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The Power to Get Things Done:
Turn your good intentions into action.
"This book contains a ton of practical and easy-to-implement techniques and strategies for getting yourself to do whatever needs to be done." --Jack Canfield, coauthor of The Success Principles and the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
Whether you run your own business or work for someone else, you’ve probably got a lot on your plate. Along with the portion of your work that you truly feel like doing comes a generous helping of things you’d rather not do.
As consultants, Steve Levinson and Chris Cooper have seen countless clients struggle—and often fail—to do the many success-producing things they know they should do but don’t feel like doing.
The Power to Get Things Done will teach you how to consistently turn your good intentions into action so that you can be as successful as possible in the work you do.
Don't feel like filing those pesky tax forms or making the follow-up calls you've been putting off? The Power to Get Things Done will show you how to get yourself--and keep yourself--in gear.
Levinson and Cooper offer you a host of practical solutions, including:
• the smart way to think about and treat your own good intentions
• three key principles of following through that will change everything
• simple but powerful principles and strategies that will turn you into a follow-through champion.
"This book contains a ton of practical and easy-to-implement techniques and strategies for getting yourself to do whatever needs to be done." --Jack Canfield, coauthor of The Success Principles and the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
Whether you run your own business or work for someone else, you’ve probably got a lot on your plate. Along with the portion of your work that you truly feel like doing comes a generous helping of things you’d rather not do.
As consultants, Steve Levinson and Chris Cooper have seen countless clients struggle—and often fail—to do the many success-producing things they know they should do but don’t feel like doing.
The Power to Get Things Done will teach you how to consistently turn your good intentions into action so that you can be as successful as possible in the work you do.
Don't feel like filing those pesky tax forms or making the follow-up calls you've been putting off? The Power to Get Things Done will show you how to get yourself--and keep yourself--in gear.
Levinson and Cooper offer you a host of practical solutions, including:
• the smart way to think about and treat your own good intentions
• three key principles of following through that will change everything
• simple but powerful principles and strategies that will turn you into a follow-through champion.
208 pages, Paperback
First published December 29, 2015
40 people are currently reading
308 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
September 2, 2019
Walk, don't wobble.
While this book’s repetitiveness is something to be aware of, despite its style, I found The Power to Get Things Done incredibly useful and will definitely be rereading it -- 4 stars rounded up to 4.5 for its content value. I took five pages of notes while listening to the audiobook and then bought a physical copy off BookOutlet.
This was a fascinating lesson on the psychological reasons why we don’t follow through; the importance of assessing your intentions and “trying smarter, not harder”; and a prescriptive set of tools to teach us how to actually do what we intend to do. Chapters include both self-assessment questions and various real-world examples that practically apply Levinson’s rules for follow-through that I found useful on both a personal and professional level.
My main concern with this book was its repetitiveness. There were a number of chapters with subsections that provided only the slightest variations of the primary message. As an audiobook, it was easy to become disengaged, and a few of my notes said things like “still discussing ‘goo’ at page 47 - sigh”. However, this may not be quite as obvious in a written format as I normally find it useful when an author effectively reinforces their message.
Although this book could be more concise, overall I thought Levinson’s emphasis on the need for a manual means of follow-through as well as providing tools for doing so was extremely helpful. I know I’ll be rereading this frequently as I’m sure I only absorbed a small portion of its usefulness. I highly recommend this as a lesson on why we don’t achieve our well-intended goals and how to go about fixing that.
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March 8, 2017
Horrible. This entire book could have been condensed into one page about how intending to do something isn't enough to make you do it. It keeps repeating the same thing over and over again with few or no practical steps other than "be specific in your goal setting". I got half way through and called it quits.
August 23, 2023
“The Power To Get Things Done” is a nonfiction book focusing on helping the reader improve their ability to turn good intentions into action so they can be successful at work and to a lesser extent, life overall.
The book consists of a foreword, introduction, ten chapters divided into four parts and ends with acknowledgments and information about the authors.
In the foreword, Ivan Misner, New York Times bestselling author, begins by telling the reader that the better able you are to do what you intend, the more successful you’re likely to be at work. Misner follows up with the premise of this book which is to help the reader learn how to turn their good intentions into action by using a few concepts and strategies.
In the introduction, the authors (Steve Levinson and Chris Cooper) begin by stating that this book is written for those that either run a business or are an employee. According to the authors, not following through on good intentions consistently means you’re working against yourself. The purpose of this book is to highlight how follow through skills can lead to action and success. I appreciated how Levinson and Cooper give the reader permission to read the book however they want, whether it is reading the book in entirety, reading each part as time permits, or skipping part one and go straight to part two to learn strategies on how follow through better.
