Summer reading & vacation

In partnership with

Lots of people take time off in August. Including, probably, many of the people reading this newsletter.

And if you’re on vacation, I don’t expect you to be as interested as usual in reading about productivity, leadership, and, more generally speaking, work.

I’ve therefore decided to give my newsletter a little vacation as well, until the end of August.

That means you’ll hear from me again come September 3rd, but in the meantime, I’ve prepared a list of some of my all-time favourite books for those of you who want to keep exploring those topics.

You can find them all below, but first, a quick message from this week’s sponsor:

1. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari

I know that it’s a super popular title and chances are most of you have already read this one, but I can’t start with anything else because this is perhaps the most consequential book I’ve ever read.

I was in my early 20’s when I read it and it significantly expanded my understanding of humanity, behaviours, and how we collectively make decisions.

It should be required reading for anyone who is or aspires to be in a leadership position.

2. Principles, by Ray Dalio

Ray has had an incredibly successful career as an investor and entrepreneur. His book details his principles for life and work in a very practical, almost framework-like manner. I’ve found a lot in there that resonated with me, which I’ve since been applying in various forms in my own approach to work.

3. The 4-Hour Workweek, by Tim Ferriss

I’ve been a freelancer for more than a decade. The 4-Hour Workweek came at the perfect time early in my freelancing career and truly shaped much of the way in which I think about work, namely how to be as effective as possible in what I do.

Terrific and practical insights there that can be applied by freelancers, entrepreneurs, and people who want to be top-performers in any field.

4. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert Cialdini

I read this book when I was still in High School so in many ways, it was quite formative for me.

It’s perhaps one of the first non-fiction books that I naturally took an interest in without any teacher demanding I read it.

What’s interesting for me about this one is that several years later I actually ended up rebuying it because I had forgotten that I read it. Once I started reading it again I immediately had deja-vu. I realised not only that I already knew all of the content, but that I had been applying those principles consistently throughout my years working in marketing.

It was so formative in what ended up being my approach to how I promote products that even though I had forgotten about the book, I actually ended up adopting its principles as if they were my own from the start.

5. Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, by Peter Attia

This is one that I’m still reading and it’s related to long-term health rather than productivity, but in recent years I’ve really come to understand that those two go hand-in-hand.

Good health, good sleep, and healthy habits will have a greater impact on your ability to do great work and to be the best version of yourself than any tool, hack or framework ever could. It’s a terrific book, written in a witty and easy-to-follow manner by a true expert in the field of long-term health.

I didn’t include links because I’m not promoting those books, but you can find them on Amazon and just about anywhere else that sells books.

Hope you enjoy and have a great summer!

Kind regards,
Cata