How to Get Things Done Without Trying Too Hard

by Richard Templar

Templar returns! The bestselling author of the internationally acclaimed, million-selling Rules books is back with this, the second of a brand new series of handy guides to life. How to Get Things Done without Trying too Hard is the wise and witty antidote to procrastination, the definitive manual for getting more done and the best and simplest guide to finding time to do all those little things you know you need to do, but usually can’t be bothered to. We all know how easy it can be to put things off until tomorrow and we tell ourselves we just don’t have time to do things straight away. But tomorrow never comes and slowly but surely all those little tasks and jobs you’ve been putting off all build up into a huge mountain to climb. In a busy world where being time-poor is a popular complaint, it can be easy to convince ourselves that organising our CD collection or clearing out the garage, cleaning the oven, or shampooing the carpet is just not a good use of time and there are better, usually more exciting, things we could be doing. Time, it seems, is the one thing we always wish we had more of, but when we’ve got it, on the whole we use it badly. With his inimitable blend of originality, wisdom, common sense and straight talking, Richard Templar will take you through 100 clever, cunningly simple and pain-free ways to help you get more things done and dusted with the minimum of time and effort. Before you know it you’ll be ticking things off your to-do list at record speed and feeling more organised, more in control and more able to enjoy that precious free time without the nagging feeling that you’ve still got things to do.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology, Business, Productivity

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2009

About the author

Richard Templar is an astute observer of human behavior and understands what makes the difference between those of us who effortlessly glide towards success and those of us who struggle against the tide. He has distilled these observations into his Rules titles. More than 1 million people around the world have enjoyed and now play by Richard Templar's Rules.

Reviews

[KakEllereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 🌟
Some of it can be applied.

[Abeer Alamri · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب رائع بكل ماتحمله الكلمة من معنى، احسست لوهلة ان الكاتب يقرأ افكاري، اشترك مع الكاتب في كثير من الطباع كالفوضوية وحب كتابة المهام، زاد من اصرارذ على كثير من العادات التي كنت اعملها والتي شجع على عملها بالرغم من ان من حولي كانو يرونها غير مجديه ( ككتابة المهام بشكل دائم ) افكر جديا بأخذ بعض الاقتباسات منه وتحويلها لرسومات توضيحيه، السيئة الوحيده من هذا الكتاب هو أنني لم استطع النوم لشدة حماسي مع ماكتبه الكاتب ^^

[طوق الياسمين · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book exactly the week before my midterms exams. I was searching for totally another book when it suddenly popped in front of me. I probably thought it’s the perfect to read at the current time hoping it would organize my stressed day. Actually, this is one of the books that you may need to read it again and again every time you feel pressured, unorganized and things are starting to fall off the edges. The language is quite simple and easy to read. It’s simplified to the maximum and I really recommend it for those who had never read self- development books. The techniques are kind of obvious but I can say they are super practical, and the idea that all tips needed to organize your daily life are gathered together really helped me instead of trying to search for them here and there.
The part I really liked the most was “ turn your toothbrush upside down “. The idea of this chapter is that if you’re trying to remember something, make something unusual to help you remembering the task you need to remember. He mentioned the turned toothbrush but it can be anything. For me, wearing the watch in my right hand does really work.

[Poonam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is quick-to-read but a very basic book on time management. This doesn't necessarily apply to work, but also your daily home life.

[Cindy Tai · Rating 5 out of 5]

The summaries on every other page helps me recap on the ideas captured very quickly. Many of the tips may be already familiar to many, but its a fact that they do work and the advice given is valuable. However, this book may be more catered to a working adult (especially those with a family) like Templar himself. Regardless, it is something to share with family members and to improve the cohesion of the household.

[Noura · Rating 2 out of 5]

كتاب خفيف لطيف أنهيت قراءته في يوم ونصف، وثاني كتاب أقرأه للكاتب بعد كتاب "قواعد العمل - The Rules of Work". هو أشبه ببطاقات تعليمية (flash cards) أكثر من كونه كتاب، حيث تحمل كل صفحة في وجهها الأيسر عبارة جاذبة كعنوان للوجه المقابل لها. قد يحمل الكثير من الأفكار والطرق المفيدة لمن يعاني من قدرته على إدارة وقته أو الإنجاز بفعالية أو التحكم بحالته النفسية إزاء المهام الصعبة أو الواجبات اليومية.

رغم وجود بعض النصائح التي أعجبتني، وربما تؤثر بشكل أو بآخر على أسلوبي وطريقة تعاملي مع الأمور، وهذا بطبيعة الحال ما تفعله القراءة بشخصيّات القرّاء وذواتهم، ولكنيّ شخصياً لم أجد ضالتي في هذا الكتاب، وأعتقد أن أحد الأسباب وراء ذلك هو ما يحمله عنوانه من الأمل في إيجاد الحلول لإنجاز أكبر بجهد أقل، فأصبت بالإحباط لأنه لم يجب على السؤال الذي يطرحه بالطريقة التي كنت أتوقعها. ربما كان عليه أن يغير العنوان ليتماشى مع ما يقدمه في مضمونه بشكل أكثر واقعية، وربما خفف ذلك من وطأة خيبتي به.

