DON'T WAIT TO READ THIS BOOK: The world's leading expert on procrastination uses his groundbreaking research to offer understanding on a matter that bedevils us all. Writing with humour, humanity and solid scientific information reminiscent of Stumbling on Happiness and Freakonomics, Piers Steel explains why we knowingly and willingly put off a course of action despite recognizing we'll be worse off for it.
For those who surf the Web instead of finishing overdue assignments, who always say diets start tomorrow, who stay up late watching TV to put off going to sleep, The Procrastination Equation explains why we do what we do — or in this case don't — and why in Western societies we're in the midst of an escalating procrastination epidemic.
Dr. Piers Steel takes on the myths and misunderstandings behind procrastination and motivation — showing us how procrastination affects our lives, health, careers and happiness and what we can do about it. With accessible prose and the benefits of new scientific research, he provides insight into why we procrastinate even though the result is that we are less happy, healthy, even wealthy. Who procrastinates and why? How many ways, big and small, do we procrastinate? How can we stop doing it? The reasons are part cultural, part psychological, part biological. And, with a million new ways to distract ourselves in the digitized world — all of which feed on our built-in impulsiveness — more of us are potentially damaging ourselves by putting things off. But Steel not only analyzes the factors that weigh us down but the things that motivate us — including understanding the value of procrastination.
The Procrastination Equation
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
According to Steel, an expert on procrastination, about 95 percent of us procrastinate. About a quarter of us are chronic procrastinators, having finely honed the art of putting things off. But why do we do it? It’s not like we don’t know there are things we should be doing and things we shouldn’t. So why do we spend time doing the wrong things? Steel’s explanation, which should come as a relief to some, is that procrastination is an evolutionary feature, a sort of biological imperative. Drawing on research from a variety of sources, Steel takes us through the history of procrastination, showing how it has become, in modern times, a serious problem that leads to increased health troubles, loss of productivity, and unnecessary poverty or depression. Fortunately, he also suggests ways we can stop procrastinating and get ourselves on track. A useful, eye-opening book. Now, if only the people who most need to read it could find the time to do so. --David Pitt
Review
“The Procrastination Equation is this season’s must-read self-help book. In addition to offering useful strategies to fight a common problem, it’s a fascinating read.” (Montreal Gazette )
“An upbeat, motivational guide to procrastination. . . . Everything you ever wanted to know about procrastination but never got around to reading.” (Kirkus Reviews )
“Why you ‘put off till tomorrow what you can do today’ forms the crux of Steel’s book, in which he not only answers that question but details specific techniques to reign in the impulse. . . . Offers good advice.” (Library Journal )
“Procrastinating just makes unpleasant tasks worse, so why is it so hard for us to resist dithering and delay? The Procrastination Equation is crammed with surprising insights about procrastination and human nature -- as well as concrete, helpful solutions for fighting procrastination.” (Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project )
“Procrastination is the saffron spice of human behavior, where even small amounts of this tendency can shatter the best of intentions. In this illuminating book Piers Steel shows us the secrets of procrastination, how it affects us and how we will, one day, be able to prevail.” (Dan Ariely, author of The Upside of Irrationality and Predictably Irrational )
“The Procrastination Equation will teach you how to bust the excuses that are preventing you from doing your best work and living your best life. . . . So don’t put it off any longer. Read this book. Today.” (Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind )
“I put off writing this blurb ‘til the last minute. I thought it was because I was too busy but after reading The Procrastination Equation, I know the real reasons. Piers Steel will help you tackle the goals . . . that always seemed . . . out of reach.” (Richard Florida, author of The Great Reset )
“A useful, eye-opening book.” (Booklist )
“An upbeat, motivational guide to procrastination. . . . Everything you ever wanted to know about procrastination but never got around to reading.” (Kirkus Reviews )
“Why you ‘put off till tomorrow what you can do today’ forms the crux of Steel’s book, in which he not only answers that question but details specific techniques to reign in the impulse. . . . Offers good advice.” (Library Journal )
“Procrastinating just makes unpleasant tasks worse, so why is it so hard for us to resist dithering and delay? The Procrastination Equation is crammed with surprising insights about procrastination and human nature -- as well as concrete, helpful solutions for fighting procrastination.” (Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project )
“Procrastination is the saffron spice of human behavior, where even small amounts of this tendency can shatter the best of intentions. In this illuminating book Piers Steel shows us the secrets of procrastination, how it affects us and how we will, one day, be able to prevail.” (Dan Ariely, author of The Upside of Irrationality and Predictably Irrational )
“The Procrastination Equation will teach you how to bust the excuses that are preventing you from doing your best work and living your best life. . . . So don’t put it off any longer. Read this book. Today.” (Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind )
“I put off writing this blurb ‘til the last minute. I thought it was because I was too busy but after reading The Procrastination Equation, I know the real reasons. Piers Steel will help you tackle the goals . . . that always seemed . . . out of reach.” (Richard Florida, author of The Great Reset )
“A useful, eye-opening book.” (Booklist )
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
53 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
While this book has an exhaustive (and exhausting) explanation for *why* people procrastinate, the "solutions" are actually rather skimpy and already well known, seemingly added as almost an afterthought. I respect author Piers Steel's research and expertise on the causes of procrastination, and I think his "procrastination equation" (motivation = [expectancy x value] / [impulsiveness x delay]) could be useful in seeking ways to overcome procrastination. But, unfortunately, he just has not presented nearly enough of them here (and certainly not in an easily accessible format).
