The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play
by Neil Fiore
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Book Summary Information
Author: Neil FioreEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-04-05
ISBN: 1585425524
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Tarcher
Book Reviews of The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play
Book Review: Helped me to define procrastination and make some changes
Summary: 4 Stars
I agree with most of the positive reviews here and I'll add my perspective.
I'm actually a well-organized person but my problem is I have trouble finishing certain projects that I start because I either get overwhelmed or I lose interest because I can't see the end result. Sometimes I don't even start certain endeavors because I fear failure so I avoid the project to feel safe. It could be something simple like completing a book or changing my wardrobe or something big like completing my degree. I thought that procrastination meant that I was lazy or something was wrong with me. I didn't realize that procrastination means something else and has to do with fear and anxiety not necessarily laziness. You can actually be a very hard worker but still be a procrastinator.
The section in the book that I really liked was the idea of the un-schedule. I always created a semester schedule but it was not 24 hour based. So whenever I looked at that schedule, naturally it was just filled with class time and I would feel like I never had any time left over for anything else. With the un-schedule, it is 24 hour based and it allows you to clearly see everything that you do during a 24 hour period (including sleep) and where you might be procrastinating. The un-schedule clearly shows productive work as well as leisure time and will help bring balance to your life. You have to read it and then fully construct the un-schedule with all the different colors, etc. to understand how it works. It's not simply a 24 hour schedule.
Another main point of the book is not to become a workaholic. You need to reward yourself with vacations and free time. When you take a vacation or have leisure time, your work will become more productive. When you procrastinate to make free time, the free time is guilty free time and you never enjoy it because of the guilt associated with it. The book will show how to make sure your free time is guilt free all while maintaining quality work and wanting to return to work. I forget who but somebody said a great quote that goes like this: "...I can do a years work in nine months but not 12."
The book also talks about how we need to talk to ourselves differently regarding completing tasks. We need to talk in a way that helps us to see that whatever we do is voluntary and a choice and not something we are forced to do. If we are forced to do something we might procrastinate out of resentment. If we are given a choice, we will do something because we are choosing to do it. So instead of saying "I have to read this book" you should say "I am choosing to read this book."
I also like how the author says that procrastination requires work. Procrastination is not something free; it costs us something. So if procrastination requires as much work as work required to complete your goals, you might as well not procrastinate because it is not productive and you are not benefiting from it in the long run.
I didn't care for the last three chapters because they deal with relaxation techniques and managing procrastinators. I'm not stressed out and I don't manage people. The rest of the book was pretty good and at least has helped me to see procrastination differently. It's nice to learn that procrastination can be un-learned. I always thought that certain people were pre-disposed to be lazy or to be procrastinators and I thought that that's how they will always be.
I read another book on procrastination called "Eat That Frog" by Brian Tracy. That book was nice in it's message but it had no substance. It was more of a "you can do it" type of book. It told you stop procrastinating but really didn't tell you how. "The Now Habit" gives you good advice and employs a system. It's not a book of platitudes like some others on the market. Be wary of books that just preach to you but offer you no real method as they will just be wasting your time.
I only wish the section on how we procrastinate was a little longer with more real world examples. Most of the time we procrastinate and we might not even know that we are doing it or we might confuse procrastination with something else. I wanted to see more examples of common things we procrastinate on and the proper way to get around them.
I recommend this book, it really defines procrastination like you probably never knew and gives you some good advice on how to get around it. It's not a feel-good book, you have to apply it to your own life to see results. After reading it just once, I really do see things differently.
EDIT: 1/7/11. I wanted to add that after reading this book, I don't exactly know what the "Now Habit" is as the book did not give a clear definition. My guess is the "Now Habit" means that you should not procrastinate and just face your task and do it now. Come to think of it, I wish there was a better definition in the book.
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Summary of The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play
Author Neil Fiore offers the first comprehensive strategy to overcome the causes of procrastination and to eliminate its deleterious effects. His techniques will help any busy person get more things done more quickly, without the anxiety and stress brought on by failure to meet the workplace's pressing deadlines.
This revised, redesigned edition includes a new introduction and a section that provides strategies to understand and deal with the complex role technology plays in procrastination today.
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