I recently went through How to Fix Your Sh*t: A Straightforward Guide to a Better Life by Sháá Wasmund, and I liked one thing about it immediately: it doesn’t try to make self-improvement more complicated than it needs to be.
The main idea is simple.
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Most of us already know at least some of the things we should be doing.
We know we should exercise more, spend less, stop procrastinating, improve our relationships, get our work under control, or finally start the project we have been talking about for months.
The problem is usually not a lack of information.
The problem is actually doing something about it.
This book focuses heavily on that gap between knowing what you want to change and actually changing it.
I took notes while going through the book and also created a free printable workbook based on its main ideas so you can actually work through them instead of just reading another self-help book and forgetting everything a week later.
Free How to Fix Your Sh*t Workbook
I created a companion workbook with exercises, reflection questions, writing space, planning pages and a 30-day action section.
You can download it completely free here:
👉 [DOWNLOAD THE FREE WORKBOOK HERE]
Replace the text above with your download link.
The workbook is not a copy of the book. It is my own practical companion based on the key ideas and themes I took away from it.
Now, here are the lessons that stood out to me the most.
1. Stop Waiting Until You Feel Ready
This is probably one of the most important ideas in the entire book.
We often convince ourselves that we will start once something changes.
I'll start exercising when work gets quieter.
I'll start that business once I know more.
I'll fix my finances when I earn more.
I'll start reading when I have more free time.
I'll deal with that problem next week.
The problem is that the perfect moment rarely arrives.
There will nearly always be another reason to delay.
Sometimes you have to start while you still feel uncertain, unmotivated or unprepared.
You don't need to have everything figured out before taking the first step.
2. Ask Yourself Whether You Actually Want It
There is a big difference between:
"It would be nice if..."
and
"I genuinely want this enough to change my behaviour."
A lot of goals sound good.
Being fitter sounds good.
Having more money sounds good.
Building a business sounds good.
Reading 50 books a year sounds good.
But every goal comes with a cost.
Getting fitter might mean giving up part of your evening.
Saving money might mean buying fewer things.
Building something successful might require hundreds of hours of boring work before you see results.
The important question isn't only:
What do I want?
It is also:
What am I willing to do consistently to get it?
That question eliminates a lot of fake goals.
3. Look at What Happens If Nothing Changes
This is a powerful exercise.
Instead of only imagining how good life could become if you changed, imagine what happens if you don't.
What happens if you continue exactly as you are for:
- 6 months?
- 1 year?
- 5 years?
Sometimes future pain is more motivating than future rewards.
If you're unhappy with something today but continue repeating the exact same behaviour, it probably won't magically improve.
This forces you to confront the cost of doing nothing.
4. Your Excuses Can Sound Very Reasonable
One thing I like about this type of book is that it makes you question the stories you tell yourself.
Excuses aren't always obvious.
Sometimes they sound completely logical.
"I don't have enough time."
"I need to research it first."
"I don't have the right equipment."
"I'm too tired."
"I'll start Monday."
"I don't know enough yet."
Some of those things may even be true.
But the better question is:
What can I still do despite that limitation?
Maybe you can't work on something for three hours.
Can you work on it for 20 minutes?
Maybe you can't afford the perfect equipment.
Can you start with what you already have?
Maybe you don't know everything.
Can you learn the next thing you need?
Progress often starts when you stop asking why you can't do something and start asking what you can do.
5. Perfectionism Is Often Procrastination in Disguise
This one hit home for me.
It's easy to convince yourself that you're being productive when you're actually avoiding publishing, launching or finishing something.
You keep researching.
You keep improving.
You keep redesigning.
You keep planning.
You keep waiting.
And nothing actually goes live.
A mediocre first version that exists is usually more valuable than a perfect version that never gets released.
You can improve something once it exists.
You can't improve something that remains inside your head.
6. Action Usually Comes Before Motivation
We often think the process works like this:
Motivation → Action → Results
But in reality, it frequently works like this:
Small Action → Momentum → Motivation → More Action
Waiting for motivation can keep you stuck for a very long time.
Instead, make the first action almost ridiculously easy.
Don't tell yourself:
"I'm going to exercise for an hour."
Tell yourself:
"I'm going to do five minutes."
Don't say:
"I'm going to write 2,000 words."
Write 100.
Don't say:
"I'm going to completely reorganize my finances tonight."
Open your bank account and look at the last 10 transactions.
Starting is often the hardest part.
Once you're moving, continuing becomes easier.
7. Take Responsibility for What You Can Control
There are many things in life you can't control.
You can't control the economy.
You can't control other people's behaviour.
You can't control every problem that appears.
You can't control your past.
But you can control your next decision.
That doesn't mean pretending external problems don't exist.
It means focusing your energy on the part of the situation where your actions actually matter.
Instead of constantly asking:
"Why is this happening to me?"
