Four New Books To Help You Regain Momentum On New Year’s Resolutions

If you’re like the majority of people (64%!) who give up on new year’s resolutions within the first month, then these four new books can help you regain momentum:

Inaction: Rethinking the Path to Results by Jinny Uppal

It may seem counterintuitive that deliberately doing nothing can increase your momentum, but Inaction: Rethinking the Path to Results makes a compelling argument for the “strategic pause”. Uppal is a former retail executive from Macy’s, Kohls and Bed, Beth & Beyond. Using her own experience, as well as secondary and primary research (30 interviews across geographies, industries and roles), Uppal put together a fascinating compilation of real-life examples where benefits came from not doing anything (e.g., a Russian general leaving a city empty and letting Napoleon attack), letting your mind wander and taking a career shortcut rather than the typical path. The premise of the book is that our society has a bias towards action, but there is value to inaction. Uppal’s thesis can be summed up in this quote:

Life is not as hard as it seems. Life is not a hamster wheel, which runs only if we keep running. Something much more than our actions makes our world go around. It is worth stopping long enough to connect with the undulating flow of life. It is worth riding this flow of life, which can carry us further than we could ever go with our own doing alone. This book is about mastering action, which is developing a discernment of when to act and when not to act. It’s about reducing unnecessary action and leveraging inaction to drive results. – Jinny Uppal in Inaction: Rethinking the Path to Results

Short and entertaining to read, the author delivers on her promise, and it’s a refreshing change from the more typical Type-A advice in the personal development genre. The book includes suggestions for adopting more inaction. One favorite recommendation: 

Learn to read your physical and mental signals. The more ambition you have, the more likely you are to develop urgency. Sometimes, the urgency will be timely, and sometimes it will misguide. Learn your own signals when the ambition and urgency are taking you across the line into thoughtless doing. – Jinny Uppal in Inaction: Rethinking the Path to Results

The 1-Day Refund by Donna McGeorge

If taking a complete pause is too scary, McGeorge’s book on dialing back by just 15% may appeal better. McGeorge is a productivity coach and author of the About Time series, of which The 1-Day Refund is the third book. McGeorge worked in training for Ernst & Young, KPMG and other large companies, and it shows in the book’s organized and accessible format. The book makes a credible argument for building in buffer time (15% equals one day per week):

Blocking out time doesn’t mean you do nothing; it means you decide what you want to do – Donna McGeorge in The 1-Day Refund

McGeorge shares helpful strategies for managing your calendar, organizing your workspace, even pruning relationships that no longer serve you. My favorite recommendation is organizing the day into two-hour blocks, where the first two hours are for proactive time since most people are at their most alert early in the day, while the last two hours are for “preactive” time (low intensity, but high impact time spent on planning and prioritizing for the next day). The in-between blocks are for meeting with people and physical activity, based on where mental and physical energy tend to ebb and flow. McGeorge is big on energy management:

Instead of trading time for money, we need to trade energy for impact – Donna McGeorge in The 1-Day Refund

Maximize Your Return On Life by Shari Greico Reiches

Moving on from time management tips (though these also appear in Maximize Your Return On Life), Reiches offers tips on managing your money. Reiches spent more than 30 years in the wealth management industry and was previously Vice Chair and Board Member of the Illinois State Board of Investments, a $23 billion pension system. However, this isn’t a numbers-only personal finance book. Maximize Your Return On Life prioritizes the personal over the finance aspect.

This fast and accessible read provides a basic overview of commonly held financial advice with reflective questions at the end of each chapter, which the reader can use to make the key takeaways actionable – e.g., does your spending reflect your core values? The book also includes an 8-week challenge, where the first task is setting up your doctor and dentist appointments – true holistic thinking! Finally, there are several chapters dedicated to advice about teaching children good financial habits, including advice for recent grads. Amidst the serious topics, Reiches keeps it light and funny:

The cycle of investing has five key phases: Optimism, Elation, Nervousness, Fear, and Relief/Stability. Sound familiar? The feelings of a first crush? – Shari Greico Reiches in Maximize Your Return On Life

Dare To Own You by Liz Brunner

While the above three books include personal anecdotes, Dare To Own You by Liz Brunner is a teaching memoir built around Brunner’s fascinating multiple career pivots. If one of your new year’s resolutions is a bold career move, Brunner’s book may provide just the right momentum to jumpstart your career change journey.

Liz Brunner was a music major (and Miss Illinois in the Miss America Pageant 1979) and started her career as a teacher. She then moved to a community relations role within television, pivoted to on-air (total of 28 years in media) and finally started a communications coaching business in her 50’s.

I didn’t know I was an entrepreneur until I became one – Liz Brunner in Dare To Own You

“A mosaic of nationalities” Brunner is Indian, Spanish, German, French, Dutch and Scottish. Brunner gives advice on finding your unique voice – both literally (i.e., how to communicate effectively) and figuratively (i.e., in the choices you make).

The most important story is the one we tell ourselves – Liz Brunner in Dare To Own You

Dare To Own You includes leadership coaching tips in the 2^nd half of the book, and career change tips in the last section. Each chapter ends with reflective questions which are helpful to review the key points and make the lessons actionable.

If one of your new year’s resolutions is to read more, you now have four new titles to add to your list

What career advice, personal development or leadership coaching books are you reading?