The best productivity hack I discovered in 2016 was audiobooks. The ability to consume information while cleaning the house, driving, and running errands has been a total game changer for me! Last year, I consumed a few books that really challenged me- here they are in order of how they have impacted my life today. 

 

1. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

This book is first on the list because it has had a powerful impact on habits in my life- both good ones and bad ones. Through some pretty amazing stories he illustrates how we get into patterns- and how our brains crave these patterns- but how new patterns can totally be carved out if we are aware of what causes these patterns and are intentional about carving out new ones. This is a great read if there is a bad habit you're trying to kick like over eating or using your cell phone too much, or if you want to develop new habits like waking up early, or exercising! 

2. The Three Big Questions for the Frantic Family

Every family goes through struggles- what I am always so curious about is how they overcome them. This book, to be completely honest, was introduced to me at a time when our family was struggling big time this year. And I legitimately thought the author had bugged my house because some of the situations and words uttered by the family he uses to illustrate his concepts had totally occurred in my house. This book provided me a ton of comfort, and really quick strategies that don't need a ton of time or skill to implement. I think it's an essential read for any family that wants to live with intention! 

3. The War of Art bt Steven Pressfield

​I am a high achiever, and I love to get things done. So when I encounter resistance or set backs I can get REALLY hard on myself. This book looks at resistance in the creative process, and has changed my relationship with resistance- why do I feel like I have to check Facebook 100 times before writing a blog post? Or why do I feel like it's essential to clean my entire house before I publish another YouTube video? If you have creative goals, if you have a book in your soul you have always wanted to write, if you want to be more productive in life in general, this book is an awesome read.

4. Creativity Inc. by Ed Cadmull

This book made me pull out all my Pixar movies again to watch with even more reverence! This book is full of gems for leaders in organizations large and small- and even made me think about how I impact the creative process of my children at home. Ed Cadmull, one of the founders of Pixar, shares many lessons learned over the years of how to structure meetings, environments, training sessions and communication between employees in a way that will create optimum levels of creativity, to lead to success, towards a common goal. I love any book that pulls the curtain back behind an organization- and this one pulls it right open!

5. The Survivor by Kyle Mills, Vince Flynn

So fun fact about me- I have read every single book Vince Flynn has ever written. I am kinda obsessed with the let's hunt down the bad guys action thriller type genre. And who doesn't love a good hero? I had to throw this book into the mix because it's a fun, page turning thriller. And if you love action scenes, bad guys getting what is coming to them, and heroes standing up for what is good, this one is fun.

What was your favourite book of 2016? Love to know in the comments below.