About the Book
Awarded Silver for the Living Now Book Award in Personal Development/Growth
Stress Relief Tips for Peace of Mind
Learn how to design your time to make space for things that are meaningful to you. Are you stuck in a "toxic productivity" mindset where output matters more than your personal wellbeing and happiness? Learn to practice self-kindness and stretch your perception of time by finding your calm each day, which can help you get stuff done without the stress. Using goal-mapping tools, you'll learn how to stay balanced across many areas of your life while achieving your goals, and how to feel "happy and done" with things you've just completed. We only have so much time on this planet, how do we really want to spend it?
Don't let stress get the best of you. With stress becoming one of the biggest epidemics in recent history, more people are feeling more burnt out and stressed out than ever. That is why you'll need a self-help guidebook about navigating your productivity in calmer, kinder, and healthier ways. Get Stuff Done Without Stress is a time management book sharing five key secrets for organizing your time, navigating your stress, and mastering your focus, that anyone can use in everyday situations. With psychotherapist and time management coach Risa William's scientific yet upbeat advice for connecting with our balance and wellbeing, you'll unlock more ways to go and get your goals without tipping yourself over into stress.
Figure out what matters to you and make it special. Unlike other time management books that provide overly complicated tools for managing your workload, Get Stuff Done Without Stress is full of simple and practical strategies that are about finding your life balance and general wellbeing, while taking small steps towards your goals. After all, who wants to achieve goals and feel worse after achieving them? Each chapter features encouraging prompts, advice, and illustrations that are guaranteed to boost your self-kindness and self-compassion. From time management tips to self-talk prompts, you'll always find new ways to stay stress-free and more motivated with each read through.
Inside, you'll also find scientific facts and wisdom such as:
How to break your big goals down into small weekly steps
Learning the difference between "healthy productivity" vs. "toxic productivity"
How to notice the internal and external signs of stress and what to do about them
Why we don't let ourselves ever feel "done" with things and how we can start to emotionally connect with our successes more
So, if you are looking for a self-help anxiety book like Four Thousand Weeks, The Art of Letting Go, or It's Up to You, then you'll love Get Stuff Done Without Stress.
Table of Contents:
Introduction / Where People Tend to Get Lost
The Nonstop Hamster Wheel
We Are Humans, Not Robots
How Burnout Begins
How This Book Works
Chapter One / Map Out Your Goals: Three Is the Magic Number
You Need a Map
Three Is the Magic Number
The Magic Post-it
The Brain Dump List
When You Have a Really Busy Week
The Monthly Review
Chapter Two / Creating Calm: Self-Care Is Nonnegotiable
Damage Control Is Not Self-Care
Make It Nonnegotiable
The Stress Scale
How Stress Makes Us Stuck
Your Capacity for Calm
Addicted to Adrenaline
Chapter Three / Design Your Time: Creating Space for Things That Matter
Creating Space
The Time Wardrobe
The Task Intensity Meter
Activating Your Energy
Naming Your Days
The Hats Method
The Morning Reset
Chapter Four / Show Yourself Proof: Small Steps Add Up to Big Things
Acknowledge Your Progress
The Small Steps Journal
Dancing with Time
The Yearly Review
Chapter Five / Embrace Being Done: Practice the Feelings You Want to Feel
The Phases of Progress
Expand Your Idea of Success
Be Kind to Your Mind
Show Yourself Some Love
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References
Mental Health Resources
Further Reading
About the Author
About the Author :
Risa Williams is a psychotherapist, writer, speaker, and wellness coach who specializes in time management and goal-setting tools. Combining her background in the arts and writing, along with her experience in clinical psychology, Risa opened her own consulting business with a wellbeing approach to time management and productivity. She has gone on to help hundreds of clients from around the world, as well as to be featured in many worldwide publications: Forbes Magazine, Wired, Women's World, Real Simple, and Business Insider. Risa’s also the host of the Motivation Mindset Podcast, and the author of five award-winning self-help books, including The Ultimate Time Management Toolkit and The Procrastination Playbook. She currently lives in Los Angeles, and spends her time working with clients, writing books, teaching at universities, and being a mom.
