I am an overthinker, I always have been. In my 23 years, I've developed strategies to combat my overthinking, and I think many overthinkers do this themselves too. I thought the premise of Anne's book was so interesting, maybe she'd have some insight in additional ways to stop overthinking! And she did, kind of. Except, this could have been a blog post or a series of blog posts. The questions she asked at the end of each chapter were thought provoking (but again, can be done in a blog post). Then, there were the repetitious stories. By halfway through, I was so sick of "I'm an overthinker, here's an example of me overthinking and how I handled that" and when she didn't have an example for her overthinking - she shared how her friends overthink. We didn't need that many stories, and we didn't need that many chapters. The book felt like was covering the same concepts over and over again, and just talking about herself, and AGAIN this could have been a "here's xx steps to stop overthinking, and some questions to really get you thinking about your overthinking patterns and how to overcome them". I do not recommend this book, unless you are truly STUCK in an overthinking pattern and want some tools to get out of it (and then just skim it - or google and see if someone has just made a list).

In "Don't Overthink It" writer (and professional reader) Anne Bogel uses her experience as a recovering chronic overthinker to help readers break their own bad overthinking habits. I knew this book was for me early in the first chapter when I read one of Anne's definitions of what overthinking looks like: "Sometimes it looks like worry. We might feel stuck reviewing something we've done in the past or imagining something that might happen in the future. ... We might lie awake at night wondering what our friends think of us or if a loved one seems tired of us or if our library fines are getting really and truly out of control." After reading this, I immediately wondered how it was possible for Anne to have looked inside my head! Anne's book reinforces an idea I have found to be true: that our thoughts have a huge effect on how we live our lives, and we must "learn to tend our thoughts with care." If, like Anne and me, you have found yourself losing sleep at night over a short email from a colleague or boss; stood in an aisle at Target for an inordinate amount of time trying to decide between two brands of granola bar; or put flowers in your cart at the grocery store, then put them back, then picked them up again all while debating their $5 price tag, then your life will be changed for the better by reading "Don't Overthink It."

Don't Overthink It helps you recognize and overcome the many ways you're expending extra time and energy on overthinking. Each chapter ends with several questions to help you apply what you're reading and learning. I didn't realize how often I was holding inner arguments with myself until I started reading this. Last week I caught myself beginning to spiral into all the "what ifs" and "should I" questions and was able to stop myself, weigh my options, and make a decision within minutes! I really appreciate chapter 4 about aligning decision-making with my values. Anne presented excellent questions at the end of the chapter to help me think through what I truly value. Wouldn't we all like to make decisions based on our values? Stop overthinking it, just get the book!

The biggest thing that I got out of this book was the feeling that Anne understood me and was reading my mind. If you struggle with overthinking the small decisions (like whether to indulge in a small treat), this is a great starting resource. It introduces the concept of overthinking and examples of what that looks like. Each chapter has tips you can start using right now and there is an extensive list of additional books she refers you to if you want to delve more into a specific area of overthinking. I preferred this book to her other book I'd Rather Be Reading, but that's likely because I related to this topic more than to personality types that was the focus of the first book.

Anne Bogel always has such perceptive insights on people's personalities. This book didn't necessarily break any untrod ground, but it was a lovely and concise way to talk about an ingrained tendency to overthink.

Loved this book! It made so much sense, helped me to see where I am overthinking and what I can do about it. A really helpful book.

I am a chronic overthinker. If there is something to think too much about, I’ve probably thought about it.
As someone who struggles with anxiety and decision making, this book was such a gem that came at exactly the right time in my life. Anne Bogel offers explanations as to why we overthink things, and then gives practical steps to break those habits. The thing I liked most is that there are no huge steps to take. She offers baby steps so that when I find myself tasked with a decision to make, I can remind myself just to take one baby step, instead of spiraling down the same path I’ve always gone with thinking, re-thinking, questioning myself, etc. I highly recommend this book for anyone who struggles with decision-making!

I preordered this book, but I am also so thankful to Baker Books for the early eARC of Dont Overthink It.

Practical Tools for Overthinkers
Anne Bogel with her personal touch really gets to the heart of what overthinking looks like and gives the reader real time tools to help them relearn and change this sometimes crippling behavior.
This was not the book I was in the the "mood" to read but this was a book I needed to read. Some of the tips I gleaned from this book have already come into play in my life. The reflective questions at the end of the chapters were great!

