I've Been Productive And Added Some Productivity Books To The Bookstore
Something else ticked off the list
In the spirit of productivity, if you aren’t in the market for a new book to read, or you just aren’t interested in hearing other people’s views on getting more done or getting what’s important done then you can just stop reading now. You won’t get anything out of it. Thanks anyway and see you soon.
If you’re still reading then you’ve only got yourself to blame!
In many a post, I’ve shared my view that the work that is expected of Product Managers is simply too much. It’s impossible to do lots of blue sky thinking whilst also focusing on delivering day-to-day. It’s impossible to know every single thing about your own product and everything about all of your competition.
As such, when it comes to ‘productivity’ I’m all about focusing on the right things, not sweating the other stuff, and doing what you need to in order for you to get through the day. You as an individual are more important than any extra bit of research, or data analysis, or [fill in the blank]!
If you aren’t looking after yourself then no one else will so find ways that work for you so that you can do the best for yourself.
With that in mind, this week I’ve managed to add a few new “productivity” books to the Getting Started in Product bookstore that might be interesting (or not, we’re all independent thinkers after all!).
The books are:
Noise: A flaw in human judgement
From behavioural science guru Daniel Kahneman (plus Oliver Sibony and Cass R Sunstein), this book looks at why we as individuals actually make many bad judgements and what we can do to try and make better ones.
It aims to teach us how to understand all the extraneous factors that impact and bias our decision-making - and how to combat them and improve our thinking.
Is it a good decision to read on? You decide!
Decisive: How to make better decisions
On the same theme is this book by Chip & Dan Heath, who use their own research to answer pretty much the same question as Daniel Kahneman: why do we so often get our decisions wrong?
They take the approach of drawing on case studies to put across their point, whether it’s the downfall of Kodak or the inspiring account of a cancer survivor, they look at the workings of our minds and provide pointers toward areas for improvement.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
Apologies for the language on this one, but they do astrix out the rude word on the book too so your Mum won’t get too offended. If the swearing does one thing it channels our inner feelings from many times during our product management week when we’re expected to be positive but really we want to just scream.
In this book, Mark Manson has taken the concepts from his popular blog and brought them together in a book that tells you it’s OK to not be happy with some things and it’s OK to then let it go and not care about it.
You don’t need to care about every possible new feature that people approach you with, you just need to be able to spot the good ones and care about them.
Still feeling productive? Read on …
12 Rules for Life
I have to confess. I have not read 12 Rules for Life, so Jordan Peterson might have some really terrible ideas on how to live his life, but this book has been the #1 Sunday Times bestseller and the New York Times says that he’s “the most influential public intellectual in the Western world right now” which I’m taking to mean that he’s not some crazed, cult leader, awaiting the return of aliens to take him back to his home planet.
It seems that each rule is accompanied by an example, setting his thinking in context and for which “the sum is a comprehensive, sometimes almost brutal, assault on everyday assumptions.” Sounds interesting doesn’t it.
The final two books I added were Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (because I am an introvert and like to think I can contribute through all the noise) and Mindset : Changing The Way You think To Fulfil Your Potential by Dr Carol Dweck (because I think our ability to succeed or fail can lean very heavily on our approach to thinking about it).
If you’ve made it this far, well done. Hope it’s not been a waste of your time. If so, you should probably look at some more of the productivity books on offer at the bookstore and find one that helps you focus on the important things and not waste time reading posts like this.