I wish that I could recommend this book to my Freshman self, because the program is already working for me (Medical School Application).

Fiore puts forth the thesis that procrastination is a defense mechanism that people use to escape the anxiety they feel for large looming projects. They are afraid of producing inadequate work and they are afraid of being judged harshly for failing. It isn't laziness that drives the procrastinator to procrastinate, rather, it is the negative self-talk: the should've's and have-to's, the feeling of being trapped, an inability to accurately keep track of time spent, and a temporary reprieve from all of the suffering that the procrastinator must deal with.

So how does one beat procrastination, this learned behavior that we engage in to get away from self-imposed criticism and anguish? Fiore suggests starting with changing the way you talk to yourself. Always choose to do things because you choose to do them, not because you have to. You'll feel less trapped that way. Next, schedule all the things you do in a day EXCEPT the work you intend on completing (he calls this the Unschedule). This will give you a realistic glimpse of your day so that you don't schedule things that you are likely to fail to do. After that, compose an exhaustive list of all the tasks that you need to complete in order to complete the project, organize them by chronology, and write them backwards, starting with your finished product and working your way back to your current situation. This "reverse calendar" should provide a realistic roadmap to your ultimate goal. By breaking the project into small chunks, you are increasing the probability that you are going to get started on each task, especially if you build a "winning streak"

Fiore goes on to explain that we become most productive when we stick to a schedule of mandatory fun. By scheduling tennis, horseback riding, camping, frisbee, biking and other fun things, you structure your days around fun. You fit your work time around these fun things, trying to hit a certain number of work hours everyday. The goal is to START as often as possible, not finish. When you think of finishing things, you think of overwhelming and indefinite goals in the future, which can be self-defeating. It is better to think of work as a series of tasks with immediate and tangible goals, which is obviously more motivating.

Fiore also provides focusing exercises that I found helpful. They take about two minutes to do and leave you feeling invigorated right before you start to work.

I recommend this to anyone who is having trouble with procrastination. Totally worthwhile read.

original review Jan 13, 2013

The whole book was one big "THIS!!". Interspersed with a few "Fuck! I'm such a doofus" moments.

****

book +36 hours

-completed a draft of an article I've been avoiding since November
-emailed someone I've been dodging for ten days
-joined a gym and went once (this is a different kettle of fish from joining a gym and going a sustained 4+ times a week; please check back)
-Completed a work review I have put off since December
-completed a task due last November

update 21 Sep 2015

this book didn't make my life perfect, but it really did change me for the better.

I changed my job
I allow myself to have things that make me happy
I moved to my dream condo (I have a pool! I wanted a pool my whole life but figured I didn't deserve one. Now I have one! Eeeeee!)
I earn more money
I'm healthier
I completed several important personal projects
I still go to the gym
I restarted a recreational activity I love
I gave up ownership of some problems that were making me miserable and guilty


I still struggle with giving myself free time, because I don't feel I've earned it, but I keep working on it. I struggle with completing personal tasks, as I give priority to work tasks, but I'm working on that too.

I still give this 5 stars

4.5 "helpful, systematic, encouraging" stars !!

2017 Honorable Mention Read

I am a closet procrastinator. My friends do not know that I am., but my partner and family are well aware of it. Procrastination has become quite severe over the past three years to the point that I am tired much of the time and needing more and more rest despite not really increasing my productivity.

This book was immensely helpful to me and I am already turning things around and hope to continue doing so. Through reflection and implementing these strategies I have discovered that I am not lazy or unmotivated but rather have way too many demands and most of those are self-imposed.

I am not a perfectionist either but the fact of the matter is that all the projects that I am involved in both work and leisure spheres are not necessary to my well-being and in fact are causing unnecessary stress. This book has helped me come up with a plan to get my time under control, prioritize my tasks, schedule in more free time and most important helped me understand that I can let many things go in order to improve my quality of life. I do not need to have both a full time job and a side business. I do not need to have the income as we have everything we need and can greatly cut down on our expenses so that we don't have to work as much.

In a few short weeks, my sense of ease has increased and my knowledge that what I set my mind to do I can accomplish while letting a lot of other obligations and time wasters go.

The book takes the reader through a wide variety of strategies, examples and explanations that will be helpful to anybody that procrastinates from an occasional basis to those that are heavily oppressed by this very difficult human problem.

My one small issue with the book is that all of his case studies tended to be those that work in business or sales and it would have been helpful to have a wider variety of occupations and professions looked at.

