13 unforgettable insights from a year reading about relationships, time management, and getting ahead at work

• This year I read lots of self-help books.
• I learned how to be more productive, how to be a better romantic partner, and how to advance at work.
• Below, I've listed the top takeaways from the books I read. For example: Approach dating like dieting, and remember that your coworkers aren't your family.

My friends often make fun of me for forgetting everything I read. I like to think that's because I read a lot, and not because my mind is a sieve.

This year I read tons of books in the category commonly known as "self-help" (here at Business Insider, we prefer the term "self-improvement"). And while it's true I don't remember everything I learned, there are tips and insights that will stick with me for a long time.

Below, I've described the takeaways that really resonated with me and the delightful books they came from.

SEE ALSO: I spent this year reading about relationships, productivity, and success — and 15 insights stuck with me more than any others

Minimize the amount of choice in your diet to lose weight

Economists don't often share weight-loss advice, but Rob Barnett and Christopher Payne do.

"The Economists' Diet" is based on the authors' experiences losing significant amounts of weight (Payne lost 45 pounds in 18 months, while Barnett lost 75 pounds in the same amount of time) by applying fundamental economic principles.

One of the most compelling principles is the use of meta rules, which eliminate the amount of choice you have in your daily diet. Examples of meta rules include: "Unless it's a special occasion, never have seconds" and "During the week, always have salad for lunch."

The idea is that by eliminating choice entirely you effectively eliminate the opportunity to do something counterproductive, like eating more than you'd planned. Meta rules also make life less exhausting because you're not constantly having to choose whether to, say, have dessert or grab a vanilla latte.

Your boss isn't responsible for (all) your work misery

Stop blaming your boss. That's a key takeaway from Morten T. Hansen's "Great at Work."

Hansen is a management professor at University of California at Berkeley. In the book, he describes the results of a five-year study he conducted on employee performance. One result is that employees who zero in on a few top priorities and focus all their efforts on those tasks perform best.

Needless to say, most people in the study didn't do that. Why? Roughly one-quarter of all employees "blamed their inability to focus on their boss's lack of direction or a broader organizational complexity in their company."

To some extent, they're probably right. But Hansen recommends saying "no" to at least some of the responsibilities your boss assigns you. For example, a junior management consultant in the study told a partner at his firm that he simply couldn't handle another project if the partner wanted excellent work. The partner agreed, and backed off.

Set one priority every day

The authors of "Make Time"— former Google employees, one of whom created the company's design sprint process — are proponents of prioritizing too.

Their strategy starts with establishing a "highlight" every day, as in the most important thing you want to tackle in the next 24 hours. It could be a product update; it could be cooking dinner for your family. You're not only being realistic about how much you can get done, but also minimizing distractions from the really important stuff.

Knapp and Zeratsky share some tips: "Consider what's most meaningful to you, not what is most urgent" and "Think about what needs the most effort or work." To be sure, this is easier said than done. But the main idea is not to start out with 10 highlights and wind up accomplishing nothing of substance.