I’ve chosen 3 books on how to stop procrastinating and reviewed them so that you don’t have to. I figured if you’re struggling with procrastination you probably can’t be bothered to trawl through the many books out there on this subject. There are hundreds. It’s a very popular subject.
READING TIME: 7 Mins.
Less Fluff More Buff - 3 BOOK REVIEWS
I couldn’t even begin to count the amount of books out there on this subject. To get the ball rolling (and before I started procrastinating due to getting overwhelmed), I decided on some criteria the books had to include the following 3 pieces of criteria:
(1) The books had to be short and concise.
Some books on the subject can be too long (with a lot of fluff) and I didn’t want the length of the book to put you off reading it!
(2) Easy to follow with practical tips to take powerful action (the buff).
(3) Books with overall ratings of between 4-5 stars (from existing customers) on both Amazon and GoodReads.com.
Disclaimer: *The pros and cons are based on existing customers opinions from both sites.
Eventually I chose the following 3 books.
Stop Procrastinating: A Simple Guide To Hacking Laziness, Building Self Discipline, And Overcoming Procrastination
Author: Nils Salzgeber
Total Pages: 115
Cheapest Place to Buy: Amazon
Available in: Paperback, Kindle
My Rating: 2.5 / 3
If you enjoy hearing relatable stories then this book will appeal to you. Salzgeber offers his own experiences with procrastination and you feel that he “gets it”. It’s like he has written the book for you.
Getting right down to it, he tells you why you procrastinate – it’s emotional. In my article What Is Procrastination About? I shared my experience and for me it was all in my mind and how I felt about myself.
Is there a cymbal-banging monkey in your mind?
Using an analogy from Tim Urban’s Ted Talk he tells us there is a part of us that does not want to do the things we are putting off. The analogy is of a cymbal-banging monkey in your mind that seeks pleasure and immediate gratification. When you want to do something for long term success, e.g. go to the gym, write or study the monkey offers up watching TV and a “do it later” attitude. The monkey pulls your attention away from what it sees as the boring, difficult stuff.
In other words, he said that procrastination = your rational self battling with your monkey self.
At the end of each chapter there are practical exercises to do. Taking action while you are still reading is therefore possible and I would highly recommend it. Start as you mean to go on. You started reading, why not do something with that knowledge as soon as possible?
Pros: Gets to the point quickly and tells you why you procrastinate. Easy to follow and delivered in a sincere and engaging way. Hugely practical with lots of exercises to complete.
Cons: Some people found the book repetitive and too short book without any ground breaking information.
Customer Reviews For Stop Procrastinating
Customer comments taken from Amazon (orange border) and GoodReads (green border). Includes positive and negative reviews. I couldn’t find any negative comments in GoodReads so I’ve given 3 Amazon comments. However, there were a few 1 star ratings in GoodReads but with no comments to back up the rating.
POSITIVE COMMENTS
NEGATIVE COMMENTS
The Power Of Now
Author: Eckhart Tolle
Total Pages: 236
Cheapest Place to Buy: Amazon
Available in: Hardback, Paperback, Kindle, Audio
My Rating: 3 / 3
No mention of procrastination in the title or anything similar to that, eh? What gives?
Eckhart Tolle teaches you how to be mindful and stay in your now moment and this is one way to stop procrastinating.
Being mindful is being aware of what you are thinking, feeling (emotion) and doing at any given moment.
As you watch your thoughts and stay present you realise how daft thoughts can be. And more importantly that you are NOT your thoughts. You will also stop beating yourself up about what you’ve done or what you haven’t done.
Then you can start to control your thoughts and overcome procrastination. You will feel calmer, responding to situations rather than reacting. And you will make better decisions.
Pros: You learn how to become mindful and stay in your day, not floating off into the past or future. Being present with yourself, whole mind shift is possible for you if you decide to become mindful. One customer said it gave them a new perspective. Consistently being mindful will change your whole life, in all areas and not just with procrastination.
Cons: There were some comments from people saying it was too esoteric for them or that they found the author’s message difficult to grasp. Some found the author condescending in his approach.
