180. 6 Life-Changing Nonfiction Books | Habits, Focus, Money & More

These are the 6 nonfiction books that have actually changed my life, and I'm not being dramatic. These are books that continuously show up in how I operate, how I think, how I run my business, and the advice I give you every week.

In this episode, I'm covering the 6 books, why I picked each one up, and how the lessons still show up in my life today:

👉🏻 Atomic Habits by James Clear

👉🏻 Deep Work by Cal Newport

👉🏻 The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

👉🏻 Start With Yourself by Emma Grede

👉🏻 The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

👉🏻 Work Optional by Tanja Hester

Referenced in this episode:

👉🏻 How 'Atomic Habits' Changed the Way I Structure My Life | 5 Key Lessons & How I Apply Them — https://youtu.be/oc1ZCgIn0BM

👉🏻 Why You Can't Focus and the Framework to Actually Fix It (A Complete Guide to Deep Work) — https://youtu.be/z49IReLo4AU

👉🏻 The Cleaning System That Keeps My Apartment Spotless in 24/7 Without Constant Resets — https://youtu.be/UTAW61va4Kc

👉🏻 The Psychology Behind Decluttering: Why Tidying Up Transforms Your Life + Motivation to START!! — https://youtu.be/xRaZzDx55YQ

👉🏻 Fall State of the Union episode — https://youtu.be/-vIdIJF7w38

👉🏻 Financial Independence Calculator — https://breakyourbudget.com/fire-template

👉🏻 Financial Independence Planner — https://breakyourbudget.com/fire-template

👉🏻 Personal Finance Dashboard (code PODCAST1) — https://breakyourbudget.com/personal-finance-dashboard

GET THE NEW PRODUCTIVITY PLANNER!

👉🏻 https://breakyourbudget.com/productivity-planner

Subscribe to the Beyond Your Budget Substack:

https://breakyourbudget.substack.com/

Personal Finance Starter Kit:

https://breakyourbudget.substack.com/p/your-personal-finance-starter-kit

BREAK YOUR BUDGET RESOURCES:

💸 Personal Finance Dashboard:

https://breakyourbudget.com/personal-finance-dashboard

💸 Basic Budgeting Template:

https://breakyourbudget.com/basic-budgeting-template

💸 FI/RE Template:

https://breakyourbudget.com/fire-template

💸 Rent vs. Buy Calculator:

https://breakyourbudget.com/rent-vs-buy-calculator

💳 TOOLS I USE:

💸 Rakuten Cash Back (cash back on purchases you're already making): https://shorturl.at/w0PcH

💸 SoFi HYSA (my fave high yield savings account): https://secure.money.com/pr/pa5344bfc4f2

💸 Classpass (try it for a discounted first month): https://classpass.com/refer/UKLV6BN026

📚 MY BOOKS:

💸 Own Your Money:

https://breakyourbudget.com/own-your-money

💸 Own Your Career:

https://breakyourbudget.com/oyc-book

All Other Resources:

https://breakyourbudget.com/links

👩🏼‍💻 Inquiries: michela@breakyourbudget.com

📸 Instagram (Break Your Budget): https://www.instagram.com/breakyourbudget/

📸 Instagram (Personal): https://www.instagram.com/michela_alloccaa

📲 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@breakyourbudget

💸 My ShopMy: https://shopmy.us/shop/michelaallocca

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 — The 6 nonfiction books I'd recommend if I could only recommend 6, and why they've actually changed my life

04:00 — Why setting a goal and building a system to reach it are two completely different things (Atomic Habits)

07:30 — The bathroom-schedule story that shows exactly what reducing friction looks like in real life

13:15 — Why being busy all day and doing meaningful work are two completely different things (Deep Work)

19:00 — Why "work on the podcast" is a task too vague to ever actually finish, and what I do instead

23:35 — Why clutter creates low-level anxiety for me, even when nothing is technically wrong (Marie Kondo)

33:00 — Why other people's behavior is something you don't get to control, no matter how badly you want to

39:00 — Why I read this book during a period of bad anxiety, and the mental shift that actually helped (The Power of Now)

45:00 — The book that gave me the actual language for what financial independence means to me (Work Optional)

49:30 — Why I don't want to be maximally frugal, and the real difference between intentional spending and being cheap