Throughout the book, Steel uses three fictional characters to illustrate his points. This is a common technique in self-help books, but he uses it so extensively, I got the feeling that Steel would actually rather be writing novels: his fictional procrastinators meet up and get romantically involved! I found all of this to be distracting (and time wasting), not illustrative. Procrastinators don't want to wade through page after page of dialogue; they want bulleted lists!
Steel repeatedly says that he wanted to keep the nature of his audience in mind; thus, his intent was to keep the book lively. But he drones on like a self-amused college professor who is fond of telling irrelevant stories (Steel is, in fact, an associate professor). Perhaps his numerous and often extensive tangents were intended to keep the reader interested, but most of them seem to be included for the sole purpose of showing off that Steel is a walking compendium of information. And he seems a little too proud of himself. He praises his own work and cites his own credentials far too often throughout the book. He comes across as being a little bit insecure, as if he *expects* to be questioned. He's the painfully nerdy (but brilliant) boy in school who just doesn't get why he gets a blank stare from the other kids when he giggles and declares that Parus major is the "best studied bird in the world."
Among the pointers in the book:
* Build your self-confidence by trying new and difficult things.
* Watch inspirational movies.
* Turn off your cell phone when you need to work.
* Avoid distractions and temptations.
* Give yourself rewards.
* Get a job you love.
* Make specific goals.
* Break down big projects into manageable chunks.
* Get in the habit of not procrastinating.
Yeah, nothing really new or useful. However, if you have several hours to blow, you might learn a few things. Despite its shortcomings, there is a lot of information (fully cited) in this book. You just have to wade through a lot to get to it. I don't blame Steel so much as I blame Harper Collins for not extracting a better book out of him. With some slash-and-burn editing and a full reorganization, this book might have had a lot to offer.
Throughout the book, Steel uses three fictional characters to illustrate his points. This is a common technique in self-help books, but he uses it so extensively, I got the feeling that Steel would actually rather be writing novels: his fictional procrastinators meet up and get romantically involved! I found all of this to be distracting (and time wasting), not illustrative. Procrastinators don't want to wade through page after page of dialogue; they want bulleted lists!
Steel repeatedly says that he wanted to keep the nature of his audience in mind; thus, his intent was to keep the book lively. But he drones on like a self-amused college professor who is fond of telling irrelevant stories (Steel is, in fact, an associate professor). Perhaps his numerous and often extensive tangents were intended to keep the reader interested, but most of them seem to be included for the sole purpose of showing off that Steel is a walking compendium of information. And he seems a little too proud of himself. He praises his own work and cites his own credentials far too often throughout the book. He comes across as being a little bit insecure, as if he *expects* to be questioned. He's the painfully nerdy (but brilliant) boy in school who just doesn't get why he gets a blank stare from the other kids when he giggles and declares that Parus major is the "best studied bird in the world."
Among the pointers in the book:
* Build your self-confidence by trying new and difficult things.
* Watch inspirational movies.
* Turn off your cell phone when you need to work.
* Avoid distractions and temptations.
* Give yourself rewards.
* Get a job you love.
* Make specific goals.
* Break down big projects into manageable chunks.
* Get in the habit of not procrastinating.