In part one, “Why It’s So Hard to Follow Through,” Levinson and Cooper explain why it’s hard to do the things you know you should do but don’t feel like doing. According to Levinson and Cooper, our minds are not hardwired to follow through with good intentions and those who have an unstoppable drive to follow through in accomplishing unpleasant tasks are viewed as outliers. The concept of “goo” is introduced and defined by Levinson and Cooper as employer-required actions, tasks, and projects that are especially toxic because you perceive them to be wasteful, unnecessary, unreasonable, or just plain stupid. This part of the book also focuses on special follow-through challenges for small business owners as well as employees who get promoted but whose follow-through skills are not up to standard. The higher that stakes, the more follow through matters. Be aware that success is often due to bosses setting up employees for success. When you do things you don’t want to grudgingly, others can see it.
In part two, “From Trying Harder to Trying Smarter,” Levinson and Cooper show how to think about and treat intentions in a way that maximize their success and effectiveness. Don’t depend on motivation by inspiration because this is temporary and will decrease over time. Follow-through masters adopt crystal-clear intentions then promptly turn them into successful action. There is a big difference between “I’m still trying to decide” and “I’ve already decided, but I’m just not acting on my decision.” It’s important to learn to view good intentions seriously and as a commitment to oneself. This part introduces the concept of pseudo or half-formed intentions and how these can do more harm than good. The more specific you make your intentions, the more accountable you’ll feel for behaving in accord with them. Adopt a “no wiggle room” mantra to follow-through on intentions. Find a “Big Why” to make good intention more effective.Sometimes the best way to follow through on intentions is by tricking yourself into feeling that you must do the same thing you’ve decided to do. It’s human nature that we’re more likely to do things that feel easy and less likely to do things that feel hard.
In part three,”Smart Strategies for Getting Things Done,” Levinson and Cooper use real-life examples to demonstrate smart strategies that the reader can use to get things done whether they feel like it or not. A smart strategy is deliberately putting yourself in a jam that you can only get out of by doing what you intend to do. Freedom from pressure is the enemy of follow-through. In this part of the book, I really liked the concept of “hung by your tongue” or making a public promise you feel you must absolutely keep. When you feel bad about letting people down after making a pubic promise, you are more likely to follow-through on your intention. For some people, turning up the pressure rather than down is often the best way to promote follow-through. Sometimes it might be better to pay for others or delegate unpleasant tasks to others who will follow-though.
In part four, “How to Keep On Keeping On,” Levinson and Cooper show readers what it takes to keep your follow-though habits strong. The first key to keeping one’s follow-through ability strong is to make a habit of creating a follow through plan for every good intention you adopt. It’s important to keep intentions at the forefront of one’s mind.Don’t feel bad for getting rid of outdated intentions if it’s no longer valid.If you are serious about doing what you intend do, you’ll have to follow through deliberately and manually forever. Get promise making and promise keeping in sync. The book ends with Levinson and Cooper saying that it’s up to the reader to decide whether or not to use the techniques provide in the book.
As I finished this book, I appreciated how each part of the book was organized by having a quote as well as a brief summary of what each part would cover. I also liked the “putting it into practice” section at the end of each chapter with questions presented as a way to make the reader do some self reflection how they can turn their good intentions into action on a consistent basis.
The book consists of a foreword, introduction, ten chapters divided into four parts and ends with acknowledgments and information about the authors.
In the foreword, Ivan Misner, New York Times bestselling author, begins by telling the reader that the better able you are to do what you intend, the more successful you’re likely to be at work. Misner follows up with the premise of this book which is to help the reader learn how to turn their good intentions into action by using a few concepts and strategies.
In the introduction, the authors (Steve Levinson and Chris Cooper) begin by stating that this book is written for those that either run a business or are an employee. According to the authors, not following through on good intentions consistently means you’re working against yourself. The purpose of this book is to highlight how follow through skills can lead to action and success. I appreciated how Levinson and Cooper give the reader permission to read the book however they want, whether it is reading the book in entirety, reading each part as time permits, or skipping part one and go straight to part two to learn strategies on how follow through better.
