{"id":89,"date":"2025-06-02T22:46:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T22:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clients.computerguru.me\/azwellbydesign\/?page_id=89"},"modified":"2025-08-02T21:21:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T21:21:17","slug":"book-recommendations","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/clients.computerguru.me\/azwellbydesign\/book-recommendations\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Recommendations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals<\/em>, Oliver Burkeman<\/h3>\n

This book completely changed my outlook on how I use my time and how I help others to think about structuring their calendars and to-do lists. This book couldn’t have come from a better source. Oliver Burkeman used to write a weekly column called \u201cThis Column Will Change Your Life\u201d for The Guardian. It was heavily focused on time management and productivity tools and hacks. Time Management for Mortals is the result of his realization that just trying to pack in more doesn’t result in happiness. There is no magical time in the future when one’s to-do list is completely done and then finally, the opportunity to focus on [insert hobby, personal project, travel goal, etc. here] can happen. Our time is limited and we often behave as though it’s not. If we’re not careful, we can squander a lifetime on being \u201cbusy.\u201d I’ve read this book multiple times and is one that I most often gift to others because I find it so incredibly helpful.<\/p>\n

Stolen Focus: Why you can’t pay attention and how to think deeply again<\/em>, Johann Hari<\/h3>\n

I love technology and all the amazing things available to us as a result of it, but I also have significant concerns about its effect on our ability to think, focus, and communicate effectively and compassionately with one another. Our ability to focus and to think are vital for learning, work, and even our interpersonal relationships. As in all his work, Johann does a fantastic job weaving together research, expert interviews, individual experiences, as well as his personal experience to create a compelling and insightful read.\u00a0 Johann explains both the “big picture” and individual factors that affect our ability to focus (which include technology, but also go well beyond that to include environmental and societal factors), and offers possible solutions at both levels.<\/p>\n

Magic Pill<\/em>, Johan Hari<\/h3>\n

This is another highly contemporary work by Johann Hari, and depending on how things shake out over the coming years, its relevance may change. I strongly recommend this for anyone who is considering any of the semaglutide drugs for weight loss (Ozempic, Wegovy, etc.). It’s an excellent work, again weaving together the author’s personal journey with secondary research. The author is neither \u201cfor\u201d nor \u201cagainst\u201d these drugs. He presents the full spectrum of currently known benefits and drawbacks for the reader to ultimately make their own decision.<\/p>\n

Essentialism<\/em>, Greg McKeown<\/h3>\n

Time management is vital to our mental and emotional health and this book does a wonderful job of providing a way of thinking about how we prioritize our time and identifying what is truly essential to living a life that aligns with what is most important to us. Much like Four Thousand Weeks this book reminds us that our time is not unlimited and that it can quickly slip by being busy in many unfulfilling ways. Greg McKeown provides a framework for assessing the choices we make in how we spend our time and ensuring we are spending our time in alignment with our values.<\/p>\n

A Handbook for New Stoics<\/em>, Massimo Pigliucci<\/h3>\n

I honestly can’t remember how this book ended up on my radar, but I’m grateful it did. Stoic philosophy has been incredibly helpful for me in reducing my anxiety, managing my interpersonal relationships, and letting go of frustrations. This book provides an introduction to Stoic philosophy and weekly exercises to help the reader to identify practices that are helpful to them. I’ve gone through the book multiple times and have gained new insights with each round.<\/p>\n

Atomic Habits<\/em>, James Clear<\/h3>\n

Often, we are highly motivated when we finally decide to take action to make a change in our lives. Sometimes, in a frenzy of enthusiasm, we try to make a complete overhaul of some aspect of our lives, which more often than not fails. It is often better to make a series of small changes toward a larger goal and James Clear does a brilliant job explaining why and how. Another one I’ve read more than once, and I get something new with each reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, Oliver Burkeman This book completely changed my outlook on how I use my time and how I help others to think about structuring their calendars and to-do lists. This book couldn’t have come from a better source. Oliver Burkeman used to write a weekly column called \u201cThis Column […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-89","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clients.computerguru.me\/azwellbydesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/89","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clients.computerguru.me\/azwellbydesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clients.computerguru.me\/azwellbydesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clients.computerguru.me\/azwellbydesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clients.computerguru.me\/azwellbydesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/clients.computerguru.me\/azwellbydesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/89\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132,"href":"https:\/\/clients.computerguru.me\/azwellbydesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/89\/revisions\/132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clients.computerguru.me\/azwellbydesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}