Yeah, nothing really new or useful. However, if you have several hours to blow, you might learn a few things. Despite its shortcomings, there is a lot of information (fully cited) in this book. You just have to wade through a lot to get to it. I don't blame Steel so much as I blame Harper Collins for not extracting a better book out of him. With some slash-and-burn editing and a full reorganization, this book might have had a lot to offer.
71 of 74 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
If I come away from a book with one new idea or a fresh take on a familiar one, I consider the read worthwhile. The takeaway in Piers Steel's `The Procrastination Equation' is the notion that procrastination, contrary to popular perception, is neither the result of perfectionism nor of simple laziness.
Perfectionism might be a comforting rationale (`If I can't do something to my exacting high standards, it's a real struggle for me to do it at all.'). Nice try but, according to Steel and his research, true perfectionists actually accomplish quite a lot in spite of their high standards. And blaming it all on laziness is a too simple cop-out that our culture too often buys into with stereotypes.
For most of us, according to the author, the root cause of this tendency to delay tasks is impulsiveness, which lies at the core of a complex interplay of personality traits and environment. It's not a question of what we can't bring ourselves to do but rather a question of what we too easily and too often uncontrollably choose to do instead.
The jargon-free neurobiological overview of how our brains regard short and longer spans of time was clear and informative. It turns out those Zen monks were right: we truly are wired to live in the moment. It's only since civilization has allowed us to plan for the longer term (weeks, months, even years ahead) that procrastination has truly come into its own, with a solid majority of people now acknowledging some degree of it in their lives.
This short-term mindset served us well in our hunter-gatherer past and still has a place today. But modern society continues to fragment our lives and abstract our goals to the point where the benefits of today's actions often can't be known or enjoyed until some vaguely imagined future. It's no surprise we easily shift our focus to tasks that give more immediate pleasure until that inevitable day our longer-term tasks suddenly become as urgent as running out of the cave to find tonight's dinner.
Most of us then proceed to hack through the job with little satisfaction and a gnawing sense of, 'I know this isn't the best I can do but I've squandered the time I had'.
The techniques Steel presents to deal with procrastination can be classified as internal and external: Distractions are very much a part of our external environment, be it the workplace or leisure space. But often we have more control over those spaces then we realize. Small adjustments such as turning off your email notification sound/icon can eliminate a major source of distraction and allow you to remain focused. The classic example of relocating your alarm clock out of arm's reach to prevent easy snoozing is almost a cliché but it's an effective illustration of modifying your environment to combat short-term distraction.
The single most effective technique the author describes is to convert long term, vaguely defined tasks into a series of shorter term but more precisely-defined goals. As you learn to achieve these small goals and celebrate your achievement you gradually build a `success spiral' that in turn increases your confidence and your expectations of succeeding. Subdividing large tasks this way is not a particularly original idea, but the book provides some fresh context and justification for it.
While many of the techniques in the book address common family/work issues, procrastination can affect any practical (or impractical) endeavor you find yourself involved in. The tools are the same whether you're writing business reports, a novel, studying a musical instrument, cleaning out the basement, or painting that half-bathroom - not to mention the classics: trying to lose weight, quit smoking, or get that physical you're overdue for.
At first I found the author's writing style a bit too breezy and his humor ineffective. If you agree that procrastination has had a limiting effect on your life the last thing you want to read is someone making light of it. The opening chapter (complete with quizzes) struck me as the kind of pop-psychology writing geared towards the very easily-distracted.
Fortunately Steel comes clean that he's deliberately keeping the tone extra lively for the benefit of those very readers (and he confides it's not an easy thing to do). It's soon evident however that he knows his stuff, has done his research, and has an interesting and effective argument to make. If it's true we're not to judge a book by its cover, a corollary here might be to go easy on the first chapter.
Speaking of chapters there's an interesting one on attitudes towards procrastination throughout history, describing some fantastically tragic characters and the price they paid. It will leave you feeling part of some pretty illustrious (or notorious) company.
I didn't find the chapter on the economic costs of procrastination as convincing. The idea that you can quantify workers' collective non-productive hours and project some equivalent economic gain sounds like wishful statistics. I've worked for companies whose executives prayed they could inspire such realignment but it never happened. So long as humans are part of the equation, I don't believe it ever will.
I think it's important to note that `The Procrastination Equation' is not offering some `five steps to completely reinvent your life' kind of advice. The author makes a critical point near the end that over-regulating your life by attempting to wring out every `non-productive' moment of whimsy, reflection, and just plain goofing off can be just as unhealthy as excessive procrastination.
