Contracting Plus

Welcome to BOOST our Network
for Contractors and The Self-Employed

Here you will find monthly book and podcast recommendations to BOOST your knowledge, motivation and performance, and where we will let you know about exclusive networking events hosted by Contracting PLUS.

We also encourage you to share your own recommendations.

If you have come across any resources that helped make your self-employed life simpler or have any tips that helped your performance, we would love you to share them with others using the form on this page.

August is Here!

As we near the end of summer, many of us will be getting ourselves ready to get back into various busy routines that may have died down in the summer and trying to maximise productivity before things hits.

But one of the most overlooked drivers of performance is actually the opposite: rest and recovery.

Sleep plays a critical role in how we think, focus, perform, and recover. For self-employed professionals where energy and decision-making are constant demands, how well you rest directly impacts how well you perform.

This month’s BOOST focuses on the science and practice of sleep – and how improving it with expert tips can help you perform at your best heading into the next phase of the year.

This Month’s Recommended Listen

Essentials: The Science & Practice of Perfecting Your Sleep by Huberman Lab

In this episode, Andrew Huberman breaks down the science behind sleep with neuroscientist Matthew Walker and provides practical, evidence-based strategies to improve both sleep quality and recovery.

They explore how factors like light exposure, temperature, timing, and daily routines influence your sleep cycle and how small adjustments can significantly improve energy, focus, and mental clarity.

The episode reframes sleep as a system you can train that directly impacts your performance and your wellbeing.

This Month’s Recommended Book

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

In ‘Why We Sleep’, neuroscientist Matthew Walker explores the essential role sleep plays in almost every aspect of our health and performance.

Far from being a passive activity, sleep is shown to directly impact focus, decision-making, creativity, memory, and resilience. Walker breaks down why consistent, high-quality sleep is one of the most powerful tools we have for improving how we function day to day.

For busy professionals, the message is clear, better sleep improves how you feel and how you perform.

Our Next BOOST Event Coming Soon!

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our free in-person Self-Employed Live BBQ, specially designed for contractors and freelancers! It was an incredible evening filled with great networking opportunities, chats with the Contracting PLUS team, great food, sunshine and plenty of surprises.

We hope to see you at our next event in the future!

While you’re here, take a look at our previous events on the right.



Have a Recommendation or Idea?  Share it with the community here!

Previous Boost Recommendations

All previous recommendations will always be available on this page. You can check in any time to see what was recommended for any month.

August 2026 

For August our recommendations are Essentials: The Science & Practice of Perfecting Your Sleep by Huberman Lab and Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker.

July 2026 

For July our recommendations are The Happiness Podcast with Dr. Laurie Santos – The Surprising Science of Creativity with Dr. George Newman and Steal Like an Artist – Austin Kleon

June 2026 

For June our recommendations are The High Performance Podcast – How I Coached Serena Williams to 10 Grand Slams & Built Champion Mindset with Patrick Mouratoglou and Relentless by Tim S. Grover

May 2026 

For May our recommendations are Gym Launch – Alex Hormozi and The Game with Alex Hormozi – “It Took Me 14 Years to Realize What I’ll Tell You in 70 Minutes”

April 2026 

For April our recommendations are The Next Conversation by Jefferson Fisher and On Purpose with Jay Shetty – Jefferson Fisher: The #1 Communication Mistake People Make in Arguments

March 2026 

For March our recommendations are Make Your Bed – Small things that can change your life… and maybe the world and

February 2026
For February our recommendations are The High Performance Podcast with Dan Burn: Pressure Management Techniques that Turned Newcastle into Winners and Who Better Than You? by Will Packer.

January 2026
For January our recommendations are How to Manage Your Emotions – Solved with Mark Manson and Deep Work by Cal Newport

November 2025
For November our recommendations are “From Strong Start to Finish: Keeping Momentum at Work” – The Better Workday Podcast with Niamh Moynihan and Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

October 2025
For October our recommendation is How to Listen by Katie Columbus.

September 2025 
For September our recommendations are How To Actually Build Discipline from Modern Wisdom Podcast with Gen. Stanley McChrystal and Obsessed by Johnny Sexton

August 2025
For August our recommendations are “Hope for Cynics” from with Dr. Jamil Zaki The Psychology Podcast, and Outliers by Malcom Gladwell. 

July 2025
For July our recommendations are “Should Leaders Be Feared or Loved?” from Worklife with Adam Grant, and The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance by W. Timothy Gallwey.

June 2025
For June our recommendations are The Number One Reason You’re Not Succeeding from Diary of a CEO with Simon Sinek, and Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller.

May 2025
For May our recommendations are The Speaking Coach: The One Word All Liars Use! by Diary of a CEO Podcast with Jefferson Fisher and Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg

April 2025
For April our recommendations are Turn Chaos into Opportunity by Your World Within Podcast and Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.

March 2025

For March our recommendations are 3 Truths You Need to Hear and The Let Them Theory both by Mel Robbins. 

February 2025
For February our recommendations are The Surprising Secret to Happiness (It’s Easier Than You Think) – Mo Gawdat, and Time to Fly by Neil O’Brien

January 2025
For January our recommendations are How to Reinvent Yourself & Make The Greatest Comeback Of Your Life (At Any Age) by Mel Robbins, and The Power of Fun – How to Feel Alive Again by Catherine Price. 

December 2024

For December our recommendations are the insightful read Just One Thing: How Simple Changes Can Transform Your Life by Dr. Michael Mosley, and “How to Breathe Correctly for Optimal Health, Mood, Learning, and Performance” by Huberman Lab.

November 2024

For November our recommendations are the inspirational read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and The Happiness Expert That Made 51 Million People Happier: Mo Gawdat, Diary of a CEO. 

October 2024

For October our recommendations are Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss to better our negotiation, along with the High Performance Podcast with John McAvoy: It’s not where you’re from, it’s where you’re at that counts.

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