5 Books To Help Discern + Honor Your Priorities

A book flight to address the ever-important topic of purposeful prioritizing: Discerning, choosing, and honoring what matters most.

What are your top five priorities?

How quickly can you answer that question?

Sometimes you may know the #1 priority of the moment, such as the work presentation coming up this afternoon or the kiddo that came home sick from school today, but not feel clear on your top priorities overall.

Other times, you may have a general idea of your top priorities but find that your calendar and/or actions don’t seem to reflect them.

And sometimes, you may feel like circumstances - rather than you - are determining your priorities.

But what if you felt really clear about what to say ‘yes’ to and what to say ‘no’ to? Or had a method for mapping out your week that deliberately, purposefully honored your top five priorities?

If you feel like it’s time to ‘prioritize your priorities,’ you’re in the right place!

Discussing + Deciding What Matters Most

Our book club theme this month is all about priorities: discerning them, intentionally choosing them, and honoring them. I’ve listed just one book suggestion per month for book club (this month it’s The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi) but I always like to bring in a number of additional resources for further learning and alternative perspectives. And while our Reading And Purpose Nonfiction Book Club members will also soon receive top tips and takeaways from these and other sources, I wanted to share a few titles with everyone for your further exploration and learning as well!

Just a quick reminder, membership in the Reading And Purpose Nonfiction Book Club is one of the bonus offerings for paid subscribers - you’re always welcome to upgrade your subscription and join us!

Below you’ll find five books that I often refer back to on the topic of priorities. I do have some newer favorites (some of which we’ll touch on in future book club discussions), however several of the titles I’ve listed here are at least ten years old - which I actually tend to appreciate on this particular topic: They offer foundational principles that stand the test of time. So while some of their commentary on topics like the internet or social media may be dated (or non-existent - one of these was published in 1994!), I think you’ll find the principles still apply. And when we have tools and principles that work for us, we can often adapt and adjust them to apply to various areas and innovations in our lives.

If you are prioritizing reading about priorities, you may wish to prioritize one of these five books!

First Things First by Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, & Rebecca R. Merrill

Whenever someone asks me about the most impactful books I’ve ever read, on any topic, First Things First is one that always comes to mind for me. Based on habit #3 of Covey’s popular 7 Habits For Highly Effective People, this was one of the first books I discovered that addressed time management in terms of our values, vision, and the legacy we wish to create. The sections on discerning between the ‘urgent’ and the ‘important’ alone made this book a worthwhile read! Even 30 years after its publication, I still value and utilize so many of the principles and ideas introduced to me by this book.

The One Thing by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan

I’ve brought this book into several reading and coaching groups I lead, and while most people find the overall book valuable, it’s fascinating how each participant seems to resonate deeply with one particular chapter, tool, or concept. I, too, appreciate the overall book but especially Part 3, with its chapter titles like ‘Live with Purpose’ and ‘Live by Priority.’ I find this to be one of the most practical, immediately applicable books on the topic, and it’s a fairly quick read, too.

The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi

Adachi’s suggestion to be ‘a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don’t’ is one of the best one-sentence descriptions of prioritizing I’ve found yet. This is our suggested book club pick this month which I’ve written about quite a bit already and will soon be discussing in depth with book club members, so I won’t add much more here - but in case you missed them, you might find these reading + reflection prompts helpful.

Essentialism by Greg McKeown

McKeown offers a compelling view for becoming what he calls an ‘essentialist,’ then provides a road map with practical - and at times, surprising - suggestions to get and stay on the path of essentialism. I appreciated the whole book, but one specific line pops into my mind any time this title is mentioned:

Isn’t that powerful? You might also enjoy his followup book, Effortless, but I do suggest reading Essentialism first.

The Power of Less by Leo Babauta

This slim book (my copy is just 170 pages) was published back in 2009 and spoke to me so much back then - my annotations included lots of highlighted lines, starred items, and exclamation points! And as I scan many of those highlights even today, I still find them valuable and applicable. Most chapters emphasize ways to bring simplicity into various life areas (simplifying our focus, the way we go about goals and tasks, our daily routines, and more), and simplifying and prioritizing often go hand in hand.

To book club members: I can’t wait to chat with you about priorities, The Lazy Genius Way, and ideas for discerning and honoring what matters most in our lives! The Reading And Purpose chat is now open (come and answer our intro question if you’d like!) and I’ll meet you there for further book club discussion soon, too.

To everyone: Have you read any of these books? What other books have helped you discern and/or honor your priorities? Feel free to add thoughts and/or recommendations in the comments!

Questions? Comments? Books or topics you’d like me to discuss here? Feel free to email me at readingandpurpose (at) gmail (dot) com or comment on this post directly in the app/website. I love hearing from you and I appreciate your support!