You Need a Budget: 13 Parallels Between Money and Productivity

I recently read and took notes on You Need a Budget (YNAB-Affiliate Link), a popular book on personal finance and budgeting (with accompanying software for managing budgets) by Jesse Mecham. My interest in this book is three-fold:

1. I’m terrible at budgeting and need help
2. I want to borrow principles and methods for managing money to help people manage their time and productivity
3. YNAB has built an incredibly strong brand and community, and I want to learn from them as I write my own book

As I read and digested the YNAB approach to personal finance, I began to sense a deep connection to principles of productivity. I’ve concluded that there is a series of fundamental mindset shifts required to manage both money and work. It isn’t the particular tool or method you use that makes the difference. It is a shift in perspective and attitude.

I’ve briefly summarized the YNAB approach below, and you can view my 1,000-word notes here in a downloadable Evernote note. After that, I’ll outline what I believe are the key shifts in mindset shared by personal finance and personal productivity.