The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey
Getting Things Done, David Allen
The War of Art, Stephen Pressfield
Meeting Together, Lois Graessle, George Gawlinski and Martin Farrell
Linchpin, Seth Godin
While I think it’s by far the most useful way to go, one of the downsides of writing a book where you want to give practical advice about technology and tools is that it’s out of date before it’s even released, as the world of productivity software in particular moves so fast. Another downside is that there are many useful pieces of software and my job is often to pick just one, when in reality there are many good options. The Think Productive blog will occasionally run articles about new or interesting products coming on the market, so if you subscribe to us we’ll do our best to keep you updated! And rest assured, my choices are always made based purely on experience and objectivity. I do not receive anything from any company recommended in this book in exchange for advertising their products.
Firstly, I want to thank you for buying this book. It’s the result of me spending the last five years training myself and others to be more productive. During that time, I’ve received hundreds of emails back with tales of reduced time spent on email, improved meetings, life-changing moments and powerful impact created. It’s been an amazing journey and I hope I have captured some of that here and provided something of value to you. If so, please do get in touch – I’d love to hear your stories. Likewise, as I said at the very beginning, I don’t believe there are all-knowing gurus and I’m still learning, so perhaps you’ve got something that really works for you that you didn’t see included in the book? I’d be delighted if you could share it with me! My email address is graham@thinkproductive.co.uk. I’d love to hear from you!
There are so many people that have influenced my work and I want to thank them for what they’ve taught me. Many years ago I read Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and bits of that book have stuck with me ever since. David Allen’s first book Getting Things Done, Sally McGhee’s book Take Back Your Life and Merlin Mann’s Inbox Zero talk have all been a big influence in helping me think about email, information and action in a different way. The work of Julia Cameron and Stephen Pressfield has encouraged me to express myself and overcome my own fear and resistance. Seth Godin has been an inspiration on similar themes and also generous at a critical point in the birth of this book, too.
Martin Farrell, Think Productive’s ‘Meetings Magician’, is someone I’m proud to call a colleague and friend. Watching him create magic in meetings over the years has been inspirational. He also played an important role in the early development of Think Productive, helping to devise the CORD workflow model and co-delivering with me on some of our early workshops. His integrity, enthusiasm and wise counsel remain a constant source of support.
There are so many others whose contributions to the productivity ‘space’ are really worth acknowledging here as undoubted influences and I’m scared I’m going to miss someone obvious, but thanks to: Michael Sliwinski, Gina Trapani, Michael Hyatt, Leo Babauta, Laura Stack, Kevin Duncan, Tim Ferriss, Lois Graessle, Nancy Kline, Lee Cottier, Matthew Brown, Keith Bohanna, Stuart McKenzie, Russell Caird, Grace Marshall, Sharon Dale, Julia Richards, Wendy Smith and Dawn O’Connor.
Thanks to my fantastic team of book reviewers and testers: Elena Boga, Sean Sankey, Natalie Reynolds, Charlotte Maytum, Kate Parsley, Lou Drake, Jen Lowthrop, Mark Fellows, Sharon Leonard, Rob and Sarah Geraghty, Jon Burgess, Lyss McDonald.
For fantastic and much-needed support and inspiration at different times in my journey: my editor Kate Hewson and the fantastic team of ‘book ninjas’ at Icon Books, Elloa Atkinson, Dr Rex Pogson, Lee Cottier, Lizzie Moore, Sneha Patel, Rob Wilson, Julia Slay, the whole Involve team, Max McLoughlin, Julia Poole, Marie Benton, Seyi Obakin, Paul Oginsky, Rasheed Ogunlaru, Allan Burrell, Chris Dubery, Adam Nichols, the SPW crew, Gareth Parker, Neil Smith, Mark Walsh, Claudia Pilgrim, Kathleen Cronin, Matt Hyde, Martin Farrell, Tom Wilcox, Jonathan Simmons, Amanda Prosser, Ian Ferriss, MT Rainey, Anne Moynihan, Ben Kernighan, Christopher Spence, Sophia Williams, Elena Boga, Lisa Brady, Marie-Anne Stucke, Charlene Campbell, Sam Davidson, Rachel Youngman, Anna Burton, Tony Wilson, Tom Wylie, Mum, Dad, Granny, Heather, Craig, Lyra Jo, Alex & Roscoe.
Finally to Chaz, partner-in-crime in work and life. I love you.