The goal is to apply these tools to your specific issues - not to eliminate procrastination entirely - but to find that illusive balance between the scheduled and unscheduled, keeping on top of those essentials in our lives that truly deserve our focus but doing so efficiently to preserve some of that genuine guilt-free slacker time we're all entitled to.
Finally, I have to mention a personal peeve: the large amount of notes at the back of the book. I expect this in a thesis or university press edition, but a 307 page mass-market book with almost 100 pages of notes doesn't feel balanced and suggests questionable editing. Cynical readers will suspect a higher price is being charged for the padding. The fact that many of the notes provide interesting detail and helpful links makes it even more puzzling they weren't better integrated into the main text as sidebars, etc. Steel is an academic and admits part of his goal in writing the book is to promote cross-disciplinary adoption of his ideas. Nothing wrong with that but it's awkward to address different audiences and at times the book has the unmistakable whiff of an academic writing for other academics.
Perfectionism might be a comforting rationale (`If I can't do something to my exacting high standards, it's a real struggle for me to do it at all.'). Nice try but, according to Steel and his research, true perfectionists actually accomplish quite a lot in spite of their high standards. And blaming it all on laziness is a too simple cop-out that our culture too often buys into with stereotypes.
For most of us, according to the author, the root cause of this tendency to delay tasks is impulsiveness, which lies at the core of a complex interplay of personality traits and environment. It's not a question of what we can't bring ourselves to do but rather a question of what we too easily and too often uncontrollably choose to do instead.
The jargon-free neurobiological overview of how our brains regard short and longer spans of time was clear and informative. It turns out those Zen monks were right: we truly are wired to live in the moment. It's only since civilization has allowed us to plan for the longer term (weeks, months, even years ahead) that procrastination has truly come into its own, with a solid majority of people now acknowledging some degree of it in their lives.
This short-term mindset served us well in our hunter-gatherer past and still has a place today. But modern society continues to fragment our lives and abstract our goals to the point where the benefits of today's actions often can't be known or enjoyed until some vaguely imagined future. It's no surprise we easily shift our focus to tasks that give more immediate pleasure until that inevitable day our longer-term tasks suddenly become as urgent as running out of the cave to find tonight's dinner.
Most of us then proceed to hack through the job with little satisfaction and a gnawing sense of, 'I know this isn't the best I can do but I've squandered the time I had'.
The techniques Steel presents to deal with procrastination can be classified as internal and external: Distractions are very much a part of our external environment, be it the workplace or leisure space. But often we have more control over those spaces then we realize. Small adjustments such as turning off your email notification sound/icon can eliminate a major source of distraction and allow you to remain focused. The classic example of relocating your alarm clock out of arm's reach to prevent easy snoozing is almost a cliché but it's an effective illustration of modifying your environment to combat short-term distraction.
The single most effective technique the author describes is to convert long term, vaguely defined tasks into a series of shorter term but more precisely-defined goals. As you learn to achieve these small goals and celebrate your achievement you gradually build a `success spiral' that in turn increases your confidence and your expectations of succeeding. Subdividing large tasks this way is not a particularly original idea, but the book provides some fresh context and justification for it.
While many of the techniques in the book address common family/work issues, procrastination can affect any practical (or impractical) endeavor you find yourself involved in. The tools are the same whether you're writing business reports, a novel, studying a musical instrument, cleaning out the basement, or painting that half-bathroom - not to mention the classics: trying to lose weight, quit smoking, or get that physical you're overdue for.
At first I found the author's writing style a bit too breezy and his humor ineffective. If you agree that procrastination has had a limiting effect on your life the last thing you want to read is someone making light of it. The opening chapter (complete with quizzes) struck me as the kind of pop-psychology writing geared towards the very easily-distracted.
Fortunately Steel comes clean that he's deliberately keeping the tone extra lively for the benefit of those very readers (and he confides it's not an easy thing to do). It's soon evident however that he knows his stuff, has done his research, and has an interesting and effective argument to make. If it's true we're not to judge a book by its cover, a corollary here might be to go easy on the first chapter.
Speaking of chapters there's an interesting one on attitudes towards procrastination throughout history, describing some fantastically tragic characters and the price they paid. It will leave you feeling part of some pretty illustrious (or notorious) company.
