I’ve lost track of how many personal development books I’ve read over the years: motivation, organisation, goal-setting, the works. Most contain one or two ideas of value, some are complete junk. A very few are ones I’d recommend. Some of these are listed below:

	David Allen’s Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity is often described as a “bible” of personal productivity, yet ironically one of the reasons I like it is because it isn’t overly prescriptive. The basic principles are simple and the detail can easily be adapted according to personal circumstances. It’s first and foremost a pragmatic approach to time and task management.
	NLP has something of a mixed reputation. It’s certainly been oversold in by some people, however I’m convinced that the basic principles can be effective. Introducing Neuro-linguistic Programming is my favourite introductory book on the subject. It’s a bit old now so not exactly “bleeding edge”, but in this case I think that’s an advantage.
	If you already know a bit about NLP then this is a masterclass in one specific area: modeling others. Modeling With NLP is written by Robert Dilts, one of the “Grand Masters” of NLP. The first few chapters discuss the NLP basis of modeling, the rest of the book contains examples in business scenarios. The latter may not be directly relevant to you but still give an interesting insight into practical modeling.
	This could be a controversial choice. The 48 Laws of Power certainly isn’t a book that will appeal to everyone and some of the more Machiavellian “Laws” border on the unethical. Don’t take it too seriously, read it with your tongue caressing your cheek. Even if you don’t intend to use any of the suggestions here you might recognise some that are being used on you, and that knowledge can be very useful.