Get Your Sh!t Together

by Ruth Field

The B!tch is back... and she's brought The Grit Doctor along for the ride.

What's in your handbag? To-do lists scrawled on the back of receipts? An unpaid bill? Half a chocolate bar, covered in fluff? Is your handbag a metaphor for the rest of your life? Has becoming a capable, poised grown-up turned out to be more complicated than you imagined?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, and if you're tired of the crappy stuff in life grinding you down, then it's time to stop whining and Get Your Sh!t Together.

With this funny, frank, and tough-talking guide, Ruth Field and The Grit Doctor will help you:

Tackle daunting problems like a fearless superwoman
Figure out what you want from life and find the courage to Go For It
Learn how to get more sh!t done in less time
Stop feeling bad about your less-than-perfect life (because perfection's overrated anyway)
She taught you how to run; now she's going to teach you how to run your life!

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published March 16, 2013

Reviews

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whilst I'm currently only half way through this, it's become pretty clear that the only real advice to be obtained is that you should just get up and do stuff. Which is good advice. You'll feel better just having done something. Also good advice. You should identify what stops you from achieving things and find ways to overcome it. All good advice.

But the good advice seems to stop there.

Apparently you're meant to hate yourself until you do something to make yourself feel better. Oh and stop wasting your money on therapy because you don't need it unless you belong in a psych ward. If you watch TV you're the devil and forget about playing video games as an adult, you should be ashamed.


And god forbid you be fat.

If having someone yell at you is motivating, then I'm sure you'll find this book enlightening. But boot camp isn't for everyone.

[Anna Hurley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ironically this book was a procrastination read that I started while waiting to be picked up from the library a few nights ago. Taking about an hour to read, it was punchy, the advice was questionable but sort of funny, and I honestly really enjoyed reading it. My original hopes for this book were that I would familiarise myself with persuasive and narrative writing, however the style of this book was literally all over the place so I didn’t necessarily accomplish that. This book was silly and entertaining, yet not in the way I think the author intended it to be!

[Kimber · Rating 1 out of 5]

As my idol Dorothy Parker would say, "This is not a book to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a procrastinator from way back, I’ll do anything to put off cleaning the toilet. And as you know, by putting off till tomorrow what you should be doing today, well…nothing ever gets accomplished. Author Ruth Field, also known as the Grit Doctor (her alter ego and inner bitch), provides lots of ideas and tips to stop this type of behaviour. In Get your sh!t together she sets out to help you develop your own acid-tongued, arse-whipping inner bitch so that you too can sort your life out, stop procrastinating and get your sh!t together. She will help you to identify what’s important and what’s merely irrelevant and time-wasting, and she does it with a healthy dose of humour. She provides motivation in the manner of a dominatrix – cracking her whip to keep you moving. If you have read Field’s earlier book Run Fat B!tch Run, then you know what I mean. This was a really good read, a timely reminder that every journey starts with that first step.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there's nothing new in this book the way it is told is, this is not the softly softly nicey nicey approach, instead Field takes more of a 'for f*ck's sake get off your a*se and sort it approach, which is far better in my opinion. The basic point of this book is to take responsibility for your life and get off your a*se and do something to sort out all the sh*t you hate and embrace the stuff you love. Field gives some good basic tips to help you on the way to doing this, including a few on how to stop p*ss a*sing around and just get on with it (saying bye bye to the to do list is one of them). And of course the Grit Doctor backs this up in her own 'just do it' style. A pretty good read, not ground breaking, but a fine kick up the backside.

[Claire O'Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was on the chair I went to sit on in the library, so I picked it up, flicked through it and ended up taking it home with me, mostly because it had a section on clearing shelves, and I'm trying to de-clutter my house at the minute (a constant battle!). The whole clear a shelf bit turned out to be a thing in itself, but also a greater metaphor about tackling life bit by bit. I definitely wouldn't agree with everything she said (although there are few people in the world I could say that about, including myself), but some of this book was good, and it has inspired me to get out to bed a bit earlier (i.e. not so late) a few mornings. I could definitely do with listening to my inner bitch a bit more. Some of it is plain common sense or stuff you've heard a million times before, as with all self-help books, but sometimes it doesn't matter if it's common sense or you've heard it before, sometimes it's just good to have the obvious stated to you, so that you can actually take it on board and act on it. Not life changing, but a quick read, that will possibly make my life a bit better, and that's got to be a good thing.