I didn't find the chapter on the economic costs of procrastination as convincing. The idea that you can quantify workers' collective non-productive hours and project some equivalent economic gain sounds like wishful statistics. I've worked for companies whose executives prayed they could inspire such realignment but it never happened. So long as humans are part of the equation, I don't believe it ever will.
I think it's important to note that `The Procrastination Equation' is not offering some `five steps to completely reinvent your life' kind of advice. The author makes a critical point near the end that over-regulating your life by attempting to wring out every `non-productive' moment of whimsy, reflection, and just plain goofing off can be just as unhealthy as excessive procrastination.
The goal is to apply these tools to your specific issues - not to eliminate procrastination entirely - but to find that illusive balance between the scheduled and unscheduled, keeping on top of those essentials in our lives that truly deserve our focus but doing so efficiently to preserve some of that genuine guilt-free slacker time we're all entitled to.
Finally, I have to mention a personal peeve: the large amount of notes at the back of the book. I expect this in a thesis or university press edition, but a 307 page mass-market book with almost 100 pages of notes doesn't feel balanced and suggests questionable editing. Cynical readers will suspect a higher price is being charged for the padding. The fact that many of the notes provide interesting detail and helpful links makes it even more puzzling they weren't better integrated into the main text as sidebars, etc. Steel is an academic and admits part of his goal in writing the book is to promote cross-disciplinary adoption of his ideas. Nothing wrong with that but it's awkward to address different audiences and at times the book has the unmistakable whiff of an academic writing for other academics.
35 of 38 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
A good article's worth of information here for what I wanted to know
January 15, 2011
By Jo Ryan
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Although I was interested in the author's ideas about how we're hardwired for procrastination and the way it's often tied to impulsiveness, I got tired of the way he went on about its ubiquitous-ness and myriad negative effects. Just a look at the table of contents could have told me that some of the chapters wouldn't be of much interest since I don't feel any particular need to know more about "The Personal Price of Procrastination" or "The Economic Cost of Procrastination." My interest lies in what causes it and how to eliminate it, and to my mind this book doesn't focus nearly enough on that. I grew impatient, wanting to hear the remedies, and when they came there was nothing all that new or enlightening but rather a lot of basic behaviorism I've been hearing about for years and some nice find-your passion-type stuff. Though well-written and entertaining in places, the book struck me as too long-winded and not nearly to-the-point enough for what I sought to know. The author also seems to see procrastination everywhere, which began to make it almost lose meaning.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Healthy look over the problem...
I love it although I haven't finished reading it yet. It brings new insights and looks over a problem that many people consider not serious or just lazyness. Read more
Published 6 days ago by Luciana Andrade da Silva
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lots of why, little how
The subtitle of this book is, "How to stop putting things off and start getting stuff done." However, the book does not deliver on that promise. Read more
Published 28 days ago by Cathy Stucker
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book
A great book for those who wish to explore procrastination. This is not exactly an easy read, but is worth the effort. I would place this in my top 5 books on procrastination.
Published 2 months ago by rustythevibeguy
4.0 out of 5 stars
the procrastination equation
The first half of this book was dedicated to explaining the evolutionary reasons why we procrastinate. Simply knowing why we do something was helpful in and of itself. Read more
Published 4 months ago by lisa dougall
4.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely Helpful
In true procrastinator's fashion I had this book for a very long time before picking it up and reading it. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Christopher J. Martin
1.0 out of 5 stars
Meh.. it was really long, boring and too wordy
Well, been meaning to write this for a while. Bwhhaaaa.. no seriously, my mum got real sick and I was in Texas when I was reading this book. Read more
Published 7 months ago by 4fabfelines
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perhaps the next Best Seller after Emotional Intelligence
It is such a fascinating book, that after reading it all, I never thought I could read so fast in such a short period of time. Read more
Published 7 months ago by xebeck
4.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful book, with a sprinkle of irony
Believe me - I'm a chronic procrastinator. This is what drew me to the book in the first place. And from what I can recall (it's been almost two years since I actually read this),... Read more
Published 7 months ago by LawyerMom
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intellectually pleasing, but I haven't changed yet.
I had this book about a year and a half before I got around to reading it. So yes, I qualify as a procrastinator. Read the book over the past couple weeks, and it's good. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Jesse D. Walker
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Read and Right on Point
I have looked for help in solving my procrastination for 26 years. As I read through this book, I had many A-Hah moments! Read more
Published 8 months ago by Robert C. Gilliatt Jr.
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
