It’s ‘read a book time’…again
It’s time to have look at a few of the books on my 2021 ‘books to read’ list.
As promised after last week’s rundown of 4 of the books I will be reading, I am back with some more.
This time I will be focusing on self-improvement, time management and motivational books.
Of the four books, 2 are new, while the other 2 are books that have been sat on my shelf, begging for an outing.
I have no doubt I will be adding more books from this genre before the end of the year, as I am all about motivation and learning more about myself.
Eat That Frog! Get more of the important things done today: Brian Tracy
In the time it has taken for this 2nd part of ‘Books for 2021’ to be written, I have actually finished reading this one.
I want to say it was useful, but it focused too much on the world of business and industry to be fully relevant to me.
There is a rather amusing critique on Goodreads. It points out that there is no need to read this book fully, as the chapter titles and synopsises pretty much spell it out.
The conclusion literally lists each chapter in paragraph form if you want the TL;DR version. It really labours the whole ‘eating frogs’ metaphor too much, and while it confirms a number of ideas I previously held, it did not really offer a lot of new information.
Many of the suggestions offered are ones I have written about in previous articles.
Ideas around: planning, time blocking, having a list and breaking down your goals were all present.
After a while, I felt like I was rereading something I have seen many times before.
The book is laid out in an easy to access way. It is easy to dip in and out of ideas, thanks to the previously mentioned conclusion to each chapter. But, all in all, I wouldn’t recommend it as a purchase. If you are given a copy it is worth a quick look through, though.
Life coaching for writers: Sarah-Beth Watkins.
As I had a gift card I had to use up, this was the ‘filler’ book to get me up to the amount required. Kind of bought on a whim, based purely on the title.
It is lauded as a self-help and development guide for writers. Well, I write stuff. So I thought it could potentially be useful.
The cover and general quality give off an ‘E-book’ feel, but the author has over 20 years of experience in the field and has written on literature and women’s development, so I am happy to learn from her.
Judging from the contents list alone, it looks like the book is going to be jam-packed with advice. I’m looking forward to reading this one. Getting good vibes from it. I’ll let you know how it goes.
How to save an hour everyday Guaranteed: Michael Heppell
Got to say, the red-stamped “Guaranteed” sold this to me. If he suggests getting up a bit earlier though, I am going to be a bit disappointed, as I have been getting up at 5am all of this year!
I begrudgingly admit it does mean I get more done, and start my workday off better, but by 10 pm, I am ready for bed, whether I have finished my work or not!
Michael Heppell is an international speaker and coach. While searching for this information I came upon his website and signed up for his ’90 days of Brilliance’ program. I may write up the experience if I think it will benefit you, readers.
As for this book, it claims it will help with problems like procrastination, that it will identify the things that sap your time, (Mine will be binge-watching YouTube videos! Calling it now!), and allow you to find new ways to reorganise your time and life.
Should be interesting.
The Power of Now: Eckhart Tolle
While unfamiliar with his books, I have heard many things about this author.
I overheard some members of my Toastmaster group discussing him, and thought nothing of it until I was going through my shelf and discovered that I own one of his books.
As I understand it, this may be a little ‘spiritual’ for me; I am all about practicalities, so I am hoping this isn’t too ‘deep’.
This book is, therefore, quite a departure from my usual reads, so it will be interesting to see how far I get into it.
Over to you
If you have any suggestions for self-help, motivational or practical tip-type books to read, let us know. We can always do a part 3 and beyond.