[Julia Charles · Rating 1 out of 5]

If the shouty, swearing ladette style of writing is your thing then this book will be worth it's weight in gold to you, to begin with I loved Field's no nonsense approach however after a while it felt like it took a long time to say very little actually, the moral of this book seemed like it was trying to be a compassionate kick up the arse but in actual fact, when you take it back to the bare bones of the book it's like it's written by a sixth former whose just discovered the art of swearing so uses it profusely under the guise that it's "tough love" & motivational.

To quote a tv favourite of mine: you took a long time to say absolutely nothing - Homer Simpson.

This the first book I've read of hers & will be the only book I read of hers.

[Sarah Laverty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like I wasn’t really the right audience for this book - at another, probably earlier stage in my life I may have rated it more highly.

This book may be quite novel if you’re a massive procrastinator who needs someone to give you a shake - you’ve never really read a self help book before and you’re not expecting to get to the end of this one. I can see the tone and message having an impact on that kind of person.

Whereas I’m someone who is actually fairly productive, and was simply looking for more ways to streamline things in my life. I disagree with some of the advice - lists used well are incredibly important to getting things done, and saying no IS an important lesson for many people to grasp.

A book to take with a massive pinch of salt.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I broke my golden rule and did not finish this book.

All was going fairly well until the author completely dismissed the use of therapy. She was disrespectful, judgemental, nasty and just plain wrong. I refuse to give her any more of my precious time and energy reading her piffle.

[Emma Codd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do you find yourself gazing longingly at immaculately dressed women, at the top of their game, living in pristine houses? You know the ones: those women with a job, a husband, 2.8 kids, a social life, a smile, and the perpetual smell of freshly baked biscuits wafting from their kitchen window. Meanwhile, you're working off To Do lists scribbled on the backs of (overdue) bills, you can't find your car keys - again - and you can't find the bottom of your handbag for all the clutter accumulated therein. It's time to get your sh!t together, and the Grit Doctor is here to help you do it!

In her latest book, Get Your Sh!t Together, Ruth Field, AKA the Grit Doctor, helps women to take action, and take control of their lives. With her no-nonsense approach, she teaches us how to find more hours in the day, how to clean out our shelves, how to let go of grudges and how to find the courage to go for it, whatever "it" may be.

Although wittily tongue-in-cheek, Get Your Sh!t Together has common sense truths at its core. The Grit Doctor's straight talking wisdom is interspersed with Ruth's own personal anecdotes, exercises, and plenty of tips, tricks and grit grenades to help you get what you want out of life. From To Don't lists to Grit Doctor announcements, this book guides you through the how to's of everything from cleaning out the clutter to being kinder to your loved ones. I couldn't put this book down, and having been taking the Grit Doctor's advice since I first picked it up.

This easy-to-read, laugh-out-loud guide is truly a prescription to simpler living. The advice is practical, empowering, and all you need to make the transformation from Miss Sh!t-all-over-the-place to Miss Sh!t-together. Get Your Sh!t Together is a must-read for women everywhere, and your first step to having it all and learning (finally) how to run your life.

London-based Ruth Field is the author of the successful Run Fat B!tch Run, a columnist for the Irish Times, and a former criminal barrister.

[Briana Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Get Your Sh!T Together by Ruth Field
⭐️⭐️⭐️

📚Overview: Book to help people who are disorganised, procrastinate or generally feel like they need to get their life in better order or to Get Your Sh!T Together (GYST)

📖 Genre: Self-Help | Non-Fiction

👍Likes: Easy to digest, funny, effective, simple, frank

👎Dislikes: Nothing overly groundbreaking but an enjoyable read once you take it with a punch of salt!

🤓Recommend For: Someone who procrastinates, someone wants a self-help book for a kick of inspiration which isn’t too serious!

📗Also by this Author: Run Fat B!tch Run and Cut The Crap

💬 Favourite Quotes:

“We need to shift in focus, away from having it all and towards giving out all.”

“Do whatever it is that you are doing to the best of your ability, so that you feel good about yourself when your day is done; no skiving and no slacking.”

“The art of clear speech and clear written language is a key skill to develop in the pursuit of a better life. Why? Because it is only when we are crystal clear in what we say and think that we are able to express ourselves fully and out actions become relevant and consistent with our goals.”

