Reddit reviews Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It Now

Excellent reply. In the last round of discussing procrastination somebody posted a link to the book Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It Now in which two psychologists explain what was learned in the 25+ years they've been working on that subject.

The first part analyzes all the possible reasons for procrastination. If you suffer from procrastination, you'll often find yourself described in the many scenarios that are given and causes that are portrayed.

I'm one 3rd into the book and I feel like my eyes have been opened. I have read other books on the topic without much long-term success. What was missing was the meticulous analyzation of the reasons WHY we procrastinate - other books only scratch the surface, if even that.

Figuring out my personal reasons for procrasting alone already helped me get stuff done, yet I'm looking forward to learn even more from the rest of the book.

To give an example: I wanted to learn how to use a physics library of which the documentation seemed lacking (and does in fact lack because of a rewrite). I avoided doing that like a plague, even though it was really important to me. What I figured out by reading the book was that I had low confidence in succeeding which kept me from even trying.

Upon further analyzation I came to the conclusion that that low confidence in succeeding wasn't justified and in fact I learned how to use the library by playing around with the demos and changing them a bit here and there. But BOY did I avoid that task and beat myself up about it before I started reading the book.

Another problem is that if you avoided a task because of some worry you can later on forget the original reason and your subconciscousness simply reacts with "fear" for no reason. It is explained that it takes one such impulse to create a lasting repulsion. They give an example of a patient which lost memory. Every morning she couldn't remember the very same doctor to whom she spoke the day before. One day the doctor decided to try something new and put a pin in his hand. When they shook hands she was pinched, obviously. The next day she still didn't remember the doctor but she refused to shake hands, even though she couldn't explain why.

So, morale of the story: the subconscious can get in the way for no reason. But that's just one example.
The book has a lot more to offer. I'd say it's pure gold, thus highly recommended.

Hope that helps somebody :-)

Chronic procrastination is a tough flaw to live with, please ignore all the trite responses in this thread like "get off reddit." The best resource I've found about procrastination is this book: Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It Now. The authors have studied procrastination more than anyone you know and have distilled their knowledge down to some great insights and advice. Buy it and read it.

It's tough to change yourself, but you can do it. Good luck!

i'm probably not the best at selling this idea, but it has been helpful for me and it might be helpful for you. if you want to read more about it and you're down to commit some time to it, read this book https://www.amazon.com/Procrastination-Why-You-What-About/dp/0738211702 or if you are interested and want less investment i'd say google the phrase fixed mindset vs growth mindset. Or not, just trying to help.

On procrastination, I recommend this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0738211702/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There's perhaps more of a focus on the "why you do it" than "how to beat it", but I found that very useful.

Get this book

http://www.amazon.com/Procrastination-Why-You-What-About/dp/0738211702/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346189240&sr=1-1&keywords=Why+we+procrastinate

Authors are procrastinator themselves but actually do a goddamn good job in explaining what procrastination is and ho it work on all the different levels. very very good read.

it will not cure your procrastination, but help you understand it and provide some solid advice along the way which for me was a big first step.

But please dont use it to procrastinate.

I've had similar problems with procrastination/perfectionism and the depression that goes along with it.

You need to make a massive effort to do SOME exercise and eat some good food. They will kick start the body to slowly get back into balance and will make the next exercise effort a little easier to motivate yourself to do.

Also I highly recommend this book on procrastination:
Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It Now
http://www.amazon.com/Procrastination-Why-You-What-About/dp/0738211702

THIS BOOK has helped me out TREMENDOUSLY.

This is one of the best things I've read in a long time. You've crystallized an inkling I've had for a long time but couldn't quite put into words -- certainly not words this cogent and accurate.

So, THANKS!!

For people who want to read more about this: check out this amazing book:

http://www.amazon.com/Procrastination-Why-You-What-About/dp/0738211702

Honestly, I bought this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Procrastination-Why-You-What-About/dp/0738211702/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300839436&sr=8-1

Been on my bookshelf for years, still unread.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Procrastination-Why-You-What-About/dp/0738211702

Procrastination - Why You Do It, What to Do About It Now!

The book "Procrastination: Why you do it, what to do about it now" is really, really good. What you are describing is the fear of failure, but that's only one possible fear. There's also the fear of success, fear of intimacy and fear of being alone and the struggle for control/autonomy, all of which can play a role in procrastination as strong as the fear of failure. The book describes all of these very, very well, and is written by two Psychology Ph.Ds, not a self-help guru or what not.

I've never read your book so I can't compare, but I can tell you that there are many strong fears beyond fear of failure that are incapacitating and lead to procrastination as a strategy to minimize expected pain. A lot of people procrastinate on easy things which take time but not really any skill, so fear of failure isn't an adequate explanation. A student might procrastinate on doing some straightforward math homework because of a fight for autonomy with his parents, or because he fears that if he starts doing just 30 mins of homework a night it'll somehow lead to him doing 5 hours a night and having no social life (fear of success). Or he might be afraid that his friends will think he's too smart and better than them, and they will make fun of him and not want to be his friend anymore (fear of being alone), or he might think that if he does well other people might actually start to like him as he improves his life, and he won't be able to be on his own and in his own mind any longer, as he'll constantly have to spend time with his new friends (fear of intimacy).