There is also a very helpful chapter for managers in how to deal with procrastination in their employees as management styles are often the main culprit in procrastination in subordinates.

This book was mildly life-changing for me and for that Dr. Fiore I am very thankful !!

I'm not usually one to read a bunch of self help sort of books, though I occasionally will run through one on a recommendation, such as the odd finance book about getting debt under control. But, despite other problems that I have in life the single biggest, hands down, is procrastination.

People who don't procrastinate will look at a procrastinator and see only that that person is either not working hard enough or putting off work. They don't procrastinate and as such don't understand the motivations and reasons behind why someone would. So they demand "get to work" and "just do it" and "work harder" which more often than not will just cause more procrastination.

This book is the first I've ever come across that actually understands procrastination. Reading through its pages I found myself nodding my head a lot because it described my internal struggle with work almost perfectly. And more importantly, the methods and exercises it provides for battling procrastination seem perfectly valid and easily doable. I've already started changing my habits by simply recognizing when I'm headed toward procrastination and being able to head it off before it happens.

And most importantly, this book isn't just about working harder. It's about working better and integrating play into your schedule because it recognizes the single most important element to procrastination - the reason we get bummed out and piddle around is the prospect that work is going to take away time from play. So by putting play on your schedule first and building work around play, you flip the whole thing on its head.

The only hesitation I had in giving this 5 stars is that the last couple of chapters delve into the sort of hippy zen breathing chanting mantra type stuff that I tend to loath in self help books. But up until that point it was an excellent book, and really you can ignore that part and still get a lot out of it.

Quite cool.

Oh my gosh, I'm in such a quandary. I know I never get round to things and overthink things to the extent that action become a distant concept. I need help. I recognise that. This book looks like it could help.

But before I found it, I was checking out this one, The Thief of Time: Philosophical Essays on Procrastination and now I don't know which one to get. I'll have to think about it and hopefully decide before next week's book order goes in. Or the one after that.

Maybe I should look for more books on the subject, see if any of them can help me make up my mind.

That's something to think on. I'm going to make a cup of coffee.

Update I did buy several books on procrastination for the shop, but couldn't make up my mind which to take home to read. It was very anxiety-producing. Luckily I sold them and didn't reorder. Can't handle that kind of pressure!

Most books that claim to help you with procrastination boil down to: get organized, make a list, get off your butt and do your work. Unlike those, this book is very helpful. It starts by explaining why people procrastinate. It's not because we're lazy, it's because procrastination rewards us in one way or another (ex. if you delay a task, sometimes it will turn out not to have been necessary at all, so not doing it saved you some pointless work. Goofing off is more fun than work. If you wait until the last minute, if your work isn't perfect, you have a built-in excuse to not consider that a reflection on you--you would have done better if you had had more time). So the trick is to find a way to make work less scary and more rewarding than procrastinating.

5 blocks to productivity:
- "I have to..." No, you can choose to do it or choose the consequences of not doing it. Same with "I should..." Forget that--make a decision, do it, or don't do it.
- "I must finish." Don't think about that, it's too overwhelming and far off. Instead, think about how to get started on one little piece, any little piece. And forget worrying about the perfect starting point, just start somewhere. Start at the next possible opportunity. Keep starting more and more little pieces, and eventually they'll add up to progress.
- "This is too big." Again, stay away from the big picture if it scares you. Look for one small step you can take next.
- "I must be perfect." No. I can be human. Nobody is perfect.
- "I don't have time to play." Actually, you'll do better work if you take care of yourself and make time to play. Replace this with "I must take time to play."

To summarize, make a schedule for the week. Don't write any time for work in, just write in all the time you have blocked off for lunch, sleep, commuting, taking a shower, exercise, meetings, and fun stuff. Block off all that time--it is unavailable for work. Then, as you go through the work day, every time you work for half an hour uninterrupted, give yourself credit for that on your schedule. Also note what you did with the rest of the time, and use that information to see how you could manage your time better. But the keys are
- don't write work on the schedule until you've done it
- reward yourself with a little break or something every time you finish a good half hour
- pepper the schedule with stuff to look forward to
- do not work more than 5 hours a day or 20 hours a week

Great stuff--has really helped me.

Great advice and well researched. Really help with focusing on small pieces of work and accomplishments. Not sure if some of the advice would be feasible in a high pressure work environment.

