Many of my fellow gamer Millennials will tell you that that the instruction booklet – or user’s manual – was one of the best parts of opening up a new video game.

A User’s Manual is a document you can create for others to establish who you are, what value you bring to the team, and how best to work with you.

Think of your User’s Manual as the strategy guide you wish came with every new coworker. Instead of button-mashing your way through misunderstandings, you’re handing people the controls, the map, and the cheat codes to work well with you. The better your party knows your build, the fewer rage-quits in Slack and smooth co-op play you can expect.

We all have that stack of books, maybe on the nightstand by the bed, or the shelf in the living room, that mysteriously grows instead of shrinks.

You’ll find any number of books-you-should-read lists and what I’ve noticed is that they start to sound the same when you’re thinking about productivity or self-betterment.

I’m here to dish up five books that are probably not in your reading stack or list.

Wander around enough productivity articles and you’ll be told to eat a frog.

This is a prime way to devote your energy up front to tackling something you identify as challenging. However, for some like myself, this process may be ineffective. Some of us need to accomplish smaller, less-challenging tasks in order to get in the zone. Simply put, sometimes you can’t eat the frog until you’ve generated some productivity confidence.

If this resonates with you, let’s spit the frog out and instead snowball our way to a productive state.