The Procrastination Equation audiobook

With over 90% of "Good Reads" readers giving it a positive rating, it looks like I did well and, it being in the self-help category, I did good too. The ones who like it best turns out to be someone who is educated or at least appreciates that everything is scientifically backed, likes a wry sense of humour, and really wants to do something about their procrastination. They also don't hold my constructed characters, a vehicle to illustrate some techniques, to too high a literary standard; still, they do seem to suffice. And if I could change anything about the book, it would be the author's note at the beginning where I try to establish my credentials and background. To some readers, it comes across as excessively self-promoting. Sorry for that; I was going for credibility. Thank you everyone for the thanks you have given me. Among the best thing I get from writing this book are the emails where people share with me how it has affected their lives. It is a nice way to start any day. PS. Probably flirting with credibility/self-promotion issue again but just got the George A Miller award for the book's research, the top award in all of psychology.

Oh my God do I need this book. I actually put off buying this book for a couple of weeks after seeing it in our local indie bookstore, and finally bit the bullet and bought it yesterday. Finished it today, proving one of the authors points--that we tend to dive into things that are relevant and of value to us. Once I got the book, I found it relevant and of value. The first six chapters of the book are all about the science behind the study of procrastination. It ISN'T about perfectionism--it has a lot more to do with impulsiveness. Makes sense to me. Dr. Steel takes a lot of heady psychological stuff and makes it downright funny. Great writer, and I'm sure, if I had been fortunate enough to take a class from him at University of Calgary, where he teaches, he would be a terrific lecturer. He writes the book as if he were talking to you. Wonderful. And it definitely has its "self improvement" points. But they're backed up by his years of research, so he's not just pulling his suggestions out of his butt. I loved this book. Now, I just need to get around to putting it into practice . . .

I listened to the audiobook. The performance is engaging, the concepts are explained thoroughly with good examples, and the offered techniques seem to be useful and practical. Ask me in a month :-)

Very cool concepts on how to stop procrastination and why we procrastination. The methods are cool because we are all slowed down by the procrastination. Once one masters to control its methods then productivity increases and goals are met.

Fabulous book on the psychology of procrastination, and tips for how to overcome it. This book explores how we're hard-wired to procrastinate, ways modern society exacerbates the problem, and the economic costs of it.I was worried the "equation" part of it would prove to be a pseudoscientific attempt to make it sound like he's quantified procrastination. I was pleasantly surprised that it is merely a helpful tool for understanding motivation:Expectancy x Value---------------------Impulsiveness x DelayThose four components together determine how likely we will be to act on something. Understanding this means that you can increase motivation for desired behaviors and decrease motivation for undesired behaviors by tweaking each of the variables. The rest of the book explores each of them in detail, with ideas for how each can be tweaked.The only thing I don't like about this book is that the writing is incredibly cheesy. It often reads like those lame training videos employees are forced to watch: "Meet Tom. Tom has trouble with procrastination. Time-sensitive Tom can avoid procrastinating by ..." That's silly. Drop the lifeless characters with generic names and just say what you want to say. This was forgivable until the end, when he rewards the reader with a sequel to these characters' stories, complete with their sexual escapades. Please.Seriously though, read this book if you struggle with procrastination. There's no better book for it.

Having been personally shamed by the author into finishing the book, I upgraded my rating from three stars to four and my tagline from "less stupid than many self-help books" to "an intelligent self-help book." It gave me some good ideas, though I kept putting off finishing it for some reason. Ha! Procrastination joke! I recommended it to my shrink as a resource for people who want to read more about dealing with procrastination. I would read more books by the author.Actually, I'd really like to see what would happen if he collaborated with a shrink to write a book about the components of procrastination that are rooted in people's psychological issues with self care. What maybe made the book less relevant to me when I first took it up is the fact that my procrastination is fundamentally rooted in resentment of having to take care of myself in addition to my responsibility for taking care of others. That doesn't make the author's advice any less sensible, but it predisposed me to give up early on finishing it.

Pretty good overall. The example action lists at the end are good, but each chapter should be summarised in half a page of dot point actions to be taken (given it is a self help book after all). Also it is obviously written before smart phones and streaming television and would heavily benefit from some rewriting or an additional chapter talking about these distractions. The authors’s hopes for tech to be the solution to procrastination were terribly misplaced in hindsight and an update to the book is required. Still, the core message of impulse control is very useful. Overall: recommended.

Such an eye opening book for those of us who struggle with procrastinations I learned a lot about what drives it and recognized myself in it. And my family. Would recommend to anyone who finds themselves in that panicked state at 2am before something is due.

Te lang mee gewacht ..

Great productivity bookI consume productivity books. Most give a nugget of wisdom at best. But this book is the holy grail of figuring out why you aren't getting "it" done. Best part is you get evidence-based solutions with well summized action plans at the end of each section. This is my favorite book I've read this year!

Definitely a good one.

I loved this. This was by far my favorite book on this subject which is my largest personal challenge in life. I have not researched any of his sources and the many studies the author cites, and I do not plan to, so I cannot vouch for the accuracy of his book in the sense of larger society or science. But he does reference a LOT of experts and studies in various fields including economics, sociology, psychology, biology and more. It appeared to me that this author was EXTREMELY well versed in the subject, particularly in serious studies and scientific opinion (not just anecdotal authority from motivational gurus).But far more importantly, his version made PERFECT sense to me. It is the first one that just fit my own intuitions and allowed me to see myself in a new light. He debunks theories that I have always questioned, and he provides new approaches to understanding others which allow me to give them more credence than I had before. I think I can really gain a lot in my life if I now put into practice the practical advice he gives as well. And even if I fail to make sweeping changes, I already feel a bit happier and more at peace with myself based on this new understanding. Thanks, Mr. Steel!

It's embarrassing how long it took me to get through this book, especially given the title! It shows I started about a month ago, but it really was a couple times before that where I'd check out the book and then never get around to actually reading it. But it does have a lot of good insight and ideas on how to stop procrastination. But just like any habit it takes time to get out of the habit of procrastinating - continuing to find ways to do things NOW, in every aspect of your life definitely helps. I think that making decisions to NOT do something can be powerful because otherwise it builds up the procrastination muscle - you're putting off the decision to do it or not do it. Just deciding one way or the other, even if it is deciding not to continue, is a great habit to instill in your life!

This could possibly be the best self-help book I've ever read.What makes it so great is that it isn't just a self-help book, it's a rich journey through the efforts put into understanding procrastination as a part of human nature and the results of those efforts.This is NOT your average The Guide to Perfect Life™ supported by "I promise this will help you", ancient mystical techniques or anecdotal evidence.This... is science... and Steel's integrational and inter-disciplinary approach to this subject did something I thought was impossible: It restored my faith (a little bit, at least) in social sciences! With so much sloppy work in neuroscience, psychology, economics and social sciences in general, a systematic approach such as this one really shines, worthy of calling itself scientific.Read it, the best time to do it is right now.

This similar to another book that I recently read on willpower. However, I much preferred the style of this book. That said, my wife read about 20 pages and was bored to tears.This book really grabbed me because the early chapters talk about the ways that we procrastinate and why. In the midst of these examples, I saw a few that described me exactly.The end of the book focuses on ways to prevent procrastination. I'm sure you will have heard of every technique listed there. However, seeing them in context might motivate you to implement them.In the short term, I've successfully recognized my main reason for procrastination and I've gotten a bit better about it. Whether it holds long term, I don't know, but it won't be the book's fault if I don't follow through.