#Bookstagram
MMD March 2020 Book Club Selection
Finished: February 13, 2020
Genre: Non Fiction

I'm a perfectionist by nature. Analysis paralysis, overthinking, whipping myself into a frenzy over a decision- all things I'm guilty as charged. Every choice I face, I take seriously, maybe too seriously! I agonize over it, research it, ruminate and take an eternity to reach a decision. Many times, I'm not even be able to make a decision. I become excessively concerned or afraid to chose wrong, leaving me feeling overwhelmed. Then, even worse, after I've finally made "said decision", I spend weeks wondering if it was the "right" choice. Reading this book I discovered "....perfectionism and OVERTHINKING go hand in hand!" Imagine that! Also, "Perfectionism makes us critical, uptight and generally not fun to be around." I don't want to be that person. I'm very excited about this book. This book opened my eyes to a different way to approach the decision making process. I gained an amazing amount of insight, I took notes and highlighted the heck out of it. It starts with baby steps. Wish me luck in trying to become a better human. If this book resonates with anyone else, I'd strongly recommend you grab a copy.

Final Rating Excellent *****

Another lovely book by Anne Bogel. Her books make great gifts for readers and this is no exception. Don’t Overthink It gives the reader practical ideas on how to make decisions, a topic I didn’t know I needed until I read it.

Anything Anne touches seems to turn to gold, but this one in particular is CHOCK FULL of gold nuggets. I have thought about this book for weeks afterward, a sign of an excellent and well-thought “self-help” book.

I'm a proud member of the Mrs Darcy podcast fan-club, so i had ordered this kindle book early in addition to requesting the ARC which was such an uplifting and motivating read. Like many I have struggled with overthinking or having thoughts run through my head mostly when I am trying to sleep at night. I'm looking forward to trying out some of Anne's steps to overcome overthinking. I especially like the idea of the 2pm break from work for 15 to 20 minutes to get refreshed. When I finished the book I felt seen and encouraged that I can break the cycle and that I'm worthy. I will be buying flowers and won't be overthinking them!

Prior to reading this book, I'm not sure I would have called myself an overthinker. However, now I see these moments when I get stuck numerous times a day! This is a great book to help break the cycle or spiral and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to add efficiency to their daily lives, decrease their worrying, or lessen the time needed to make a decision!

As a chronic overthinker, I had a hard time starting this book because I wanted to be in the right mindset. Well, once I realized that's what I was doing and was a few pages in, I decided to stop questioning whether now was the right time to read, and instead just go for it.
To say I enjoyed this book and find value in it is an understatement. I found this book to be full of practical tips to help make decisions easier, while not demanding this was the "right way" to do things. Bogel suggests finding what is best for you and in the process streamlining things by making routines rituals when possible.
While I am not one that needs to have fresh flowers in the house, I plan on taking her advice to splurge on things that bring joy to my life.

I love Anne Bogel’s approach to life in this book. It may seem like a small thing, but overthinking can be really draining. Bogel offers practical tips that work for any lifestyle and budget. She includes helpful questions at the end of each chapter to prompt the reader to explore the topic in their lives more deeply (without overthinking it). I look forward to her next book and am a big fan of her blog Modern Mrs. Darcy and the What Should I Read Next? Podcast.

**Thank you to Netgalley for the and Anne Bogel for the review copy* I also bought a copy of the book.

Anne Bogel is best known for her lifestyle blog, Modern Mrs. Darcy as well as her ultra-popular podcast for readers, What Should I Read Next?. She is a book whisperer, a lover of decaf coffee, her dog Daisy, and of course, books. She has written books on her love of reading, reading people’s personalities, and now a book on overthinking, or how to stop doing it.

I feel like this book was written for me at the right time. I’m a classic overthinker. I’m the kind that will wake up at 3:00 AM and rethink or replay a prior conversation, an event, or a situation I was involved in. I will stew about a decision that needs to be made….no matter how small or large (including if I should just get up and go to the bathroom or if I can wait until my alarm goes off) that decision is. I like getting lots of opinions for others and that usually only create more overthinking rather than less. These situations and more are what Bogel addresses in her newest book.