In part one, “Why It’s So Hard to Follow Through,” Levinson and Cooper explain why it’s hard to do the things you know you should do but don’t feel like doing. According to Levinson and Cooper, our minds are not hardwired to follow through with good intentions and those who have an unstoppable drive to follow through in accomplishing unpleasant tasks are viewed as outliers. The concept of “goo” is introduced and defined by Levinson and Cooper as employer-required actions, tasks, and projects that are especially toxic because you perceive them to be wasteful, unnecessary, unreasonable, or just plain stupid. This part of the book also focuses on special follow-through challenges for small business owners as well as employees who get promoted but whose follow-through skills are not up to standard. The higher that stakes, the more follow through matters. Be aware that success is often due to bosses setting up employees for success. When you do things you don’t want to grudgingly, others can see it.
In part two, “From Trying Harder to Trying Smarter,” Levinson and Cooper show how to think about and treat intentions in a way that maximize their success and effectiveness. Don’t depend on motivation by inspiration because this is temporary and will decrease over time. Follow-through masters adopt crystal-clear intentions then promptly turn them into successful action. There is a big difference between “I’m still trying to decide” and “I’ve already decided, but I’m just not acting on my decision.” It’s important to learn to view good intentions seriously and as a commitment to oneself. This part introduces the concept of pseudo or half-formed intentions and how these can do more harm than good. The more specific you make your intentions, the more accountable you’ll feel for behaving in accord with them. Adopt a “no wiggle room” mantra to follow-through on intentions. Find a “Big Why” to make good intention more effective.Sometimes the best way to follow through on intentions is by tricking yourself into feeling that you must do the same thing you’ve decided to do. It’s human nature that we’re more likely to do things that feel easy and less likely to do things that feel hard.
In part three,”Smart Strategies for Getting Things Done,” Levinson and Cooper use real-life examples to demonstrate smart strategies that the reader can use to get things done whether they feel like it or not. A smart strategy is deliberately putting yourself in a jam that you can only get out of by doing what you intend to do. Freedom from pressure is the enemy of follow-through. In this part of the book, I really liked the concept of “hung by your tongue” or making a public promise you feel you must absolutely keep. When you feel bad about letting people down after making a pubic promise, you are more likely to follow-through on your intention. For some people, turning up the pressure rather than down is often the best way to promote follow-through. Sometimes it might be better to pay for others or delegate unpleasant tasks to others who will follow-though.
In part four, “How to Keep On Keeping On,” Levinson and Cooper show readers what it takes to keep your follow-though habits strong. The first key to keeping one’s follow-through ability strong is to make a habit of creating a follow through plan for every good intention you adopt. It’s important to keep intentions at the forefront of one’s mind.Don’t feel bad for getting rid of outdated intentions if it’s no longer valid.If you are serious about doing what you intend do, you’ll have to follow through deliberately and manually forever. Get promise making and promise keeping in sync. The book ends with Levinson and Cooper saying that it’s up to the reader to decide whether or not to use the techniques provide in the book.
As I finished this book, I appreciated how each part of the book was organized by having a quote as well as a brief summary of what each part would cover. I also liked the “putting it into practice” section at the end of each chapter with questions presented as a way to make the reader do some self reflection how they can turn their good intentions into action on a consistent basis.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2016
I picked up a few useful tidbits in this book, but overall it was not extremely helpful and it was very repetitive. I think there are better books out there to motivate you.
February 18, 2019
Таке враження що 95% книжки це вода яка була додана для об'єму, дуже багато повторень і історії в книжці як ніби штучні. Але в ній все ж є пару порад корисних
January 25, 2021
Fast easy read. My key takeaway: avoidance is the enemy. Break tasks down and do a little piece. You’ll step up without the agony of starting something you dislike doing. Accountability helps a lot too.
“What may be done at any time will be done at no time“ - Scottish proverb
“If the wind fails, use the oars”
Chriscooper.co.uk
“What may be done at any time will be done at no time“ - Scottish proverb
“If the wind fails, use the oars”
Chriscooper.co.uk
June 25, 2018
A bit repetitive and shares a few too many anecdotes, but the strategies seem solid if you need a push to break your chronic procrastination or task avoidance (Now to see how well they work in practice). Could probably get the point across with half the length.
May 22, 2017
Too much book for too little info.
August 25, 2017
Decent advice, although it could've been summed up on one page.
December 22, 2024
Read by a male American narrator, suitable for 1.5x speed.
If you're looking for someone not to nag you but reason with you on all the ways that you're sabotaging your own progress on projects, listen up! You're never going to feel perfectly like doing the hard work, so you need to put systems in place so it doesn't matter how you feel: you just start doing it. Worth reading again -- would recommend.
