.

There are four acts or parts to this book: problems and decisions, staying cool under pressure, collaborating with others and facilitating the change.

Within these acts are explanations to issues such as why your brain feels so taxed, and it also explains the solutions, such as how to maximize your mental resources.

As a busy professional, you can apply the business situational ideas to personal tasks and see improvement in how you prioritize and process information.

Economist, and former McKinsey partner, Caroline Webb shows you how to transform your approach to your everyday working life using psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics.

You’ll learn how to apply such science to your daily routines and tasks through step-by-step guidance so that by the end of this book you can better set your priorities, make your time go further, and make the most of every interaction.

She explains How to Have a Good Day and makes the point that it isn’t just a change for one day, but a change of a lifetime, made through scientific approach (every piece of advice comes referencing a scientific study).

In the end, you’ll not just be feeling better about work, but doing better and analyzing situations more effectively.

You will find yourself making better decisions, and communicating with others in a more impactful way.

Successful executives and entrepreneurs alike know that you can’t do everything.

But that doesn’t stop the constant flow of emails and messages, reports that need to be written, and decisions that need to be made.  So,  it is vital to focus on the most important tasks and prioritize those first.

But if you find that you’re struggling on tackling your most challenging tasks, Eat That Frog! explains how you can organize your day so that you can hone in on the critical tasks to complete them more efficiently and effectively.

Everyone has their take on effective time management, but author Brian Tracy has one of the best.

As a bestselling author of more than eighty books and consultant and trainer to more than 1,000 corporations, his practical advice is both actionable and applicable to all professionals.

This fully revised and updated edition adds explanations on using technology to set reminders and prioritize, and how to guard yourself from what is least important on that ever growing to-do list.

Upgrade your brainpower, work smarter, and think faster…in two weeks or less! In a process known as “biohacking”, Silicon Valley investor and tech entrepreneur Dave Asprey shows you from a scientific approach how to “biohack” your brain to become sharper, smarter, and more resilient.

Asprey first started biohacking biology with New York Times bestselling book, The Bulletproof Diet, and now he wants to teach you how to take advantage of your executive brain structure.

Haven’t you ever looked at your work day schedule and thought to yourself that there must be a way to do more in less time? Well now with Asprey’s simple lifestyle modifications you can.

His program is structured around key areas of brain performance, which will help you with everything from supercharging your brain to increase mental focus and eliminate cravings, to changing the lighting in your office and home so that your brain has what it needs to thrive.

Do you want to reach your highest potential? If you do, read this book.

Find out inspiring stories of top performers, the latest scientific insights and learn some key methods to help you cultivate a real and authentic life.

The tips in this book will help you enhance your performance within your strengths and weaknesses.

This is not a book on how to release stress, but rather, one on achieving your goals through a balance of stress and rest. It offers a genuine (and refreshing) look at human potential with practical ideas applicable to any executive lifestyle.