الجانب الإيجابي من الأمر هو أنه ساهم في تقليل عدد الكتب التي لم اقرأها دون أن يأخذ الكثير من الوقت لإتمامه.

[Jenny Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, but I felt like I already do quite a few of the things in the book. A few suggestions were also a little outdated. I did take away a few tips to try though and some the author’s other books look to be a good read too.

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nabbed this off my dad’s bookshelf and blitzed through it while baby was napping. Very old school but lots of goodies. I like the tips about Christmas shopping and ditching “eco guilt” when decluttering.

[Moza Alsuwaidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have bought this book last year, but I recently read it. However, the book was just in time for my university semester, which helped me with my schoolwork to be done on time and not hard. I love this book, which motivate me to make my work look really easy and not hard. My advising teacher Dr. Rosly always said “work smart but not long and hard”. This book has many tips and advices are very valuable. I would highly recommend to everyone especially to my friends. During my reading was very interesting to me that to come back again and continue reading. The book was easy to read, and have clear and easy tips to follow. Moreover, this book was very useful for me with starting a new easy and smart life. I would defiantly come back again to read this book again and again.

[Peter Perhac · Rating 1 out of 5]

Felt like all the items in this book were the same. As I am already quite an organized person I found some of the advice not really relevant/new/inspirational to me. Some points were good, but overall the author is writing about not forgetting birthdays and so on... The author suggests solutions to all kinds of first world problems that I don't share. He decides when to work, he works from home, he is sort of a housewife so it sounds to me, and writes about "this is how i found it sort of works well for me to keep organized". I don't share his problems, I take little inspiration from his solutions. The only suggestion that I really took away from this book is to look into speed reading.

[Carine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Time management (very) simplified

Templar's book is interesting if you are completely new to time management techniques and self-development. It is simplified to the maximum - again, I guess, for those completely new to this kind of literature. He also uses - without naming them - several well-known techniques such as Covey's, Allen's GTD, Pomodoro. All in all, a little disappointing.

[David Vernon · Rating 3 out of 5]

How useful this book is depends on how organised you already are. If you are a disorganised person then it will have lots of useful advice. The corollary is that if you are already pretty organised then you'll get little out of it. His style I found grating - I wrote it as thought I a) knew who he was and b) cared about his personal life. Not knowing a) meant that b) was completely unimportant to me. His attempts at humour did not make this book any more endearing. If anything it was a bit off putting.

[Angel Manson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a great book, specially for someone who has a hard time getting things done..
I didn’t benefit much from it, I already do all that is mentioned in the book. And I can say the methods used in it are effective and it does do the job.

[Abdallah · Rating 5 out of 5]

its perfect book

[Mylene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice, but nothing new...

[Lina Håkansson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple read, highlight some good things to think about on a high level.
A nice and easy reminder of what you still could improve

[Maria Savina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Вода, вода, вода

[Aseel alh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice

[Heba Kilany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suitable for teenagers who struggle with time management and keeping their room clean and tidy. Other than that .... Nope.

[JustbemyselfCT · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not worth the money

[Harsha (triobookdragons) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who all do pranks😛😉 on your friends in the knooks of book shelves in your college library? Most of us might have done that, right ? In such a time , I found this book . By skimming through the blurb I found it interesting . And this was the first time I'm picking a book under personal development (genre) .

This book contains 100 different recommendations to improve one's efficiency . Almost everyone will get a new idea by reading this😍. I was very happy to find that I already use most of them😎😎😂(seriously) .

It's certainly a book to give a try. The language is so simple that anyone could read this . And I am sure that atleast some of you will learn to organize your life .

Do try it ....😀 happy reading guys 😀❤📔📚📖

[Angela Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is packed with useful tips! I took my time with it so as to implement at least 3-4 strategies per each day I read the book. These tips are certainly very useful for people who are struggling with the basics of getting things done and have no clue where to start. Delivered concisely with Richard's signature dry wit, you will find this a quick and practical read.

[Jude Qattan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty useful tips and definitely a page-turner!

[Stacey · Rating 1 out of 5]

So this book isn't really what I thought it was. It is a very basic beginners guide to productivity. It is also geared towards folk with families. Also there was a lot of white space in the book and every other page was a large title - given that the book is £9.99 I'd be pretty hacked off if I hadn't borrowed it from a library. It is almost like a series of very short blog posts. For blokes. Who don't like to read. And like Dad jokes.

[Hanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The chapters in this book are one or two pages. I love how easy it is to get through. The author is hilarious and helpful, which made this a joy to read. The author did a fantastic job in making this book accessible to adults. I believe that this will be a book I'll be referring to for many years to come.

[M Liu · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok, I just finished this book, so I haven't had time to implement these techniques yet, but some of them sound pretty useful and I can definitely see how they'll help me become more efficient. I know I need it.
Anyways, It's really short since literally half of the book is just titles so if you want some tips on getting things done without trying too hard, give this book a try

[Rozaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Richard Templar because he writes common sense in actual print as a reminding reference. This book was simple and fast and I quickly found myself unconsciously applying some of its tips.
I recommend this book for anyone looking for a quick motivation.

[Dua'a Behbehani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did three of the things today so I gues it changed my life, lol.

[Racheal Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a book that is easy to refer to. It's great to always practice what Templar had shared in this book.

[Tamzid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful book. Concise and thus easy to extract what you need.