Try asking:
"What can I do next?"
That small change in thinking can be surprisingly useful.
8. Pay Attention to Self-Sabotage
Sometimes the problem isn't that we don't know what to do.
We know exactly what to do.
And then we do the opposite.
You say you want to save money but keep impulse buying.
You say you want to get fit but repeatedly skip workouts.
You say you want to build something but spend the evening scrolling your phone.
You say you want to improve your sleep but stay up another two hours watching videos.
Self-sabotage is worth examining because there is usually a trigger behind it.
Boredom.
Stress.
Fear.
Comfort.
Avoidance.
Habit.
Instead of simply saying "I have no discipline," ask:
What usually happens immediately before I make the decision I regret?
Finding the trigger makes the behaviour much easier to change.
9. Stop Letting One Mistake Destroy the Entire Plan
People often have an all-or-nothing mindset.
You miss one workout.
Now the entire week is ruined.
You eat badly once.
The diet is over.
You spend €100 unnecessarily.
The budget is destroyed.
You procrastinate for one afternoon.
The entire day is wasted.
That thinking causes more damage than the original mistake.
One bad decision does not require a second bad decision.
Reset immediately.
The faster you learn to recover, the less important individual failures become.
10. Fear Doesn't Automatically Mean You Should Stop
Fear is useful when there is genuine danger.
But fear also appears when you're doing something unfamiliar.
Applying for a better job.
Starting a business.
Publishing something online.
Going to the gym for the first time.
Talking to someone new.
Changing career.
Making a big decision.
Feeling uncomfortable doesn't necessarily mean you're making the wrong decision.
Sometimes discomfort simply means you're doing something new.
A useful question is:
Am I avoiding this because it's genuinely a bad idea, or because I'm afraid of being uncomfortable?
11. Ask for Help
Trying to solve everything yourself can become another form of procrastination.
Someone else may already know the answer.
Ask.
Get feedback.
Talk to someone who has already done what you're trying to do.
Hire someone when it makes sense.
Use communities.
Use books.
Use online resources.
Use AI.
Learning from other people can save months of unnecessary trial and error.
Independence is useful.
Refusing help isn't always independence.
12. Improve the Major Areas of Your Life Separately
One thing I liked about the structure of the book is that it doesn't treat "fixing your life" as one gigantic problem.
You can break it into areas.
Life
What are you unhappy with?
What feels missing?
What are you avoiding?
Money
Where is your money actually going?
What financial behaviour needs to change?
What would make your finances less stressful?
Relationships
Which relationships improve your life?
Which ones constantly drain you?
Are there conversations you're avoiding?
Health
Are you sleeping enough?
Moving enough?
Eating reasonably?
Ignoring something you know you should deal with?
Work
Do you enjoy what you're doing?
Are you learning?
Are you progressing?
Are you staying somewhere simply because changing feels difficult?
Instead of thinking:
"My whole life is a mess."
Choose one category.
Then choose one problem.
Then choose one action.
That is much easier to deal with.
My Biggest Takeaway From How to Fix Your Sh*t
If I had to reduce the entire book to one idea, it would be:
Stop trying to fix your entire life at once. Identify the biggest problem you can actually influence, choose one action, and start.
Reading self-help books can become its own form of procrastination.
You read.
You highlight.
You feel motivated.
Then three days later nothing has changed.
The useful part starts when you close the book.
Pick something.
Do something.
Measure what happens.
Adjust.
Repeat.
A Simple Exercise You Can Do Right Now
Take a piece of paper and answer these five questions:
- What is currently bothering me the most?
- What part of this problem can I control?
- What have I been avoiding doing?
- What is the smallest useful action I could take today?
- When exactly am I going to do it?
Don't create a six-month transformation plan.
Just answer those questions and complete the first action.
Then decide what comes next.
Download My Free How to Fix Your Sh*t Companion Workbook
I wanted something more practical than simply keeping notes from the book, so I created a workbook that you can actually fill in.
It includes:
- Reflection exercises
- Goal-setting pages
- Life audit questions
- Money reflection
- Relationship review
- Health review
- Work and career questions
- Self-sabotage analysis
- Fear and excuse exercises
- Action planning
- 30-day improvement plan
- Weekly progress tracking
- Reset plan for when you fall off track
- Space for your own notes
You can download it free below.
👉 [DOWNLOAD THE FREE HOW TO FIX YOUR SH*T WORKBOOK]
You can use it digitally or print it and fill it in by hand.
Final Thoughts
How to Fix Your Sht* isn't about discovering some secret life strategy.
A lot of its power comes from reminding you of something you probably already know:
You can spend years thinking about changing something without actually changing it.
Eventually you have to act.
Not perfectly.
Not when everything lines up.
Not when you suddenly become incredibly motivated.
Just start with the next useful action.
Then do another one tomorrow.
That's usually how things actually begin to change.