In probably her most popular chapter, Bogel addresses the overthinking that happens at her favorite Trader Joe’s. If you aren’t familiar with TJ’s, they have the loveliest bouquets of flowers and the cutest plants at the store’s entrance. The best part is those flowers and plants are very reasonably priced. You can get a bunch of daffodils for $1.99 or a beautiful bouquet of various stem flowers for $4.99. But, Anne, like many of the rest of us, talk ourselves out of getting the flowers. Yes they are lovely. Yes they are cheap. Yes, I know exactly what vase I would put them in when I get home. But, yet, we don’t buy them because they aren’t a necessity, they aren’t what I came to the store to get, those flowers are not on my list. But, Anne says, #Buytheflowers. Treat yourself once in awhile and bring the joy home. Maybe for you that joy isn’t flowers, but a dish of ice cream, or a car wash, or a bottle of wine. Whatever it is, it’s okay to say “Yes” to the flowers. In fact, I have taken this advice and I recently bought some of my favorite pens in some new fun spring colors and not surprisingly, I smile every time I use them.

I resonated with Bogel’s chapter on decision fatigue. I have felt like I couldn’t make one more decision when we were remodeling our house. I remember feeling that way about choosing the menu for our son’s graduation party. Our minds make hundreds of decisions a day: what time to get up, what outfit to wear, what to have for breakfast, what route to take to work, which book to read next, which email to answer first, etc. I could go on and on with the amount of decisions to make every single day. Most of these sound pretty simple, but sometimes the amount of decisions we have to make can be overwhelming, no matter how simple. Bogel offered examples of having only a capsule wardrobe to simplify the choice of what to wear each day. Eating mostly the same food for lunch every day also alleviates one daily decision. Removing these daily decisions can help us make the bigger decisions not feel so overwhelming.

I appreciated Bogel’s idea that your morning ritual sets the tone for your whole day. So, if your routine involves overthinking, you are robbing yourself of the peace of that morning routine. I related to this idea when I was listening to negative, difficult, or hard-to-listen-to books in the morning. They were books I wanted to read/listen to, but their heavy tone set my day off in a way that wasn’t pleasant and caused me to start the day feeling tense. I now save those books for a different time in my day and try to start the day listening to books or podcasts that make me happy.

These are just a couple of the many tips and highlights I took away from reading DON’T OVERTHINK IT. Even if you don’t feel like you overthink decisions, there are still many takeaways from this book. Each chapter ends with a series of “Next Steps”, featuring deep-dive questions to ask yourself. You can write your thoughts in the space provided in the book or take your answers to a journal. Either way, it gets you thinking deeper about that chapter’s topic and how to change the process that drives overthinking.

This is not the type of book that I can read quickly. It IS the type of book that I read in small spurts and stop to contemplate as I read. I spent a lot of time chasing ideas and making comparisons in my head to my own life situation. I consider this a good thing as most times with self help books I spend my time saying "Been there. Tried that." This book not only suggests what to do but gives you such good real life examples of why that you come to a greater understand of your own dynamic. With understanding comes the opportunity to fine tune your response and start to change these habits in tiny ways that stick. That is what makes this book a true self help book that needs to be digested slowly to be effective.

Guys, I’m pretty sure Anne can read minds…

I’m a worrier and have always been one. I thought I was getting better at it but then I read Don’t Overthink It and realized that I was lying to myself because Anne was talking about her overthinking problem and was describing me almost EXACTLY!?!
What I love about Anne’s writing style in all her books is that she gives you the science and research without it ever being dull or droning on, but she also gives you real, concrete examples. You know what the best part is? Anne gives you tips and tools to help you realize what you are doing and to help you stop the cycle so you can enjoy your life!
As a perfectionist who always agonizes over making decisions out of fear of being “wrong”, Don’t Overthink It asks some tough questions but also gave me answers to help me be kinder to myself. Every little decision should not be life altering! You can make smart, practical decisions quickly and not beat yourself up over them for days afterwards…who knew? 
Thanks, Anne, for giving this perfectionist some breathing room!

A well written, well planned and presented book on over thinking. Are you guilty of over-thinking? Most likely in some area or another! And if you think you're not just be aware of yourself for a day and see. I found myself debating whether I'd roast or put the chicken in the crock pot for today's meal. Too much mental energy expended.

With wonderfully real examples Anne Bogel depicts the over thinking that many of us engage in (from time to time) and gives us tips to manage this little habit that robs us of energy and time. In one place it had me chuckling out loud. Anne doesn't spare herself.

It's a book I'll dip into again, exploring some of her references as well.

Great Book. Well written. I never thought I was an over-thinker, just a worrier. While reading this book I was able to put myself into the examples and learn some new techniques for stopping the madness that is over-thinking. I did find some of the examples and chapters a bit long. At times the author seemed to too many examples to define a point she was trying to make. But overall I found the book easy to read and very thought-provoking. I would give it 4 stars. I definitely recommend the read!.