Currently Reading

• How to be a Highschool Superstar (Audio with my teens)
• Get better at anything by Scott Young
• 360° Leader by … (Leadership Book Club)

2025

Ultralearning by Scott Young

As I finish Ultralearning by Scott Young, I reflect on my journey to this book. Over the years, I’ve become more intentional in my learning, carefully choosing books based on my interests. My attempts at structured learning plans failed until I embraced my interests, leading to real progress. My reading list this year reflects a progression in learning, focusing on understanding and applying small parts without overthinking. Scott’s book, with its deep research on learning faster and retaining more, is engaging and insightful. While I’m unsure how it will change my life, it encourages my personal growth project. I aim to improve myself and guide my children as they approach adulthood, fostering their love for fun and creativity while teaching them to learn and be interesting.

Who Moved My Cheese?

Last night I needed a book to read. I have one that I am working on but don’t dare read it close to bedtime or I will be awake all night. I have used the phrase “Who moved my cheese?” for many years and never knew where it came from. This book jumped off the shelf and into my basket at a used bookstore recently. Since it is so small I decided to pick it up and read it before bed. Great choice! I now understand the phrase I have used for years and will be able to use it even more effectively in the future. For a book written so many years ago, the message is still very relevant. I will be re-reading this periodically over the years.

Atomic Habits

I’ve had this book in my Audiobook library for quite a few years and was finally in the frame of mind to pick it up again. It is a very well written book about how important designing the proper system for integrating habits into your life is when trying to reach your goals. I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed it and how relevant it is. I will be thinking through the ideas and concepts very carefully as I lay out my next set of goals for my future.

How to Live on 24 hours a Day

I come back to this book every few years. It is a simple fable about how to utilize the time you have effectively for growth and learning. He does a great job of finding places in the day to change small habits and find additional space to enable you to focus on what is important for you. It was one of the first productivity/self-improvement books that really resonated with me.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

I read this book directly after finishing my re-read of Slow Productivity. Considering the idea of moving slower to build quality, the concepts in this book of working more deeply really resonated. Understanding how to use my abilities in this way to improve my work and personal life is compelling.

Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout (re-read)

As I move into the new year, I am also moving into a new role. This book is even more valuable for me than it was when I read it last year. My new job as ProdOps Manager gives me more time to slow down and really focus on doing work that is valuable for my organization. As I set my goals and projects for this year I will be revisiting these ideas over and over again.

2024

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results

The ideas in this book really connect well with the concepts of Slow Productivity. Hyper focusing on the one thing that will move you closer to your goal and shedding everything else. Being very intentional in choosing what that one goal will be. Moving at a steady, sustainable pace towards the goal that you want to achieve.

Self-Improvement 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know

ToDo: Add Summary

Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout

This is a fantastic message that we all need to move slower. Living life at top speed means that you miss too much of it. He has many anecdotes about people who moved slowly and had major success in their lives. This book really resonated with me and I intend to re-read it multiple times to make sure that the message sinks in.

The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues

Todo: Add Summary

Accelerate

Todo: Add Summary

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

This book is a shorter one that I binge listened to while on a road trip. I found the message in it to be a bit morbid but a good reminder that life is short and we need to be careful about where and how we spend our time. The same applies to the work we do. We only give our employer so many hours of the day, it is our responsibility to make sure that we spend those hours wisely so that the value they gain is worth it.

2023

The Goal

“The Goal” is a book written in a fable style that explores the concept of improving productivity and efficiency in a manufacturing plant. The story follows the protagonist, Alex, as he learns about the theory of constraints and applies it to save his struggling factory. The book provides valuable insights into operational management and highlights the importance of identifying and addressing bottlenecks in order to achieve overall success. This is another book that will need to be re-read regularly.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

This book was written in the “fable” style. I really enjoyed how it was laid out and the message it told. I think I will need to re-read it a couple of times to truly get the value out of it that I need to. Katheryn was a fantastic character and would make an amazing boss if she were a real person. Having a handbook to explain how to help foster healthy teamwork is great to have on my shelves.

Lean from the Trenches

This was a thin book but took me forever to read. I really struggled to get through more than a couple pages at a time. There were far too many thoughts and ideas in my head while reading it. I need to take the time to re-skim it and summarize the core of my notes so that I can really see what the true take aways were.

The Phoenix Project (another re-read)

This book has become one of the books that I deem worth a regular re-read. Going through it reminds me of how dysfunctional teams can cause major issues that are difficult to clear up. Spending time thinking through how the problems that they are solving and how we would solve them is well worth the time and brain power.

Building a Second Brain

This was such an inspiring look into how to set up your digital life. This book helped me to find new and different ways to set up my digital information. It will be an on-going project to find better ways of documenting. It with be worth skimming the book a second time and looking for new ideas on how to streamline systems.

The Kanban Pocket Guide

This book was a fantastic summary of what Kanban is and how to put it in place. I learned quite a bit as I read it and was a bit sad that I couldn’t get a paper copy to mark up as I was reading it. This is well worth a re-read again next year to see how we have changed and grown.

Regular Re-Reads

• The Phoenix Project
• The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team
• Slow Productivity
• The Goal
• The way of the shepherd
• Kanban Pocket Guide