3 Self Help Books That Transformed My Life

Let’s get this out of the way at the start of this post; I’m not a big reader. I used to love reading as a child; I had shelves and shelves of fiction that I would read over and over again. As I’ve grown up, my bookcase leans more heavily on the non-fiction side of things. Aside from Twilight and the Vampire Diaries, obviously.

In my bookcase, you’ll find recipe books that I’ve accrued over the years. Some autobiographies. Lonely Planet guides to Tokyo. I’ve even held onto a couple of YouTuber books from years gone by (not that many though!) But there’s another category which is emerging as a new leader in my collection – self help books. It’s a broad category to be fair; but over the past few years I’ve found that the easiest way to improve your life is to understand it first.

Each of the books in this category have had a considerable impact on how I look at/manage my life. I thought I’d share my top 3 self help books with you, in case you’re hoping to do a little self development in 2021!

Hinch Yourself Happy by Sophie Hinchliffe (aka Mrs Hinch)

Admittedly, I swore to myself at the start of 2020 that I wouldn’t turn into a Mrs Hinch obsessive. Clearly, that went out the window! This book contains lots of personal stories (although Sophie has since released a full memoir). But where it’s been priceless for me is the cleaning tips. And not just tips, she’s blessed us with lengthy lists of jobs and products! When I first bought my flat, I picked up Flash Kitchen, Flash Bathroom, bleach for the toilet and a couple of cloths. I had no idea what cleaning products I needed for a full flat. And whilst’s Sophie’s Insta Stories have been an invaluable resource for n00bs like me, having everything in a book has been so handy. An honourable mention has to go to Mrs Hinch’s Little Book of Lists, which I use each week to plan out the jobs that need doing. I also get to tick them off when done – SO satisfying.

Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying by Marie Kondo

Like with Mrs Hinch, I was also fashionably late to the KonMari party. I blame that on not getting a Netflix account until March 2020! Tidying Up With Marie Kondo was one of the first series I watched on Netflix – home organisation and Japanese culture? The perfect show for me! I loved how Marie could take the most cluttered homes and transform them into peaceful sanctuaries, with everything in its place. She’s published a couple of books on the KonMari method – I picked up the second one, purely because it has illustrated examples of how to store things! It’s been one of the most useful books I’ve ever bought. The instructions are straightforward and simple to understand – and it’s impossible to go wrong with the diagrams. I KonMari’d my clothes months ago, and everything still looks perfectly organised. I can’t believe how tidy it all looks! I’ll be sharing the results in a separate post shortly.

50 Things You Need To Know About Periods by Claire Baker

There’s no two ways about it – this book blew my mind. I picked it up after reading an interview with the author in Cosmopolitan in mid-2020. After dealing with the glorious concept of periods for over 20 years, I thought I was pretty aware of how my reproductive system worked. What I didn’t realise was how so many other things are tied into the menstrual cycle. Claire’s work focuses on the entire cycle, rather than just the period, and divides each week into “seasons” with the hormonal changes that take place.

Claire recommends cycle tracking, noting not just physical symptoms but emotional ones too. When reading the book, I couldn’t believe how accurate the symptoms were for each day (bearing in mind some people’s cycles aren’t exactly 28 days, but it’s pretty damn close). Claire then encourages readers to identify patterns in their cycle. This allows forward planning to maximise productivity on the good days, and to allow relaxation on the not-so-good days. Who’d have thought that my “occasional” headache could be traced back to the drop in hormones at a particular point in my cycle?!

Those are just 3 of the self help books which have transformed my life – do you have any self help bibles? xx