This book had some new ideas on productivity. Here are the top ten ideas I generated from this book:
- The 30 minute action rule - Asks what’s important and just put aside 30 minutes (or 15 mins) of your time to work on it. You’ll start gaining momentum and then you’ll keep rolling.
- To enter the flow state during your work, start by quick 5 minutes focusing meditation. Also, dedicate about 20 minutes a day to meditation in the morning or evening.
- Make Play a Priority. "All work and no play makes jack a dull boy.” This phrase is true. Schedule time for play and fun to make your day more productive.
- ThinK of what mental blocks are stoping you from taking action. Focus on it and know that it is just physiological and then overcome it.
- Fear of failure, criticism, not finishing - these are the fears that most people have which stops them from having success in life.
- Eat the ugliest frog first. This way everything will be downhill and easier.
- Become a Producer, not a Procrastinator.
- The reverse calendar technique - The reverse calendar starts with the ultimate deadline and then moves back, step by step, to the present where you can focus your energy on starting.
- Give positive feedback and constructive criticism. This is the characteristic of a true leader.
- Replace:
- I have to > I chose to
- I must finish > When can I start?
- This is so big > I can take one small step
- I must be perfect > I can be human
- I don’t have time to play > I will make time for play
- Work of Worring question:
- What is the worst that could happen?
- What would I do if the worst really happened?
- How would I lessen the pain and get on with as much happiness as possible if the worse did occur?
- What alternatives would I have?
- What can I do now to lessen the probability of this dreaded event occurring?
- Is there anything I can do now to increase my chances of achieving my goal?
- Keep on starting, and finishing will take care of itself
- Always leave at least one full day a week for recreation

The copy of this book I read had a lot of marks, highlights and notes in the first chapter, but they stopped partway through the second chapter. I found this quite amusing.

“A complete treatment of procrastination must address the underlying blocked needs that cause a person to resort to procrastination. The Now Habit starts with a new definition: Procrastination is a mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting or completing any task or decision. From this definition it follows that those most vulnerable to procrastination are those who feel the most threatened by difficulty in starting a project, criticism, failure, and the loss of other opportunities that may result from committing to one project.”

“Procrastination is not the cause of our problems with accomplishing tasks; it is an attempt to resolve a variety of underlying issues, including low self-esteem, perfectionism, fear of failure and of success, indecisiveness, an imbalance between work and play, ineffective goal-setting, and negative concepts about work and yourself.”

“These fears, Dr. Rubin says, keep us from reaching a level of life where we feel compassion and respect ourselves now—for who and where we are now. This compassion for ourselves is essential in overcoming the underlying causes of procrastination. It means understanding that procrastination is not a character defect; rather, it is an attempt— albeit an unsatisfactory one—at coping with the often incapacitating fear of having our worth held up for judgment.”

~ Neil Fiore from The Now Habit

You ever procrastinate?

Me, too. In fact, I *totally* procrastinated on writing this Note!!! (Seriously. Hehehehe. :)

If you ever find yourself procrastinating more than you’d like, I *highly* recommend the book. It was one of the first books I read on my Kindle and I highlighted nearly the whole thing.

Here are some of the Big Ideas:

1. Fears - + Unproductive relief.
2. Victim/Procrastinator? - Your call.
3. What’re You Doing - With your time?
4. Walking - Across a solid board.
5. One Small Step - And another and…

Here’s to the power of the Now Habit!

-----

Here's my video review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4A-6...

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Brian

This book makes some incredibly salient points about procrastination that have a truly transformative potential. The larger issue I took with the book is that it repeats itself WAY too much. It might simply be that many of the concepts were familiar to me from other reading, but there were times I felt I'd accidentally started reading the same chapter over again because of how familiar it felt.

It dragged on much slower than it should've as a result of this constant repetition. There are some wonderful nuggets though.

"When we associate our work with our worth, saying I am what I do, we are reluctant to face these challenges without some protection of our worth, if a judgment of my work is a judgment of me, then perfectionism and procrastination and self-criticism act as protection." - Now Habit

"Perfectionism and Self-criticism are chief causes of fear of failure." - Now Habit

"For a perfectionist, failure in work is failure of self"- Now Habit

These are all great points, alongside the "Courage is more important than success" message present in Brene's work, I'm starting to think both books could be part of a health diet for anyone struggling with perfectionism.

Despite each book's pertinence to the topics they address, I simply couldn't wholly enjoy them due to writing style and redundancy. They're still worth reading, however.