To celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas from now through Epiphany and to advocate for the idea of reading books to support New Year projects, resolutions, and goals, I’m writing a series of posts with themed book lists for various popular resolutions. So far…

Day 1: Be More Fit
Day 2: Be Happier
Day 3: Be a Better Cook
Day 4: Be Smarter about Money

Today, is one of my favorite topics: getting things done. Such a favorite, that I’m some times in danger of planning and organizing how I’ll get things done to the detriment of actually getting things done.

Great tools in this book for figuring out what’s standing in the way of knowing what you want.

My favorite books for figuring out what I really want are by Barbara Sher, especially these titles:

• Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want 
• I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It
• Refuse to Choose!: Use All of Your Interests, Passions, and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of Your Dreams

Once I’ve decided what I want to do, my go-to source for actually doing them is the internet sensation Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen. Besides the book, you can spend hours looking at other people’s implementations of GTD. Except, of course, that’s not very productive.

What books have helped you figure out what you want and then go out and get it done?

If you’re reading books to help you get things done in the new year (or for other goals, projects, and resolutions), join us at The New Year’s Resolution Reading Challenge! Don’t forget that we’ll have a live Twitter Chat on New Year’s Day to discuss our goals and books.