“What are your New Year’s resolutions?” This question will no-doubtedly be asked of all of us during the next couple of weeks as the calendar year turns over. And although many of us forgo this annual tradition (since we have a history of failing at them anyway, or is that just me???), but many of us are in the continual process of looking for ways to improve ourselves or improve our lives.

But improving your life doesn’t have to a chore or boring… not when you have an audiobook for New Year’s that can accompany you on the journey! There’s a wide array of audiobooks perfect for New Year’s that can touch on subjects such as “brain training,” learning to let go of stress, finishing projects, and so much more.

I love audiobooks for this purpose because it can fit nicely into moments in life that I already want to prioritize (such as exercising) and things that I don’t want to prioritize but know I should (such as exercising). Also, it also serves as a sort of pep-talk, a confidence booster, your own audio hype man.

I’ve made a list of a few of my favorite audiobooks for New Year’s – give them a listen and see if they are what you’ve been looking for as well…

Audiobook for New Year’s – How to Be More Productive AND Less Stressed

The Crazy, Busy Cure
By Zena Everett
Narrated by the author

How we spend our time is one of the greatest indicators of how successful we will be. We achieve our goals when we ruthlessly prioritize tasks and people that are important to us.

If we focus our time, energy, and attention on the wrong things, we will never achieve the success or happiness that we aspire to. The problem is that these wrong things, the low value, low impact tasks that distract us from our priorities, are hard to ignore. They scream out at us all day: digital distractions, other people’s urgent demand for “five minutes” that’s never five minutes, the meetings that you shouldn’t be in, the pointless email chains, the reports you write that don’t get read.

We get a dopamine hit from ticking these tasks off a list. It’s got us hooked on crazy busyness. But all we are doing is scratching off a layer of fake work on top of the real, valuable work.

The Crazy Busy Cure is full of intensely practical tips to save people from this addiction and become productive again. Jammed with practical productivity solutions to use immediately, it introduces concepts that will help you manage other people’s work as well as your own—and that apply to working virtually as well.

Audiobook for New Year’s – Work Out Your Brain

Staying Sharp
By Henry Emmons MD and David Alter PhD
Narrated by Qarie Marshall

A strong memory and healthy brain aren’t as difficult to maintain as one might think; combining the latest neuroscience research with age-old wisdom about resilience, mindfulness, and stress reduction, Drs. Henry Emmons and David Alter show that vibrant aging is within reach.

With more than 55 years of combined experience in the fields of neuroscience and psychiatry, Dr. Emmons and Dr. Alter take their expertise and translate the fundamentals of brain science into an easily accessible collection of nine key lessons proven to preserve and strengthen mental acuity.

Filled with easy-to-understand theories and practical exercises to work out your brain and mind, Staying Sharp provides a blueprint to live more joyfully, age more gracefully, and build intimacy in your relationships no matter what your age.

Audiobook for New Year’s – Hardwire Good Habits

Make It Stick
By Peter C. Brown
Narrated by: Qarie Marshall

To most of us, learning something “the hard way” implies wasted time and effort. Good teaching, we believe, should be creatively tailored to the different learning styles of students and should use strategies that make learning easier.

Make It Stick turns fashionable ideas like these on their head. Many common study habits and practice routines turn out to be counterproductive. Underlining and highlighting, rereading, cramming, and single-minded repetition of new skills create the illusion of mastery, but gains fade quickly. More complex and learning come from self-testing, introducing certain difficulties in practice, waiting to re-study new material until a little forgetting has set in, and interleaving the practice of one skill or topic with another. Speaking most urgently to students, teachers, trainers, and athletes, Make It Stick will appeal to all those interested in the challenge of lifelong learning and self-improvement.

Audiobook for New Year’s – Harness Your Creativity

Be Awake, Create
By Rebekah Younger
Narrated by Marge Sudheimer

In our demanding, fast-paced culture, it’s increasingly important to find ways to decompress and recuperate from the busyness and stress of life. More and more, mindfulness and creativity are being recognized as antidotes to the speed and overstimulation of modern society. This beautiful audiobook combines the two, offering both creative and meditative practices to provide a guided journey into contemplative art for healing, relaxation, deeper connection, and greater well-being.

Rather than focusing on any one medium or art form, this unique guide offers basic meditation instructions and a variety of creative prompts and activities – from collage and coloring to meditative mark making and sketching to photography and perceptual exercises – making it perfect for anyone who wants to deepen and cultivate their mindfulness and creativity.

With these artistic and introspective practices, you’ll put meditation into action, and learn to view yourself and your own creative process without judgment or aggression. Using Be, Awake, Create, you’ll see beyond habitual patterns, discover the richness of your world, and recognize the ordinary magic of your own creativity, with greater freshness of expression and spontaneity.

By cultivating awareness and allowing yourself to play in the open space of artistic creation, you’ll come to discover all of the positive impacts mindfulness and creativity can have on every area of your life.

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Are you ready to make this year the best ever? Maybe that’s a bit of hyperbole, but if you’re looking to make some changes for the best, pick up one of these audiobooks or any of these other audiobooks…