In our day-to-day work at BillionMinds we read lots of personal productivity books. We are not alone. Some of these books are huge bestsellers. But many of us still struggle to implement the recommendations in these books. Does this mean that the books don’t work?

Well, based on our findings the answer is quite complicated, but in general, the answer is that most personal productivity books CAN work if you follow them consistently, but trying to follow them consistently is really hard. Here’s why…

First, the chances are that you are wired differently than the author and the success stories they present. Take organization for example – we could all use being organized, but the specific techniques that work for us are going to be different.

Second, in most cases, the book is long on theory and short on practice. In reality to embed new habits you need at least a 1:4 ratio of theory to practice and often more than that. So if you stick with the book, you may gain an idea of what you SHOULD do, but you will have done very little to get the habits to stick.

Finally, these types of books provide almost no support and accountability. The vast majority of us find it difficult to make real meaningful changes without support and accountability from others. That’s not our fault – it’s part of what it is to be human. We are naturally wired to resist change, so we need extra support to overcome our inbuilt friction.

In many ways, you can think of these books as similar to diet books. In most cases it’s not that the advice is bad, it’s just very difficult to implement, and if YOU find it difficult to make these changes, well you are just a normal human being.

Does this mean you should give up trying to improve? Not at all. However, it does mean that you are more likely to be successful with programs that focus on self-discovery, require practice and provide support and accountability.