The Procrastinator's Guide to Success [Paperback]

Lynn Lively (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 1999

Everyone procrastinates. The question is, is doing nothing working for you or against you? Author Lynn Lively, a self-confessed (but reformed) procrastinator, will help you get to where you want to go...with no more excuses. With THE PROCRASTINATOR'S GUIDE TO SUCCESS, you can stop losing precious time, break the cycle of self-blame, overcome inertia, and create the life you really want.

Procrastination can be defined as the failure to make things happen. But are you really procrastinating, or simply thinking about a problem to be solved? THE PROCRASTINATOR'S GUIDE TO SUCCESS will show you how to tell the difference!

You will also learn how to: work through "worst-case" scenarios; figure out what's within your control and what isn't; procrastinate strategically; and, finally, practice self-direction! Special sections include: Confessions of a Procrastinator; "Brain-dumps," "Gut-wrenchers," "Busywork Alerts," and other handy lists. Want to be your own biggest fan? Be the hero of your own life by making your own dreams come true. Read THE PROCRASTINATOR'S GUIDE TO SUCCESS and prepare for your life to change.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Is there a phone call you dread making? What about that task you can't bring yourself to begin? Are you stuck on a project and at a loss about what to do next? Do you want to procrastinate less and start living life to the fullest now? Then it's time to read this book!

The Procrastinator's Guide to Success is about daring to take the risks necessary to move forward. It's about you; how you can find your own ways to overcome procrastination, create the life you really want, and savor each day to the fullest. Everyone procrastinates. The question is, is doing nothing working for you or against you? Author Lynn Lively, a self-confessed (but reformed) procrastinator, will help you get to where you want to go...with no more excuses.

With the Procrastinator's Guide to Success, you can: work through worst-case scenarios; figure out what's within your control and what isn't; procrastinate strategically! Procrastination can be defined as the failure to make things happen. But are you really procrastinating, or instead wisely considering your options about how to solve a problem?

The Procrastinator's Guide to Success will show you how to tell the difference! You will also learn how to: stop losing precious time; break the cycle of self-blame; create your own success! Want to be your biggest fan? Be the hero of your own life by making your own dreams come true. Read The Procrastinator's Guide to Success and prepare for your life to change.

About the Author

Lynn Lively is cofounder of American Pioneer Sonars, a company founded in 1981 and recognized by the Small Business Administration and former President Bush for excellence in exporting. A popular speaker and writer on procrastination, workplace decisionmaking, and clear-thinking skills, Ms. Lively is the author of Managing Information Overload, and holds two Masters degrees.

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (June 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070383073
• ISBN-13: 978-0070383074
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,766,731 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Procrastinator's Guide Review, April 24, 2000

By 

Mary (Philadelphia, Pa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Procrastinator's Guide to Success (Paperback)

This book has many good ideas but it is not well organized for procrastinator's. The content deals more with how to be successful at work than dealing with procrastination. Even then, there is a lack of cohesiveness. Author has good ideas but lacks a central point of view.

Really doesn't tackle deep issues surrounding procrastination at work. Serves as a pep talk for dealing with different work problems.

Found other books more effective and better organized.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't hestitate! Read this book now., January 18, 2002

By 

Natalie So(50192136) (MKT Dep of CityU) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Procrastinator's Guide to Success (Paperback)

This book is very suitable for two types of people. The first type is they don¡Št know what to do. And the second type is they know what to need to do, but don¡Št do it. If you are one of them, you must read this book immediately. You may not change your lazy behavior after reading this book, but you will know the right direction of being a person who know what to need to do and do it right now. Also, the author divided the content into two parts, one is for the first type of people, another is for the second type. Therefore, you can read the part you need. It can save your time also because of the clear structure. Moreover, many useful tips and techniques are given in each chapter. Apart from teaching the readers the way to overcome procrastination, the author draw out the benefits and drawbacks when you are procrastinating. Certainly, it is not enough to know what to do, it is useless if you don¡Št do it. So, this book will help you a lot if you want to be an active person.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful and motivating self-improvement guide, April 3, 2002

By 

Kate McMurry "Young Adult Author" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Procrastinator's Guide to Success (Paperback)

Ms. Lively is a consultant and speaker on the subjects of procrastination, workplace decision-making and clear-thinking skills. She has also written an eBook called Managing Information Overload.

What makes this book a standout among procrastination books, in my opinion, is its offering of an alternate reason for being stalled in achieving your goals other than procrastination, which the author defines as knowing what to do but not doing it. That other reason for being blocked is that you are clueless about what to do because you lack adequate information or training. For this insight alone, and the accompanying advice for effectively scaling both these types of walls, this book is well worth reading.

Other reasons I gave the book 5 stars include the following:
(1) The author has a lively voice and avoids preaching.
(2) The book has a clear, readable Table of Contents and an Index, making it easy to look up what especially interests you or to go back over particular points in the book at a later time for further inspiration.
(3) While I often get irritated by the "homework" in self-help books, this author is, thankfully, far less cutesy and/or patronizing than most authors in this genre. One caveat: I would recommend that, if you are actually going to give these exercises a try, you get yourself a notebook (either spiral or loose-leaf) to keep your scribblings together. If you just grab up loose pieces of paper as the author suggests, you are going to end up with dozens of messy pieces of paper floating around on your already cluttered desk (procrastinators tend to be very sloppy as well as slow to get going!).
(4) This book isn't primarily geared toward teaching you how to make good choices, set goals, and gain useful problem-solving skills. As the author openly admits, there are many other books on the market specifically aimed at those topics. However, since the author asserts that in order to come out of procrastination, it is crucial to first figure out exactly =why= you are procrastinating, she very appropriately covers these important topics in a solid, basic, understandable way.