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Get Things Done: What Stops Smart People Achieving More and How You Can Change
Robert Kelsey’s What’s Stopping You? has become a self-help classic. His What’s Stopping You? books have helped thousands of people worldwide overcome their limiting beliefs and bash through their barriers to success. Now Robert is back to help us defeat the obstacles that stop us achieving more in our everyday lives. Many of us have the greatest of intentions but find ourselves procrastinating, which results in low attainment and frustrated ambitions. Grounded in solid psychological research Robert helps us examine why we might have these tendencies and how to overcome them in order to feel more together, in control and on-top of everything. Get Things Done is emotional ergonomics for the organisationally-challenged individual – at home, at work, with themselves, and with others.
232 pages, Paperback
First published August 23, 2013
37 people are currently reading
193 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 3, 2018
I am trying to finish it for 4 or 5 years still having few chapters to go through. I don't know what is the exact reason but it doesn't feel like reading a book, but rather a private notebook filled with thoughts about productivity and most important techniques. You can easily see that the author put a lot of effort in research. It contains valuable excerpts and summaries from most important business and self-help books. However it is written in kind of chaotic manner where uninteresting personal experiences are mixed with obvious techniques like SWOT whereas more sophisticated concepts are treated too superficially. It can be recommended as a collection of references and starting point in some productivity related areas but not as a consistent guide.
March 4, 2019
Did you also get this book thinking it was Getting Things Done by David Allen? Well I did, leave a comment if you did too.
Overall, the book felt like a disconnected summary of books, nothing else. Guessing the author gets part of his sales from people thinking they are buying the other book.
Overall, the book felt like a disconnected summary of books, nothing else. Guessing the author gets part of his sales from people thinking they are buying the other book.
December 15, 2018
Review of 'Get Things Done' by Robert Kelsey
A well-written book the author has clearly thought deeply about the subject of self-improvement and has produced a cohesive and compelling narrative. Kelsey integrates anecdotes from his own life to illustrative thoughts and habits of high functioning individuals; an explanation of bad habits and the teleology of why these habits are detrimental are also given.
Themes of the book that I found of interest include:
Develop milestones, by creating a 10-year milestone and working back; one can work out what the 5 year and even yearly milestones should be. The objectives should be written down, so it crystallizes into a substantial and important commitment. Simply saying something is not enough. All goals require feedback; so, the establishment of suitable rewards after having accomplished a task should be baked into the routine.
Create a sense of urgency; having good intentions is all well and good but if it is actioned upon that the time for such action passes. Therefore, one should create the need for such action – one way is to meditate on the transience of life; if one is to perform an action the only option is to act now. The now is all there ever is.
Focus on singular tasks – in an echo to Cal Newport’s ‘Deep Work’, it is a myth that humans can multitask on complex activities; therefore, focus exclusively in singular tasks and learn to be mentally strong to the temptations offered up by distractions such as social media and the internet. Create a do to list and devour the goals as nothing else matters.
From a reading of Napoleon Hill and Dale Carnegie; Kelsey offers the insight that one must start with desire; only through the establishment of desire can belief come.
From Roman Krznaric, the author states that searching for a vocation is a waste of time; rather the goal should be to search for something that they look forward to every morning. This is the only strategy which is sustaining.
Kelsey discusses reframing; instead of stating an explicit 10 year, such as “I want to be a journalist”, the goal should be reframed such as “I want to express myself freely in…” Coupled with this is the intonation to discover your why. In order to be motivated to achieve any task; the question must be addressed as to why. This echoes a phase in a motivational speech in which the speaker states that 'If you know the why, you can live anyhow.' (Friedrich Nietzche).
Lives are built around habit; with reference to Charles Duhigg’s ‘cue- routine-reward’ loop; Kelsey states that one should replace unproductive habits with new productive habits.
The Pareto distributions is explained in which 20% of our efforts in any endeavor yield 80% of the overall results; therefore a mechanism to exploit this concept would be an analysis on which 20% of our efforts is having an outsized effect on the overall result we are aiming for.
Parroting advice from Mark H. McCormack; Kelsey states one should also be prepared when conversing with clients over the telephone. Rehearse and practise exchanges beforehand; have a definite purpose behind the exchange. If needed the call should be delayed so that one is best prepared.
In a passage reminiscent of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, Kelsey’s refers to Dale Carnegie’s advice that all peoples like to feel important; and it is through this elevated state that people can be persuaded upon a course of action. The key to getting people to do what you want is to get them to initiate the idea within them in the first instance. Persuasion is an infinitely better technique than coercion.
In order to become influential; one must be liked. This entails having a genuine empathy for the people one interacts with. The world of work is a game, where one cannot be too passive nor become too aggressive. Influence is gained in an organisation by the use if tact and being useful. The skill of utility to a greater cross-section of people should be acted upon. A key way to deflate conflict in any situation is the mechanism of active listening. One should listen with empathy and discernment.
Overall I liked the book; it is a curated summary of many of the most influential books in the self-help genre, interwoven with the author’s own experiences.
A well-written book the author has clearly thought deeply about the subject of self-improvement and has produced a cohesive and compelling narrative. Kelsey integrates anecdotes from his own life to illustrative thoughts and habits of high functioning individuals; an explanation of bad habits and the teleology of why these habits are detrimental are also given.
Themes of the book that I found of interest include:
Develop milestones, by creating a 10-year milestone and working back; one can work out what the 5 year and even yearly milestones should be. The objectives should be written down, so it crystallizes into a substantial and important commitment. Simply saying something is not enough. All goals require feedback; so, the establishment of suitable rewards after having accomplished a task should be baked into the routine.