Review :
“Risa Williams not only knows how to get stuff done, she makes it seem easy, simple, and fun to do! Williams’s unique goal-mapping tools help us create what we want by being gentle and consistent with ourselves throughout the process and celebrating our accomplishments along the way. She encourages us to lean into a ‘self-kindness mindset’ vs. a ‘toxic productivity’ one, which is so important. Definitely a must-read book!”
—Eden Byrne, psychotherapist and EMDR practitioner
“This book is a must-read for anyone who struggles with burnout while working on goals. Risa Williams is an expert on a healthier and gentler approach to productivity, and Get Stuff Done Without the Stress has many practical tools and everyday mindset shifts for high achievers who also want to stay balanced across many areas of their lives.”
—Sepideh Saremi, LCSW, founder of Run Walk Talk®
“This is a fantastic book that will teach you how to Get Stuff Done Without the Stress. Often people create a false dichotomy between either being productive or de-stressing. Risa Williams expertly teaches you how to work smarter, not harder. If you are feeling overwhelmed by both needing to get things done and the stress of everything, this book is for you!”
—Scott Waltman, president elect of the Academy of Cognitive & Behavioral Therapies and author of The Stoicism Workbook
“Risa Williams has done it again! Williams expertly breaks down the science of getting things done into bitesize chunks, making it incredibly easy to immediately make significant changes in your life. In the current ‘hustle climate,’ it is refreshing to read an easy-to-follow blueprint for healthy productivity. As a psychologist, this book will be a go-to resource that I can share with clients struggling with burnout, procrastination, and the mindset of toxic productivity.”
—Tamara Soles, PhD, psychologist
“Do you want to know a secret that will help you not only maximize your time but enjoy life more? Risa Williams shares FIVE of them in her newest book, Get Stuff Done Without the Stress. Yes, she’s done it again. This book is packed with tools, strategies, and insights on how to function well while getting things done effectively, providing a step-by-step pathway to freedom when you feel stuck, overwhelmed, or burnt out. There’s help on every page! Living calmly enables us to be more productive and do better work. When you encourage yourself and enjoy the process, you get more done and feel better for it! One key strategy is practicing the feelings you want to feel before you experience them. The practical, tried-and-tested tools in this book make that possible. Want Future You to feel better than you do now and boost your productivity? Keep Calm and Read this Book!”
—Trevor Stockwell, author and leadership & personal development coach
“Risa is a talented clinician that has the unique ability to create tangible tools to help people get past their stuck points.The tools contained in her book, Get Stuff Done Without the Stress, are easily understandable and ready to be implemented. Risa makes the process of becoming a better version of yourself less daunting.”
—Stevon Lewis, author and therapist
“As a tech founder constantly juggling high stakes and intense demands, Risa Williams has been a transformative resource in my life. Her insights and practical tools have not only helped me manage anxiety but also equipped me to break free from the grip of toxic productivity and resist the relentless hustle culture. Through her approach to mindfulness, boundary setting, and emotional resilience, I’ve become a more grounded and focused founder, which has enhanced my ability to lead with clarity and compassion. I especially appreciate how Risa integrates traditional cognitive behavioral therapy with therapeutic practices, creating a holistic toolkit that has empowered me to thrive and show up as a better leader.”
—Ramona Ortega, Esq., CEO of WealthBuild.AI, leader of the THRIVE Campaign, public speaker, and Fintech thought-Leader
“Powerful. Actionable. And entertaining! What more could you want from a book that helps you live your life purposes and reduce your stress? Highly recommended!”
—Eric Maisel, author of Choose Your Life Purposes
“Get Stuff Done without the Stress is a refreshingly compassionate approach to productivity that transforms how we think about managing our time and achieving our goals. Rather than pushing readers toward burnout through toxic hustle culture, Risa Williams offers a revolutionary framework built on self-kindness, combining her expertise as a psychotherapist with practical tools that help readers maintain balance while making meaningful progress. Through evidence-based techniques like the Task Intensity Meter, Small Steps Journal, and Morning Reset, Williams teaches us how to break down overwhelming goals into manageable pieces while actively reducing stress and expanding our capacity for calm. Her engaging writing style and relatable examples make complex concepts accessible, while her emphasis on treating ourselves with the same compassion we show others provides a sustainable foundation for long-term success. This isn't just another productivity book—it's a gentle but powerful guide to getting things done while protecting our well-being and finding genuine joy in our accomplishments.”
—Dr. Christopher Cortman, author and psychologist