“Do ordinary things with extraordinary dedication.”

“Clear thinking, prioritising and saying YES more often is the answer. Being organised and doing what is necessary and pertinent to GYST.”

“I’m doing something useful, productive and/or genuinely engaging you will feel a million times better about yourself.”

[Leanne Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I downloaded this book from Overdrive without really knowing anything about it. The title is a clear message to the reader that the text is littered with colourful language, and it effectively targets a younger audience which is comfortable with such language. Although I'm of an older generation, I read the book from cover to cover and enjoyed it because it was basically saying the same sensible things I learnt from my parents and which I tell my children.
In terms of content, the book is useful for helping people get organised, avoid getting in their own way, and improve their chances of success. It is wide-ranging in scope, dealing with punctuality and laundry on the one end of the spectrum, and financial literacy and retirement planning on the other. The author is someone who cares about personal responsibility and getting things right, and it shows.
With regard to readability, I would say the book exceeded my expectations. It is very funny. The style is alternatively self-deprecating and smug. I felt myself warming towards the author as she stepped on and off her soapbox, addressing first the laggard, then the easy-going among us, then the uptight perfectionists. This would make a great gift for a twenty-something niece or nephew if you want to be seen as one of their less stuffy older relatives!

[Au Tsz Chun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this as a present from one of my friends, he thinks I have issues and sincerely thinks that I need this book, as a matter of fact, I think he is right, after reading this book, I found out my problems and faced them head on. Despite the rude title, the author was trying to help people, although the is a hell lot of swearing in this book, it is still one hell of a good book. This book isn't like to usually self-help book, instead of telling you what to do in a very formal way, this book tell you what to do is a hilarious way with some inappropriate words and lines, yet, it is this little immature thing that is written in the book make us feel much more easy to accept, since it is less formal, and more like a 'normal conversation with a friend of yours

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had finally time to finish this book. I was doing the exercises which they recommend.
so what do I think? It was a good book, love the Grid, love the Quotes and the honesty.
Most things which are written here we do already know, but I really like how it was reminded to us of how we have a choice.
"When we have difficult times, acknowledging the pain of these experiences is an essential part of the grieving process but wallowing in the pain to the extent that these experiences dictate the course of your life is not. Pain is as necessary to a good life as everything else and is not to be used as a reason for your shit being all over the place any more. Life is hard, Suck it up!!"

Who you are is NEVER your circumstances, love this Quote...

[Erick Aparicio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, it was hilarious and free of pretension. The wisdom in it is what you would expect, which is why its amusing to see the one-star reviewers with comments such as "it's nothing groundbreaking", given that the fact that the principle outlined in the book is the only real palpable way of getting one's stones together.

The magic of the book is not necessarily its contents, which is what people don't understand, but precisely the fact that it is expressed as a form of content; sometimes you need to see the words on how to go ahead and do something on paper (or if you're an audiobook listener, sometimes you need to listen to someone telling you to get off the couch).

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found a book with Shit in the title!

This book was seemed to be the antithesis of Unf*ck Your Habitat. It was on the whole a better read than UYH, funnier and more engaging.

This is a practical reminder that gritting your teeth and DOING something. I do disagree that hard work will allow you to do anything, it won’t. However, those of us who are able bodied, white and middle class suffer from apathy and need reminder to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and do what we can. Unlike You Are A Badass, it touts only hard work and no mystical energy of the universe.

[Mitalee | TheAvidBookerfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Key message -
Be it any domain in your life - relations, work, household chores - there are always tips that can work for you in times to get your sh!t together.
Relations - Understand and empathize
Work - Aspire to be the ideal colleague for that job
Chores - Categorize and allot 20 mins of the day for common tasks
Actionable advice -
Pause, Think and Reflect on what needs to be done.

[F · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am not going to take any advice on therapy from someone who only achieved an ac in “life coaching” over trained psychologists. Sometimes one must explore the past in order to change their habits which this book advices against. I do not understand the authors problem with therapy and SSRI’s. I think she could do with some introspection through therapy.