Create a sense of urgency; having good intentions is all well and good but if it is actioned upon that the time for such action passes. Therefore, one should create the need for such action – one way is to meditate on the transience of life; if one is to perform an action the only option is to act now. The now is all there ever is.
Focus on singular tasks – in an echo to Cal Newport’s ‘Deep Work’, it is a myth that humans can multitask on complex activities; therefore, focus exclusively in singular tasks and learn to be mentally strong to the temptations offered up by distractions such as social media and the internet. Create a do to list and devour the goals as nothing else matters.
From a reading of Napoleon Hill and Dale Carnegie; Kelsey offers the insight that one must start with desire; only through the establishment of desire can belief come.
From Roman Krznaric, the author states that searching for a vocation is a waste of time; rather the goal should be to search for something that they look forward to every morning. This is the only strategy which is sustaining.
Kelsey discusses reframing; instead of stating an explicit 10 year, such as “I want to be a journalist”, the goal should be reframed such as “I want to express myself freely in…” Coupled with this is the intonation to discover your why. In order to be motivated to achieve any task; the question must be addressed as to why. This echoes a phase in a motivational speech in which the speaker states that 'If you know the why, you can live anyhow.' (Friedrich Nietzche).
Lives are built around habit; with reference to Charles Duhigg’s ‘cue- routine-reward’ loop; Kelsey states that one should replace unproductive habits with new productive habits.
The Pareto distributions is explained in which 20% of our efforts in any endeavor yield 80% of the overall results; therefore a mechanism to exploit this concept would be an analysis on which 20% of our efforts is having an outsized effect on the overall result we are aiming for.
Parroting advice from Mark H. McCormack; Kelsey states one should also be prepared when conversing with clients over the telephone. Rehearse and practise exchanges beforehand; have a definite purpose behind the exchange. If needed the call should be delayed so that one is best prepared.
In a passage reminiscent of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, Kelsey’s refers to Dale Carnegie’s advice that all peoples like to feel important; and it is through this elevated state that people can be persuaded upon a course of action. The key to getting people to do what you want is to get them to initiate the idea within them in the first instance. Persuasion is an infinitely better technique than coercion.
In order to become influential; one must be liked. This entails having a genuine empathy for the people one interacts with. The world of work is a game, where one cannot be too passive nor become too aggressive. Influence is gained in an organisation by the use if tact and being useful. The skill of utility to a greater cross-section of people should be acted upon. A key way to deflate conflict in any situation is the mechanism of active listening. One should listen with empathy and discernment.
Overall I liked the book; it is a curated summary of many of the most influential books in the self-help genre, interwoven with the author’s own experiences.
January 26, 2024
Sách tổng hợp thông tin từ các sách self-help khác. Nửa quyển đầu thấy thú vị vì phân tích tâm lý trì hoãn các thứ hay ho. Nửa quyển sau thì mình thấy cũng bình thường. Sẽ cần cho những “tấm chiếu mới” 😁
September 23, 2018
Fixed my life.. literally.
January 14, 2018
Surprised at how good this book was, a decent anthology of quite a large variety of other books on the subject of productivity. By no means a simple ‘write a to-do list and forget unimportant stuff’, the book explores why we are unproductive more than anything.
Took me ages to finish it (ba-doom Tish)
Took me ages to finish it (ba-doom Tish)
December 15, 2023
After reading other reviews, I, too, wonder if I meant to read Getting Things Done and came across this instead.
This may be a useful primer for anyone that didn't take Psych 101 or hasn't ventured into goal setting before. As someone who has done both, but wants better strategies, I didn't gain much.
I ultimately skimmed the majority of this because 70% or so was preamble or tangential story.
This may be a useful primer for anyone that didn't take Psych 101 or hasn't ventured into goal setting before. As someone who has done both, but wants better strategies, I didn't gain much.
I ultimately skimmed the majority of this because 70% or so was preamble or tangential story.
June 6, 2017
I'm sure this book might help some people, but the more I read the more I was reminded of Vonnegut's "people should never index their own book." Some autobiography is inevitable in these things, but this one had far too much (and far too uninteresting) for my taste.
March 19, 2020
A pat synthesis of better sources that is less than the sum of its parts.
February 17, 2022
I have read this book at a time when I really needed it; my productivity and motivation is cyclical and this winter, I have made little to no progress with my academics. Get Things Done gives me an insight into how I can set and achieve goals through a psychological and behavioural viewpoint. This is the first self-help book I have ever read and it’s clear to me I need to become more comfortable with non-fiction books. I didn’t feel fully engaged in this book and often counted the number of pages left in a chapter or chapters in the book. It is a slow read but I would recommend this book to someone about to embark on a new project or challenge.
January 4, 2015
I book I was easily able to dip in and out of. An engaging author full of great tips and advice but mainly its a compilation of a load of other great writing on the subjects of productivity and set-improvement. Which was definitely a positive as it gets to the key points of them without having to read the full thing.
March 31, 2015
I'm not sure what it was about this book, there were some good points in it but it didn't really grab me like other books in the genre. Nothing can really stand up to "How to be a productivity ninja" for me in this genre!
August 5, 2014
This book was helpful in finding different ways to get me focused on my goals. I would recommend this book to others who are feeling a bit lost with where their lives are going.
July 1, 2015
One of the better books I've read on this topic. Much less new-agey than most of them. But still, it's a hard to make a dull topic interesting.
September 18, 2016
A brilliant book to read as the author covers a lot of books on the subject.. don't confuse this with the productivity book "Getting things done"
September 20, 2016
Easy to follow, and to the point. Interesting to read.
April 8, 2017
Banal and didactic with little basis in research. It reads more like a Buzzfeed listicle than a book. The "smart people" in the subtitle is a misnomer as the writing style and concepts are very elementary.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews