So in my last post I mentioned a few books that have really influenced how I think about productivity and how RightNow is taking shape. I thought I'd share them properly for anyone interested in diving deeper.

First up is Getting Things Done by David Allen. This is basically the bible of personal productivity systems. Even if you don't follow GTD to the letter (and honestly, who does?), the principles about capturing everything and getting it out of your head are gold.

Then there's the work of Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland on Scrum. I know Scrum is meant for teams but I think it has some really good ideas for personal planning. The whole sprint concept and backlog management? That's pure Scrum DNA in RightNow.

Deep Work by Cal Newport is another big influence. This one's about protecting your time for meaningful work, not just being busy. The time blocking principles from this book are what inspired the capacity-first approach in RightNow. There's also a related book which is really a planner that you can use for time blocking. The principles of that are great and something that I'm really trying to incorporate into the app.

And I've got to mention The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll. This gave me the concept of migrating tasks forward and having a bird's eye view of a period of time. While RightNow is digital, these bullet journal principles are at its core - consciously deciding what moves forward and seeing the bigger picture of your time.

Oh, and Atomic Habits by James Clear is a must-read. The whole idea of tiny changes compounding over time? That's what I'm trying to build into RightNow - making it easy to maintain good productivity habits without overwhelming yourself.

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande is a short one that packs a heckin' punch in the message it delivers. It's all about how simple checklists can prevent mistakes and improve outcomes in complex situations. This really influenced how I think about task management in RightNow.

And The ONE Thing by Gary Keller introduces some great ideas about thieves of time and thieves of productivity, as well as the concept that a balanced life doesn't actually mean you do everything equally but that you do them in balance. Ignore everything else outside of the pages of the book though as it is a bit culty. So is GTD but not in the same way IMO.

No affiliate links here by the way - though I'm not opposed to the idea! Just genuinely recommending books that have helped me think differently about productivity.

Oh, and a confession - I now consume all my books as audiobooks. I've kind of lost interest in actually reading. I don't seem to have the patience for it anymore! I can listen to a book at 2x speed, sometimes 3x, which is way faster than I can actually read. I'm a terribly slow reader, so audiobooks have been a game changer for me.

Got any productivity book recommendations for me? I'm always on the hunt for new ideas to incorporate into RightNow. Once I have a formal way for you guys to reach out lol - I'd love to hear what's helped you!

Happy reading... or listening!