Time Management

Why we picked it: We’ve grown accustomed to managing our days by the hour. But what if we organized them by the four thousand weeks we’re, on average, expected to live? In this thought-provoking listen, author and journalist Oliver Burkeman proposes rejecting a micro-management approach to time management and instead focusing on finitude. Arguing that time optimization hacks can, at times, make our relationship with productivity worse, Burkeman draws on teachings from philosophers, psychologists, and spiritual teachers to reframe how your team members think about time and how to best use it. 

Why we picked it: A successor to his acclaimed The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, First Things First is Stephen R. Covey’s guide to time management but through a different lens. Leaning on his personal insights and examples from decades of business experience, Covey uses a compass and clock as analogies for how teams can focus on their “true north” and prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance. A breath of fresh air in the “do more in less time” space, First Things First is a reaffirming answer to teams looking for guidance on how to deliver more value and focus on what’s important.  

Why we picked it: What’s your one thing? In this thought-provoking audiobook, authors Gary Keller and Jay Papasan lay out the strategies and tactics to help you focus on what delivers real results using three frameworks: the laws of purpose, priority, and productivity. Their guidance will help teams navigate distractions and tasks that siphon away productivity and prioritize the ONE thing that delivers the most impact day-to-day.  

Why we picked it: If you eat a live frog for breakfast, you can go through the rest of your day knowing you've already accomplished your worst task. Building on a metaphor commonly attributed to Mark Twain, Brian Tracy lays out the case for organizing your days around your most daunting tasks. At its core, this listen is a lesson in time management through three guiding pillars: decision, discipline, and determination. But it’s also a guide to navigating one of the biggest killers of productivity: procrastination. Recently updated with two chapters focusing on technology and the distractions it creates, Eat That Frog! will teach your team tactics to win the day through strategic time and task management.  

Why we picked it: If you’re looking to integrate proven and trusted frameworks for your team, Tranquility by Tuesday will slot in perfectly. Laura Vanderkam, the bestselling author behind 168 Hours and What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, lays out nine actionable strategies for building a resilient schedule that allows for fulfillment and joy, leaving hectic, haphazard days behind. Based on studying the time diaries of over 150 people and how their lives changed after implementing her framework, Vanderkam’s guide advocates living with intention and purpose to help your team reclaim their schedules.  

Why we picked it: Daniel Pink, acclaimed author of the bestsellers Drive and To Sell Is Human, takes a science-based approach to time and time management in When. Backed by expert insights and data, Pink offers tactics to help you unlock the secrets to good timing, among them: understanding the power of breaks, the value of episodic timing, and how to navigate the three stages of each day. As useful as it is fascinating, When will guide teams to become time management pros.  

Why we picked it: How often do you find yourself yearning for just a few more hours? In Make Time, authors Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky provide a practical alternative. Based on their experience creating Google Ventures's "design sprint," as well as their years building tech products for industry giants such as YouTube, Make Time distills their learnings into a highly approachable, four-step daily framework to help teams make the most of their time, energy, and focus. Packed with tips and expert strategies, this audiobook will give your team the tools to dispel the “I wish I had more time” sentiment and tackle their days with a fresh outlook.  

Why we picked it: Named one of the Best 40 Business Professors Under 40 by Poets & Quants, author Cassie Holmes is well recognized for her research and impact. Based on her popular course on happiness at the UCLA Andersen School of Management, Happier Hour is a guide to living a more satisfying life by investing time wisely. Sharing lots of useful, evidence-based anecdotes from her research, Holmes (who also narrates this audiobook) lays out easy-to-follow blueprints to eliminate distractions and design a schedule with purpose and intention.