The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload
Daniel Levitin

I’m a sucker for the books incorporating behavioral science and cognitive research in a self-help self-improvement framework. Give me the cliff notes versions of studies on how I can be more productive/focused/healthier, etc.  package it up with some charts and smart writing and I’m sold.

That’s exactly what this book is, and I enjoyed it. Levitin is a legit scientist (he’s a Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience at McGill University) and it shows in the clarity of writing here. Many of the ideas presented here on decision fatigue, category management, the downsides to multi-tasking, have been discussed in the popular press for years. But Levitin brings a serious to the subject matter that I found helpful. The book is too long and it lacks in the simple implementable steps of a Getting Things Done, but I think it might still be worth checking out if this specific subspecies of self-help book is your jam.

 

Recommended for the enthusiast.