Top 4 Books For Engineers Who Want To Be More Productive

Thomas Pfeiffer
5 min readJan 23, 2023

I will give you my top 4 list of productivity books I learned most of.

Those books are really great, easy to read and you will learn a lot of cool stuff.

1) The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

“The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg is a bestselling book that explores the science of habit formation and how it affects our daily lives. The book begins by explaining how habits are formed and how they can be changed, using a variety of scientific studies and real-life examples.

Duhigg argues that habits are formed through a loop of cue, routine, and reward. The cue is the trigger that initiates the habit, the routine is the behavior itself, and the reward is the positive outcome that reinforces the habit. For example, the cue might be feeling stressed, the routine might be eating a candy bar, and the reward might be feeling relaxed.

One of the key insights of the book is that habits can be changed by identifying and manipulating the cue, routine, and reward. Duhigg uses several examples to demonstrate how this process works, such as how a coach changed the habits of a losing basketball team, how a company increased productivity by changing office layout, and how a woman lost weight by changing her eating habits.

The book also delves into how habits can be changed on a larger scale, such as how companies can change their corporate culture, how governments can change public policy, and how individuals can change their lives for the better.

Duhigg concludes by emphasizing the power of habits and the importance of understanding them in order to make positive changes in our lives. He encourages readers to identify their own habits, understand the cues and rewards that drive them, and use this knowledge to make positive changes in their lives.

2) Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

“Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World” by Cal Newport is a productivity guide that emphasizes the importance of focused, deep work in today’s fast-paced and constantly connected world. The book argues that the ability to focus without distraction is becoming increasingly valuable in the modern workforce and that those who can master this skill will be the most successful.

The author explains that deep work is the process of completely immersing yourself in a task for extended periods of time, without distractions, in order to achieve a state of flow. He argues that deep work is necessary for producing high-quality results and that it is becoming increasingly rare due to the rise of technology and the internet.

The book offers practical strategies for incorporating deep work into your daily routine, such as creating a schedule for deep work, setting up a dedicated workspace, and using tools and apps to block distractions. It also offers advice for dealing with the psychological challenges that come with deep work, such as feelings of isolation and boredom.

The author also suggests that deep work is not only beneficial for productivity but also for personal and professional growth and development.

In conclusion, “Deep Work” aims to help readers understand the value of deep work and how to incorporate it into their daily lives, in order to achieve better results, improve their skills and achieve success in their career.

3) The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9–5

“The 4-Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferriss is a bestselling self-help book that provides a blueprint for achieving financial freedom and living a life of luxury through a combination of lifestyle design, outsourcing, and automation. The book teaches readers how to streamline their work lives, free up time and energy, and focus on the things that truly matter to them.

The core idea of the book is that by automating your income, delegating mundane tasks, and living a location-independent lifestyle, you can achieve financial freedom and live a life of luxury. Ferriss teaches readers how to use technology and outsourcing to automate their business and personal lives, allowing them to free up time and energy to focus on their passions and goals.

Ferriss encourages readers to break free from the traditional 9–5 work schedule and escape the rat race by creating a business that can run on autopilot, allowing them to work less and enjoy more. He provides practical advice and strategies for automating income, delegating tasks, and embracing a location-independent lifestyle.

The book also covers the importance of setting specific, measurable, and achievable goals, as well as the importance of testing and experimenting in order to optimize and improve your business and life.

In summary, “The 4-Hour Work Week” is a comprehensive guide to achieving financial freedom, living a life of luxury, and freeing up time and energy to focus on what truly matters. It provides practical advice and strategies for automating income, delegating tasks, and embracing a location-independent lifestyle, along with tips for setting goals and experimenting to optimize your business and life.

4) Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

“Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” is a book written by David Allen. The book presents a system for organizing and completing tasks and projects, with the goal of increasing productivity and reducing stress. The key principle of the system is to capture everything that has one’s attention into a “trusted system” outside of one’s mind, so that the mind is freed from trying to remember everything and can focus on taking action.

The book lays out a five-step process for “Getting Things Done” (GTD):

  1. Collect: Gather everything that has your attention and put it into a central location. This includes tasks, projects, notes, ideas, and anything else that is cluttering your mind.
  2. Process: Go through each item in your collection and decide what action, if any, needs to be taken.
  3. Organize: Put everything that requires action into appropriate categories and lists. This includes creating action lists, project lists, and tickler files.
  4. Review: Regularly review your lists and projects to ensure that you are on track and that nothing has been forgotten.
  5. Do: Take action on the tasks and projects on your lists.

The book also covers other techniques and tools to help with the productivity system, such as time management, delegating, and decision making. Additionally, the author emphasizes the importance of a “mind like water” mindset, where one is able to stay calm and focused in the face of any situation.

Overall, “Getting Things Done” presents a comprehensive system for organizing and completing tasks, with the goal of increasing productivity and reducing stress. It emphasizes the importance of capturing everything that has one’s attention into a “trusted system” and regularly reviewing and updating that system in order to stay on top of tasks and projects.

--

--