Read anything good lately?

I really enjoyed this book - it really reassured me that it was ok to explore multiple skills and not necessarily have to pick one thing and stick to it - just was a good book to start sparking ideas

Gives actionable tips and tricks to how to get into the "highlight" mindset and decrease daily distractions as much as possible.

The single, most useful book on my journey to self-employment (and generally, leaving behind my boring but well-paid corporate career). When I left my job I had no idea what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. This book starts from this premise. It put me on the path of “doing”, and experimenting, instead of attending endless and very expensive coaching sessions.

Practical activities for setting your direction and finding your way as a quiet person in a noisy world.

A great salve for anyone who feels like a bit of a jack of all trades in their freelancing career (it actively made me want to learn new skills and broaden what I do, rather than specializing as is so often the advice)

Breaks down the history of time-management and productivity culture, from early 19th century to present day. It is a short but dense book, a lot of ideas to explore.

This one is good for those trying to find their passion and are unsure where to start.

This is a very personal account of the author's own journey through life with chronic anxiety (and this is how she positions it – what worked for her, but not necessarily what she advocates for everyone). I'm not totally onboard with all of Wilson's approaches (she is famously no sugar) and I'm a total novice when it comes to meditation and yoga (and she is very, very into this), but I did find some really interesting ideas in this book. Even years after reading I find myself recalling things like "sitting in the muck" . And it was her approach of putting her running clothes out and ready each evening that's helped encourage me to go for morning runs when I really don't feel like it.

This was a cracker to remind me to look inwards and stop measuring myself against others.

SuperPumped (by Mike Isaac); and Creativity Inc (by Ed Catmull) are both really readable books about the birth of two big companies from relatively small beginnings (insoumch as they both started with one or two people, albeit with investment), Uber and Pixar. The thing I found really interesting and it kind of informs some of the work I do now, is the approach (or in Uber’s case not) to fostering positive cultures. But aside from that, they’re both just really good, interesting and easy to read books.

A cracking read and a great take on creativity.

Challenging the notion of climbing the career ladder, Helen and Sarah condense some of their brilliant regular podcasts, events and coaching into this jampacked book - a must read for anyone desgining how they want to work in their own way.

A well presented case for making your business better, not bigger.

Rooted in scientific principles - the Chimp Paradox helps you to understand how your mind works, and then develop techniques and approaches to working with it, rather than against it.