Celebrating National Audiobook Appreciation Month

June is National Audiobook Appreciation Month, and as someone who relishes any opportunity to lose myself in a good book, this is a celebration I can really get on board with.

These days I don’t have much spare time to sit and read a physical book – I imagine not many busy entrepreneurs do – so what I really love about audiobooks is that there are so many more opportunities to listen. I can pop on an audiobook while I walk the dog, wait for an appointment, while I’m driving or as I tidy the house and sort the washing. 

I particularly love a book that helps me grow, whether that’s in my business or personally. And so, to celebrate National Audiobook Appreciation Month I wanted to share 3 audiobooks that I’m loving right now. 

Let’s start with Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell.

What the book is about

The way you use your free time can make or break your success. And, as Martell shows us in his book, it’s not about working harder or even finding more time to do work. It’s actually about creating freedom. The freedom you need to engage in the high-value work that brings you the most energy and fulfilment. 

Buy Back Your Time is described as the definitive guide for entrepreneurs on how to succeed in business while enjoying more freedom.

What I love about it

This book offers a really different approach to growing your business. I always thought I was a delegation expert, and that there wasn’t much I didn’t know, but I certainly learnt some new tricks from this one.

In fact, for me, it made me realise just how restricted you can be by your business. Freeing up more time can be a struggle when there’s a lot going on, but Martell’s take on it is so motivating that I instantly wanted to make changes in the way things get done.

The stand out part for me is where Martell introduces the 10 / 80 / 10 rule – which I love! The idea behind it is that you do the first 10% of a task – get it started and give it direction and focus. Then you delegate it to someone else who does the next 80%. Finally, with the bulk of the task completed, you pick up the remaining 10%. This way you can make sure the end product is being delivered the way you envisaged and you have the chance to really put your stamp on it.

I love this idea. It’s ideal for entrepreneurs who, like me, struggle to let go of things. Working by the 10 / 80 / 10 rule offers a good balance. I still feel in control of the task, but I’m able to free up so much more of my time.

As Martell says “When you pass tasks on to an assistant or a VA – don’t think of it as losing control of the task, just think of it as gaining control of your time.”

My next pick is Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman and Mark Winters

It’s certainly a classic, and if you’re an avid reader like me, you may have already devoured this one – but I can assure you it’s worth a re-visit and I’m finding it just as inspiring the second time around.

What the book is about

There are visionaries and integrators. Visionaries have groundbreaking ideas and integrators make those ideas happen. Combine the two and business will thrive.

The book looks at the roles of the Visionary and the Integrator and shows what can happen when these two types of people come together to share their natural talents and skill sets.

What I love about it

For me, this book is really about freeing up time. And about working in the most productive way possible.

As an entrepreneur, you’re the visionary – you have great new ideas, get excited and want to share them, and think you communicate them clearly. The trouble is, in your head you’ve explained yourself perfectly – but in reality, your fantastic new idea doesn’t quite land in the same way that it’s left your head. 

Actually all that has happened is that you’ve confused your team because your brief isn’t clear or focused. It can be like you’re speaking in a different language. 

But, if you can find your integrator, it’s like having the perfect interpreter. 

Your integrator will listen to your ideas, take everything onboard and understand exactly what you’re trying to get across. They’ll then translate those ideas and give them clarity – turn them into a brief that works. They interpret you.

They can be a buffer for the wider team too – challenging you if the ideas you have might not work the way you think, don’t seem do-able or if there are particular issues with your plan.

No more wasted time with confusing briefs, explaining your ideas over and over again, or un-actioned tasks that only you seem to understand. Just action taken.

Find your integrator and you’re laughing!

And my final recommendation is Deep Work by Cal Newport.

What the book is about

As you’ve probably realised by now, I’m passionate about finding ways to free up time. And Deep Work looks at ways you can achieve more, but in less time.

In short, it’s about having the ability to focus without distraction. Not so easy when you’re running a business, but Newport explains why it’s important to do so and shows how to develop your own deep work practice within an increasingly distracted world.

What I love about it

I love the feeling when you’re able to completely lose yourself in something. You’re so productive and engaged and engrossed in it. Creativity springs, plans blossom and, personally, some of the best ideas come to me when I’m fully lost in the moment. 

But how often does that sort of dedicated focus happen? 

Imagine a typical day, sitting at your computer – suddenly, bing, a WhatsApp message. Bing, an email. Bing, a social media notification. Bing, the phone rings. Sound familiar?

This book is about the distractions in the world today and how we don’t tend to do deep work anymore. Our days are busy, and loud, and demanding. It’s hard to find time to shut everything out and truly focus. 

But Newport not only shows us the importance of deep work, he gives practical ways of doing it. 

And while the stories of Carl Jung locking himself away in a tower in the middle of nowhere to do his own deep work might be a bit extreme, I love Newports take on it and found this book completely genius.