[Holly Kelton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was pretty solid and motivational. I scored it for $5 on Audible and I feel like it was worth it. As others have said the main advice is to just get up and do it! Sometimes it's just something you need to hear!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got tired of hearing the references to her other book and abandoned this one about 2/3 of the way through. The book has a simple premise and there was a lot of filler to make it long enough for a book, in my opinion.

[Hannah Cummins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once you can remember the keep your sense of humour (as instructed at the beginning) I think it is an excellent read . Simple, effective and I love her no nonsense approach.

[Kristina Weber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute, albeit not groundbreaking.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good common sense approach

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not profound, but a short book with some straight talk about how to accomplish your goals and live like an adult. Tone is generally flippant and light.

[Lisa Achilles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing new here but a lot of great reminders.

[Tania Tiberia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There is always time!"
Loved it! It's a book filled with reminders and confirmations for active people and a few tricks too!

[Éilis Treacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this on audio and will probably buy on paperback to reread. Great solid advice.

[P Fosten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some useful stuff in there, without doubt. But also some privilege hiding in there which undercuts other elements. Usual self help rules apply: try it all, take what works for you, bin the rest.

[Wanjiru · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because it cut to the chase and written in an unpretentious, very blunt and honest manner - which was a pleasant and welcome surprise from the author who's also a lawyer!

It's also a recent book - (c)2013 - with mentions of Barack Obama's re-election speech and Mo Farah (who I now officially have no grudge against for beating my compatriots at the London Olympics)! see pages 170 - 174 for grudges and forgiveness.

I honestly think it's the best book I have read in a long time for the following 18 reasons lifted directly from the book. The numbers indicate the page numbers from the book:

1:
Habits - the simple act of ALWAYS following through on WHAT you said you were going to do WHEN you said you were going to DO IT. It is the beginning of self respect and trust, i.e. integrity
2:
FaceTime vs. FaceBook: Real human interaction - not email, FB, Twitter - is where the magic happens. By engaging in a debate with another human being that things get worked out!
3:
Order vs. tidy in the house. Where you live is where you are most yourself ... Domestic order helps create the ACTION-taking attitude to apply to the rest of your life! 77
4:
Telly is the TIME thief, and social media its cunning accomplice! 100
5:
Clear Thought and Talk - the art of clear speech and clear written language is key to a better life.
6:
WATCH OUT I'm Too busy indulging myself! Self analysis and endlessly trying to decipher the meaning of life are without doubt the main causes of discontent in modern life AND colossal time wasters to boot!111
7:
Circumstantial evidence! Leave your circumstances (and regrets) at the door!
8:
Reciprocity and the Golden Rule - It is hardest to do this to those closest to us. Your other half is the person you have chosen to share your life with! 164
9:
The MISduality of "at-home-rudeness AND at-party-charm"! A great deal of stress and anxiety arises from the gap between who we are and who we present to the world! 167
10:
Holding a grudge, holds you back! Being right is massively overrated. 171
11:
I reserve the right NOT to be ALWAYS right! ... be open to persuasion and changing our beliefs and ideas ... it opens us up to learning so much more from other people 173
12:
The grass is not greener, tend your own lawn. All the grass is the same colour, GREEN! It is the lens through which you see it that alters its shade. 182
13:
Let's replace HAVING it all with GIVING our all, BEING our all. Take ACTION to really making a difference in the short time you have on this earth. 195
14:
Opportunity Cost, a fundamental economic principle. Sacrifice (or Loss) an absolute fundamental in Life.
15:
Love and Commitment: I'm 100% in and will see this through no matter what!
16:
Procrastination vs. Action, anything that can be done today, MUST BE DONE TODAY. 209
17:
Happiness is not a goal; it is a product of a life well lived. Eleanor Roosevelt
18:
On Life and Death: "it is not sad to die. The sad thing is not to live intensely while you are alive." - Albert Espinosa

[Elle Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can get a few good soundbites out of this book and it will definitely give you a kick in the backside in terms of getting off your butt and actually making stuff happen rather than just wishing stuff happened, but, once you get about a third of the way through, the book really does just regurgitate again and again the same message and it got a bit boring. A few more anecdotes from real life and a lot less repetition and this could've been a tidy little number and a lot more helpful, readable, and likeable.

Having said that though, here are a couple of great soundbites:
"Reason is code for excuse"
"Action is the foundational key to all success"
"You are the architect of your life; you create it. You is what needs to happen, nothing else."