Ok, this is volume 1 of “My Last 3 Audible Books and If I’d Recommend Them” series. I am an avid audiobook listener (mostly on Audible), it’s one of my favorite ways to keep pushing my personal development because it’s way more accessible for me to listen to something than sit down and read something. Because you’re a lot like me, I want to share these finds with you! I’m hoping these posts will help you put those precious Audible credits to good use.
I would recommend two of the three Audible books that I’m sharing with you today, although my second share More than Enough by Miranda Andersen is my top pick this round.
Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt
I heard Michael Hyatt on several of my standard go-to podcasts and loved the tips he was giving in relation to his book Free to Focus so I went for it. And let me tell you the tagline for this book, “a total productivity system to achieve more by doing less”, pretty much sums it up.
Michael Hyatt outlines his productivity system, which I listed for you below, and walks through step-by-step with really relatable, real-life examples and tangible “whys”. I also appreciated the boundaries + “saying no” thread that seemed to make its way through the whole book. Since it was definitely something I was intentionally working on last year (and continue to), it was speaking my language.
Here’s a sneak peak at his framework!
- Stop
- Formulate
- Evaluate
- Rejuvenate
- Cut
- Eliminate
- Automate
- Delegate
- Act
- Consolidate
- Designate
- Activate
This Audible book is perfect for you if…
You struggle to find time for “all of the things”, but you’re motivated to figure it out.
You are productive, but inconsistently and could use a little structure.
You need a reminder as to WHY productivity matters and how it can serve your life (not rule it).
You’re a productivity nerd like me!
p.s. if you haven’t tried Audible use my link to start your free 30-day trial and get 2 FREE AUDIOBOOKS!
More Than Enough by Miranda Andersen
I briefly talked about Miranda’s book, More Than Enough, in my post about the best podcasts for moms. I was recommended this book by a coworker and I think I listened to the whole thing in one day. I loved the content of the book, Miranda’s vibe, and the actionable takeaways. The book follows Miranda’s journey from an overload of stuff (and four kids adding to it), to living a freedom-inducing reasonable minimalist lifestyle. What I found really inspiring about Miranda’s story is that she was so fed up with the overload of things that her family had (and the subsequent cleaning + work needed to maintain said things) that they embarked on a journey to prove they could live otherwise — they spent one whole year without buying anything but consumables (toilet paper, food, soap, etc.). A WHOLE YEAR.
This book is what started my passion for donating and purging things that no longer serve me or bring me joy. I’m still working on it, because it’s realllyyyy easy to convince yourself of something’s value when you’re about to throw it out — even if you haven’t used it or seen it in years. This book also has changed my spending habits — if I don’t LOVE it, I don’t buy it. If you’re thinking this is just another Marie Kondo, you’re not completely wrong. But Miranda’s book helped me see how the things we have in our lives can be distracting us from truly living and she showed me how her family lives to do rather than to have, even down to the gifts they give their kids for birthdays and Christmas (which subsequently served as part of the inspiration to make Hayes a playroom for Christmas instead of buying lots of things for a one year old).
This Audible book is perfect for you if…
You think your parents could loosely be defined as hoarders and you don’t want to end up with a basement like that.
You want your life to be full of experiences and doing.
You want to encourage your kiddos to explore and imagine.
You’re sick of all of the STUFF.
The Power of Habit
There are some really interesting studies, case studies, and frameworks in The Power of Habit — it’s basically a habit nerd’s paradise. A big takeaway for me was was when he outlined the steps of a habit — cue, routine, reward. And I also really enjoyed some the stories he used to bring the points home, like the Starbucks case study. Sometimes I find research heavy information difficult to digest in audiobook format. I’d rather see the graphs, visuals, and data displayed in front of me. I also thought the book was so detailed that I felt like it was repeating information. Because of that, the book was a little dry to me and I had to really commit to finish it.
This is the only book of the Audible books of the bunch that I wouldn’t recommend, partially because of the reasons above, and partially because there is another habit book that I enjoy more. If you want to dig into habits, I would recommend Atomic Habits first.
This Audible book is perfect for you if…
Stats, numbers, and data are part of your learning love language and you’re looking for a book about habits.
If you’re a habit nerd like me!
What Audible books are you listening to?
I’d love recommendations!
p.s. if you haven’t tried Audible use my link to start your free 30-day trial and get 2 FREE AUDIOBOOKS!