My day job varies greatly from the freelance work that I do. My day job is very task orientated, with tasks that have well defined beginnings and endings. My freelance work is a lot more creative. It’s a lot of writing, researching, and strategizing. Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind is a productivity book from the folks at 99u. I read it over Christmas and really enjoyed it.

Creative work requires planning. It requires focus. It requires silence. It’s built upon a few premises:

1. We aren’t just managers; we’re makers. Our modern society is full of information overload, interruptions, and instant gratification. The problem with that for creatives is they need time to think and brainstorm.

2. There is no silver bullet for productivity. You can’t do five days worth of work in a few hours. There is no “system” that will actually do your work. Creative people all work differently. Some work well in the early morning. Some work well from 11:00pm to 2:00am. The book gives sound practices on how to find your system and stick to it.

3. Great design matters. The book is made up of concise essays in an easy to read format. You don’t have to sit down and spend hours reading it. You can read for five minutes each morning and gain a new insight for the day.

Get it on Amazon for $5.99.