Favourite Quotes:
"Success hinges on your ability to follow through."
"I am indeed a king, because I know how to rule myself." ~Pietro Arratino
"A key to following through is to set an alarm clock for virtually every intention you adopt."
"One key to following through is to figure out how to stay actively aware of each of your good intentions."
"Be like a cheetah. They only catch one out of ten gazelles they chase, but they run just as hard all ten times."
"You have to do something manually that [people who get things done] do automatically. You have to learn to be deliberate and creative about making yourself feel like doing that you know you must do to be successful."
(Not doing it automatically?) "Get over it. The worst thing you can do is pretend [you can get things done automatically]."
"The secret to following through is essentially to trick yourself into actually feeling, not just thinking, like you must do the same thing you've decided you should do."
"Outsmart your temptations. Make them harder to access, make the right thing to do easy to access. Are there situations or circumstances that force you to follow through?"
"Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power." ~Seneca
"What may be done at any time, will be done at no time." ~Scottish proverb
"Create compelling reasons to follow through."
"If you chase two rabbits, both will escape." ~Chinese proverb
"Your inclination to make promises must be in sync with your ability to keep promises."
"Making promises is like making money: Keep your spending in sync with your income."
Summary: How to turn your good intentions into success producing actions:
Make a follow through plan.
Simplify your plan.
Keep your promises.
Don’t stop using the plan.
If you're looking for someone not to nag you but reason with you on all the ways that you're sabotaging your own progress on projects, listen up! You're never going to feel perfectly like doing the hard work, so you need to put systems in place so it doesn't matter how you feel: you just start doing it. Worth reading again -- would recommend.
Favourite Quotes:
"Success hinges on your ability to follow through."
"I am indeed a king, because I know how to rule myself." ~Pietro Arratino
"A key to following through is to set an alarm clock for virtually every intention you adopt."
"One key to following through is to figure out how to stay actively aware of each of your good intentions."
"Be like a cheetah. They only catch one out of ten gazelles they chase, but they run just as hard all ten times."
"You have to do something manually that [people who get things done] do automatically. You have to learn to be deliberate and creative about making yourself feel like doing that you know you must do to be successful."
(Not doing it automatically?) "Get over it. The worst thing you can do is pretend [you can get things done automatically]."
"The secret to following through is essentially to trick yourself into actually feeling, not just thinking, like you must do the same thing you've decided you should do."
"Outsmart your temptations. Make them harder to access, make the right thing to do easy to access. Are there situations or circumstances that force you to follow through?"
"Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power." ~Seneca
"What may be done at any time, will be done at no time." ~Scottish proverb
"Create compelling reasons to follow through."
"If you chase two rabbits, both will escape." ~Chinese proverb
"Your inclination to make promises must be in sync with your ability to keep promises."
"Making promises is like making money: Keep your spending in sync with your income."
Summary: How to turn your good intentions into success producing actions:
Make a follow through plan.
Simplify your plan.
Keep your promises.
Don’t stop using the plan.
February 21, 2017
Why it's hard and why it's so important.
Motivation is not enough - logic trips us up. Much of what our brains tell us to do doesn't require or make us want to do that thing. So try to work with intentions (serious commitments you make to yourself) and put power towards doing them.
How: pick only a few things and not everything, be specific, focus on intention, make it harder to do the opposite of what you want to do - use levers; outwit temptation (get rid of, minimize, do right thing then permit to do a bit of the wrong thing); make the consequences (feel) real, make consequences over the top; get rid of the parts that make you avoid doing the task (may get you just started enough to get into doing a little more); get someone else to do it/pay someone; tell others & network w/ others/ hire a coach who will hold you accountable,
(Some overlap with other books which he cites.)
Motivation is not enough - logic trips us up. Much of what our brains tell us to do doesn't require or make us want to do that thing. So try to work with intentions (serious commitments you make to yourself) and put power towards doing them.
How: pick only a few things and not everything, be specific, focus on intention, make it harder to do the opposite of what you want to do - use levers; outwit temptation (get rid of, minimize, do right thing then permit to do a bit of the wrong thing); make the consequences (feel) real, make consequences over the top; get rid of the parts that make you avoid doing the task (may get you just started enough to get into doing a little more); get someone else to do it/pay someone; tell others & network w/ others/ hire a coach who will hold you accountable,
(Some overlap with other books which he cites.)