Customer Reviews For The Power Of Now
Customer comments taken from Amazon (orange border) and GoodReads (green border). Includes positive and negative reviews.
POSITIVE COMMENTS
NEGATIVE COMMENTS
Solving The Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide To Strategies For Change
Author: Timothy A Pychyl
Total Pages: 128
Cheapest Place to Buy: Amazon
Available in: Paperback, Kindle
My Rating: 2 / 3
Psychologist Dr Pychyl has been studying procrastination for over 20 years and has come to a conclusion. Fix your procrastination by managing your emotions and moods.
The cymbal-banging monkey analogy I talked about in the first book review is known as Cognitive Dissonance, in psychology terms.
Cognitive Dissonance means when we hold 2 contradictory views or beliefs. For example, we put off doing things even though we know it will lead us to our future goals.
Dr Pychyl states we need to break the cycle by changing our thoughts or actions. He says to Just Start It. Instead of thinking, Just Do It. Because Just Do It smacks of having to do the whole thing now. No, he says, all you have to do is Just Start It.
Speaking from experience, this does work. I talked about it in my procrastination article. I kind of play a game with myself. I set my alarm for 45 minutes and tell myself I will just start the thing and stop when the alarm goes off. Usually, I’m so into it by then that I just continue doing it.
Pros: Short and concise, gives the psychological reasons why we procrastinate. Great if you need to just get started on something quickly. Exercises are given so that you can start to stop procrastinating.
Cons: For some, even though they felt the book was good, they wanted more motivation and strategies. They felt the only take-away was “recognise when you procrastinate and just start the task you are avoiding”.
Customer Comments For Solving The Procrastination Puzzle
Customer comments taken from Amazon (orange border) and GoodReads (green border). Includes positive and negative reviews.
POSITIVE COMMENTS
NEGATIVE COMMENTS
The Guy Next Door, The Peaceful Teacher Or The Psychologist?
Pick a book depending on what stye you like and how you like to learn. Do you prefer the guy next door approach or the peaceful teacher? Or maybe a more academic point of view?
The Guy Next Door
Do you want the guy next door telling you about his own procrastination issues in a fun and engaging way and how he overcame them? Plus provide you with lots of practical exercises to use in your life so that you can get out of your funk?
The Peaceful Teacher
Do you want to cure your procrastination issues by going a little deeper into how you tick and also find out how being mindful can improve all areas of your life, not just procrastination?
THEN CHOOSE – The Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle
The Psychologist
Do you like to learn from academics? Then Dr Timothy A Pychyl’s book is for you. He has created a short and insightful book from studying procrastination for over 20 years. He tells you why and how to recognize when you are procrastinating. The Start It Now technique is super useful and he gives you instructions on how to implement his ideas into your life.
THEN CHOOSE – Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change by Timothy A Pychyl
REVIEW At A Glance
STOP PROCRASTINATING
Author: Nils Salzgeber
Total Pages: 115
Cheapest Place to Buy: Amazon
Available in: Paperback, Kindle
My Rating: 2.5 / 3
THE POWER OF NOW
Author: Eckhart Tolle
Total Pages: 236
Cheapest Place to Buy: Amazon
Available in: Hardback, Paperback, Kindle, Audio
My Rating: 3 / 3
SOLVING THE PROCRASTINATION PUZZLE
Author: Timothy A Pychyl
Total Pages: 128
Cheapest Place to Buy: Amazon
Available in: Paperback, Kindle
My Rating: 2 / 3
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that all 3 books give you great advice that will catapult you forward in life, if you take action.
I suppose it depends where you are in life right now and what the impact on your life is due to your procrastination habits. I know from experience that sometimes we get so far into the procrastinating it can be difficult to get.
Look, if you are not ready to buy a book yet I can suggest reading my dedicated article on procrastination as I do point out the difference between procrastination and laziness. Maybe you are beating yourself and calling yourself lazy? Stop that now anyway. There’s a free cute poster stating the difference that you can download. Do that, it sounds more like a fun thing to do to get you doing something, right?
IT IS POSSIBLE for YOU to Stop procrastinating – Believe it!
The name of The Game is Experience so let us experience Connecting and Sharing.
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