9 Best Time Management Books for Working Moms

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As a busy working mom, I’m always looking for tips and ideas for awesome time management books to increase my productivity and well being.

I love to read, and read (more than) my fair share of beach read, fluffy fiction. I have an equal love of non-fiction in the business, productivity, and time management realm. The case studies and stories of people’s lives are so fascinating! I love to learn from both the official practical tips, formal studies and life stories shared.

These nine books from experts on time management and productivity are favorites that I reference often. There’s a great balance of quick reads (because we are busy moms!) with practical tips, more in-depth research studies and commentaries, and food for thought.

9 Time Management Books for Working Moms

1. Tell Your Time by Amy Lynn Andrews

Tell Your Time is short, but backs a serious punch. Amy’s no-nonsense, straightforward manner is fantastic. A practical, quick-to-implement read at $2.99, this is my number one pick if you had to choose from this list. If you’re short on time to dedicate to reading and want a simple, practical, actionable steps, start here!

2. Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy

Eat That Frog “provides the 21 most effective methods for conquering procrastination and accomplishing more.”

3. Essentialism by Greg McKeown

“Working hard is important. But more effort does not necessarily yield more results. ‘Less but better’ does.” <– This.

4. 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life by Crystal Paine

Paine was one of the first bloggers I followed consistently, and her growth as a blogger, business owner and person has greatly inspired me over the last eight years. 21 Days is a straightforward workbook to help focus, prioritize and gain discipline.

5. Overwhelmed by Brigid Schulte

My favorite parts about Overwhelmed are the number of research studies and thorough approach. Schulte’s background as a journalist shines in the best of ways.

6. Fringe Hours by Jessica Turner

The endless energy that Turner has to fit so.many.things into her fringe hours is impressive. I admit to feeling daunted by just how much she fits in her days. At the same time, she talks about how much she truly enjoys all that she does. The concept of fringe hours, and fitting important, soul-filling activities into pockets of time is fantastic. Reading this book inspired me to be more intentional about using small pockets of time for intentional reading (love my Kindle app!) rather than mindless Facebook or web surfing.

7. Getting Things Done by Brian Allen

The GTD methodology has a near cult-like following. While I’ve incorporated many of the ideas from GTD, I have never been successful at implementing the full process. My “GTD Lite” process has served me well without overcomplicating.

8. I Know How She Does It by Laura Vanderkam

I love, love, love Vanderkam’s no-nonsense approach that of course working moms have enough time to do it all – as long as we prioritize what “all” is to us.

Vanderkam’s other books, Off The Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done and  168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think are also awesome reads.

9. Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives by Richard Swenson

Margin was on a book list for one of my college classes. I’m sure I read the required excerpt, but it was only a year or two ago that I made it through the entire book. This one is more academic than some of the others (read: not a quick read, but worth it to go in-depth).

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Adding any one of these nine time management books for working moms to your reading list will give you awesome tips, ideas and thoughts to better manage your time and thrive at home, work and play.