March 22, 2017
Remember when you had to make up a couple of hundred words so that your school essay passed the minimum word count? Well this entire book is those couple of hundred words.
The majority of it is made up of useless anecdotes that aren't relatable, and then the one or two good points would have been better presented in the style of Paul Arden.
Entire book summed up:
Blah
More blah
SMART Goals
Make it so that you have literally no other choice but to do the thing you hate
And then make it so that once you start you literally have no way of stopping.
I use the "literally"s literally.
If this review sounds snarky it's because I feel like I've just wasted $15 on a book that should've been $1.50 so save your money folks.
The majority of it is made up of useless anecdotes that aren't relatable, and then the one or two good points would have been better presented in the style of Paul Arden.
Entire book summed up:
Blah
More blah
SMART Goals
Make it so that you have literally no other choice but to do the thing you hate
And then make it so that once you start you literally have no way of stopping.
I use the "literally"s literally.
If this review sounds snarky it's because I feel like I've just wasted $15 on a book that should've been $1.50 so save your money folks.
February 20, 2025
Interestingly enough, I guess I fall into the 10% of people who had figured out how to "Get Things Done" on my own! I was surprised at the number of tricks offered in this book that I already use on a regular basis. I had been slacking somewhat since I retired, so I decided to check this out. For me, it ended up being a refresher on how to get back in the groove. I listened to the audiobook, and I did learn a few new tricks.
November 2, 2017
This book is very impactful. But of course to put what the author teaches into practice then this is a book to read or listen to and take mental and paper notes several times until you have it down. But even practicing a few of the things that I remember will help me to improve in my follow through.
January 10, 2019
The Power to Get Things Done did not give me the power to finish this book. If you enjoy reading a book that has page after page of the same thing, then you may like this. There are so many irrelevant anecdotes. Like I need to know someone else who doesn't finish things that they should be doing. Ugh.
February 26, 2019
Repetitive, lengthy and patronizing at times. It felt like the authors attended one too many enthusiastic conferences and thought , 'Hey, let's waste a ton of pages with this stuff, but like, waste our time getting to the point".
This book honestly could have been condensed to an essay of a few pages at most.
This book honestly could have been condensed to an essay of a few pages at most.
October 3, 2023
A useful book. I was already aware of a lot of the principles in the book, but it's always good to get a refresher. Even though it is repetitive and uses a lot of examples to illustrate the same point (as other reviewers have noted), the examples helped inspire me to think of ways to apply the principles in my own life.
October 15, 2023
I felt like there was a lot of fluff, repetitive information that was given in previous chapters. This book to me could have been written in about 4 chapters. However, I did take helpful notes to apply to my everyday life to help get the little nuances of my life done with no procrastination. I appreciate a self help book that actually helps! So thank you to the author for that.
April 22, 2024
4.5 I listened to the Audiobook it was only four hours long. I found this book very helpful. It gave me good insight into who I am as a person and why I procrastinate a lot of things I don’t want to do. It’s because most of us are wired that way, and creating strategies to trick/force our mind into doing stuff we have to do and don’t want to do is a good strategy to go by.
March 5, 2023
I'm writing this review as I'm half way through this book. There were some interesting things mentioned in this book.I have just finished this book and I think it was ok. I am glad I read it, however, I'm not sure if I would recommend it so I'm giving it a 3 out of 5.
May 27, 2023
While many of the stories or studies were not new to me. This book is an excellent reminder with material consolidated to giving you some of the best strategies to getting things done. At the end of the day, it is up to me to do what must be done.
September 27, 2023
Skip to the second half of the book and it will be a great short book. The first half is repetitive and not engaging. You will learn concise tips on strategies to boost your ability to follow through on your goals or tasks.
August 28, 2017
had some good info but got tired of reading all about others.. seemed to repeat the same stuff over and over again..
The last 3 chapters were the most helpful
The last 3 chapters were the most helpful
September 20, 2017
Nothing revolutionary here, but the guidance is solid and well presented.
Read
July 14, 2018Provided tangible ways to tackle my to do list and help keep me on track and motivated!
February 23, 2019
The book was repetitive and didn’t have a lot to offer. I forced myself to finish it.
July 27, 2019
Totally made me think about my own inhibitors and how it relates to students in my classroom! Enjoyed the foundational part and the practical ideas behind it.
November 23, 2019
Some good examples and ideas to force yourself to get things done.
A Good, not great, read.
A Good, not great, read.
November 29, 2019
Nothing really new here unfortunately. A lot of emphasis on problems and little on solutions.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews