In 2022, I made a conscious effort to invest more time into reading, and it has proven to be a valuable investment.

Yeah, I totally get it. Some people (including myself) might be more into watching videos and all that, but books? Trust me, they take you to a whole other level.

Books are the single biggest factor in helping you grow and scale your business, as well as your personal development, so my advice is to invest more time in this because, in the long run, it will pay off.

In this article, I’m going over my personal top 5 books that I read this year, and I highly recommend them to any UX designer looking to improve their hustle:

1. Show Your Work! — Austin Kleon

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One of the standout books for me this year was “Show Your Work!”

I got the recommendation from Ali Abdaal’s YouTube channel. If you don’t know him yet, I highly recommend taking a look at his channel.

This book is all about the power of sharing your work and ideas with others and how it can help you grow as a creative professional.

It’s full of practical tips and strategies for building a personal brand and getting your work noticed, and I found it to be incredibly helpful in my own career as a UX designer.

The book’s focus on the importance of sharing your work and ideas with others was the push that I needed to stop being anxious and shy, and I’ve found myself incorporating many of its principles into my own work as a designer.

Overall, this book was a valuable addition to my reading list, and I would highly recommend it to any UX designer looking to improve their skills and grow in their career.

And, yes, this is the first book on this list that I recommend reading.

2. Laws of UX — Jon Yablonski

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Another great book I read this year was “Laws of UX”.

This book is a complete guide to user-centered design. It talks about things like usability, accessibility, and user psychology.

It’s filled with practical examples and case studies, making it a valuable resource for any UX designer looking to improve their skills.

One of the things I appreciated most about this book was its clear and concise writing style, which made it easy to understand and apply the concepts it covered.

The book's focus on how important it is to understand users' needs and motivations was especially helpful, and I found myself going back to it often as I worked on projects.

Overall, “Laws of UX” was an invaluable resource in my journey as a UX designer, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to deepen their understanding of user-centered design.

Also, if you want to learn more about what is user-centered design, I wrote an article about it:

3. Getting Things Done — David Allen

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“Getting Things Done” by David Allen was another standout book for me this year.

One of the things that sets “Getting Things Done” apart from other productivity books is its focus on creating a comprehensive system for managing your work and tasks.

The book doesn't just give you a list of tips and tricks. Instead, it gives you a structured way to organize and prioritize your tasks, which has helped me a lot in my job as a designer.

In addition to covering the basics of task management, the book also dives deep into more advanced topics, such as how to handle complex projects and how to work effectively with others.

I thought these parts were especially helpful because they showed me how to deal with the kinds of problems that often come up during a project.

Overall, “Getting Things Done” is a comprehensive and practical guide to improving productivity and efficiency, and I would highly recommend it to any UX designer looking to get more out of their work.

4. Building a second brain — Tiago Forte

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Since I suffer from ADHD, it can be challenging to keep track of all the ideas and information that come my way.

The book "Building a Second Brain" by Tiago Forte taught me a lot about how to organize and store my ideas and knowledge digitally, which has helped me a lot in my work as a designer.

One of the things I appreciated most about this book was its focus on building a system that is personalized to your own needs and workflow.

The author provides practical guidance on how to create a digital system that works for you, rather than trying to fit your work into a pre-existing template.

I liked this approach because it gave me the freedom to make my system fit my own needs and tastes.

In addition to its focus on building a personalized system, “Building a Second Brain” also covers a range of other topics that are relevant to UX designers, such as how to capture and organize ideas, how to build a knowledge base, and how to use your digital system to support your creative work.

I found these sections especially helpful in my own work because they showed me how to use my digital system to help my design process.

So, yeah, this is the second book to read after “Show Your Work!"

5. Good strategy, bad strategy — Richard Rumelt

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I often have to work on projects that need careful planning and strategy to be successful.

“Good Strategy, Bad Strategy” by Richard Rumelt was a fascinating read that helped me better understand the principles of effective strategy and how to apply them to my own work.

One of the things I appreciated most about this book was its focus on the importance of having a clear and well-defined goal or objective.

The author argues that a successful strategy requires a clear understanding of what you want to achieve and a plan for how to get there.

This focus on setting goals was especially helpful for me as a UX designer because it helped me keep my mind on the end result I wanted to reach instead of getting caught up in the details of the design process.

"Good Strategy, Bad Strategy" was a great addition to my list of books to read, and I would recommend it to any UX designer who wants to get better at strategic thinking.

Even though the book isn't directly about UX design, its focus on the principles of good strategy has helped me a lot in my own work, and I think it will help other designers who want to improve their strategic thinking skills as well.

Conclusion

In conclusion, 2022 was a great year for me in terms of reading and learning.

I made a conscious effort to invest more time in reading, and it has proven to be a valuable investment.

Books are a great way to improve yourself and your career, and I highly recommend them to any designer who wants to get better at their job and move up in their field.

Let me know in the comments whether you wish to read one or all of them, or hit me up with your list of your favorite books.