Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great book with something for everyone.

I'm the founder of Successful Academic Coaching and when I work with graduate students struggling with their dissertations and faculty members trying to publish, I recommend this book frequently. Many of my clients have found this book useful; some swear by it.

The book contains two sections: understanding why we procrastinate, and outlining how to overcome it. It's a quick but useful read; the writing is clear, and the descriptions precise. You will definitely find yourself reflected in the array of problems, excuses, insecurities, stumbling blocks, and workable solutions. Whether you're a graduate student putting off your lit review, or a junior professor agonizing over a grant proposal, you'll discover WHY you procrastinate, and WHAT STEPS you can take to start moving forward.

Fear is the basis of all procrastination, say Burka and Yuen, including fear of failure, of success, and of "losing the battle" - some of us procrastinate to show that we're in control of the situation. "You can't MAKE me do this!" we say, silently, as we refuse to comply with a demanding advisor, a nagging spouse, or even (OK, some folks are REALLY stubborn) an empty gas tank!

The authors include a chapter on delving into your past - family attitudes, school patterns, etc. -- to learn why you've come to use procrastination as your chief coping mechanism. I'm a clinical psychologist, so I believe in understanding the past to understand current patterns -- as long as the insights are followed with action. Fortunately, Burka and Yuen promote action in the second half of their book.

The cures they suggest are realistic. You didn't start procrastinating overnight, and you're not going to quit like that either. Burka and Yuen explain how to develop better work habits methodically, one step at a time.

The authors recommend starting a 2-week program using many techniques. Among their recommendations:
- Make goals that are observable.
- Be specific.
- Take small steps.
- Reward yourself!
- Avoid Perfectionism

How do you stop procrastinating? You start one day at a time. Get this book to help you begin.


(This review was co-written with my colleague, Liz Brown, who helps edit the dissertations and book proposals of some of my grad student and faculty clients.)

I have read many, many time management and organization books. This book was the one that really made a difference. Until you know why you procrastinate and can't get things done, numbering your priorities will not help. Read this book first, then the time management books. The authors point out that not everyone drags their feet in the same areas, nor to the same extent. The book would probably be helpful to ANYONE, because everyone has things they'd like to get done, but can't seem to. The authors have you put together an "unschedule", a chart of your time that is already taken, as a way to see how much time you really have left for your goals. Just doing that was an eye opener. The book has many helpful suggestions and questions that I have not seen in other books. I wish I had known about it when it was first published in 1983 - I would have gotten more done!!

I bought this in conjunction with "The Now Habit". This is quite a different book, much more verbose (but in a good way) and tends to get a bit deeped, in my view, into the psychology of procrastination. Which is useful.

If I absolutely had to choose, I would choose "The Now Habit". But I would strongly suggest that you read this book also. It does cover things that the Now Habit does not cover very well.

Our society tends to take a very simple view of procrastination, which can have fairly complex causes. This book helped me understand many of the roots of my behavior and, painfully, I recognized many of my behavior patterns. That alone is "worth the price of admission". This book will help you deal with your procrastination.

"Procrastination" by Burka and Yuen is clearly the beginning of an answer to what's holding us back from doing things. It is a kind of behavior that masks many problems. It gives a name to the behavior, gives a plausible set of reasons why we do it, and gives us something to do about it.

In a word, fear is the general cause of procrastination, but the authors do a fine job of unpacking that suitcase. With numerous examples to choose from, it is easy for us procrastinators to find some others who do it our way. And just as interesting, some people do it other ways that we haven't recognized before.

Recognizing we are not alone is really a good first step to moving on.

In the second half of the book, the authors begin to show us how to overcome the inertia of procrastination's gravity. I found the "taking stock" inventory of areas of procrastination very helpful. Following the inventory, they suggest a plan of action and ways to make progress.

Procrastination is a more wide-spread problem than most of us want to admit. Perhaps that's because it hits too close to home. What these authors have done is to bring the problem out in the open and deal with it head-on.

Highly recommended. (Don't put off buying it, now.)

I procrastinate only in certain areas, and I found from reading this book that this is normal. (Whew.) I found myself thinking I was terribly busy but didn't seem to get things done. I read this book and as other reviewers have stated, I felt that many section were directly addressing MY issues. I have since begun to implement some of the strategies and "tools" for dealing with procrastination. WOW! It is wonderful. Things that I have put off for months (like calling a plumber to fix the leaky toilet) are done. And it was so simple. I wonder why I ever put it off. I intend to read this book again in a month or so, as I am sure I will pick up more tips the second time around.

I knew I was a procrastinator but I never understood it. I feel like passages of this book are describing me.

The first few chapters discuss the problem of procrastination and the underlying causes. The later chapters provide strategies for overcoming procrastination.

Because the strategies involve 2 week trials that only apply 1 strategy at a time, I have not yet completed the strategies and cannot speak to their effectiveness.

Still just reading the first few chapters has added to my insight.

The final chapter is about living with a procrastinator. Interestingly, my parents, spouse, and bosses have probably all been mishandling my procrastination.

I have read many books by top authors on Procrastination. Most say write a goal, concentrate on your A1 task etc etc. But the point is-they miss on why you do it? Until unless you figure it out, you can't solve this problem completely, atleast on long term basis. We all procrastinate atleast on some areas. Authors list reasons why we do it in a proper manner. It could be your environment, your interaction with your school teacher/professor/parents, showing how great you are by doing nightout before exam and still passing etc etc. I feel to deal with it properly--one has to know the reason. I guess it is best in that sense and feel everyone should read it. (I would suggest everyone read the first chapter here in this site, especially the cycle of procastination)
Thanks to authors for writing such a great book :)

Approaching unwelcome tasks with an "I'll do it tomorrow" mindset is not unusual behavior. The problem is, tomorrow quickly becomes today, so the procrastinator sets a new tomorrow goal. This tomorrow goal eventually becomes a next week goal, then a next month goal, then a next year goal - that is, a never goal. Time runs out for everyone, but it does so far more quickly for procrastinators. If you procrastinate, do you know why? Psychologists Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen outline the reasons and roots of procrastination. More importantly, they show you how to fix your vexing, life-sapping procrastination problem. getAbstract suggests that anyone who procrastinates should buy this book. Now would be fine.

This book explains the complex psychological mechanics behind what we simply call 'procrastination'. It does it so well that we can see procrastination is just an outward symptom of much more complex subconscious processes that go on in our brains.

Highly recommended to anyone who felt, at any time in their life, that they are not living their life to their potential. If not anything else, this will reduce your guilt (by making you understand why you do what you do)

This book is long on fluff and short on concrete advice. What useful advice it does contain is largely the same as in The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play, a book half as long. I believe that the authors of this book worked at the UC Berkeley counseling center at the same time as Neil Fiore, who wrote the latter book. If that's a coincidence it's a pretty unlikely one.

The authors are also obsessed with procrastination caused by being the first in your family or community to go to college. I don't doubt that this is a real phenomenon, but it applies to maybe one one-hundredth of one percent of the potential readership.