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A browse through the self-help section of any used bookstore reveals the infinite incarnations of the productivity manual, all promising to optimize your life. We did the hard work for you. These are some of the best books to help optimize your time: 1/ wired.trib.al/vQBOOxr
If you're already rolling your eyes at the idea of another self-help book, consider 'Counterproductive' by Melissa Gregg, who sees the glut of such books as a symptom of deeper problems with our modern work culture. 2/ wired.trib.al/vQBOOxr 
For the non-perfectionist, overwhelmed by the never ending list of ways to improve your life, there's 'Make Time.' Interspersed with personal anecdotes and hand-drawn illustrations, it takes a flexible approach with 87 take-em-or-leave-em tips. 3/ wired.trib.al/vQBOOxr
But if you're willing to take more drastic measures in the name of success, check out 'Life Scale.' The endgame is a mental overhaul meant to help identify your values and make sure they’re guiding your work. 4/ wired.trib.al/vQBOOxr
Of course, there is a case for resisting the attention economy entirely, and resituating ourselves in the natural world. Jenny Odell makes that case in 'How to Do Nothing,' exploring what it means to "do nothing" in a world that demands we do anything but. 5/
If you're the boss and have the ability to control your schedule, 'Free to Focus' will help you make the most of it, with goal-setting, self-care, dumping or delegating nonessential tasks, and focusing on what’s left. 6/ wired.trib.al/vQBOOxr
And if you like to learn by example, Laura Vanderkam takes a novel approach to the productivity manual: a fable. 'Juliet’s School of Possibilities' follows a harried, overworked woman on a corporate retreat run by the eponymous Juliet. 7/ wired.trib.al/vQBOOx
Read more about our favorite productivity reads, and see which one would be a good fit for you, here: 8/ wired.trib.al/vQBOOxr
