The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play (Paperback)

by Neil Fiore (Author) "Your strategic program begins with identifying your procrastination patterns so you can apply the appropriate techniques for replacing them with the effective work patterns of..." (more)
Key Phrases: focusing exercise, overcoming procrastination, flow state, Peak Performance, Charles Garfield

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Originally published by Tarcher in 1988, The Now Habit has sold more than 58,000 copies, and is as relevant as ever!

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.

About the Author
Neil Fiore, Ph.D., guides managers, executives, and their employees to new levels of peak performance. From his experience as a lieutenant with the 101st Airborne Division, a manager with Johnson & Johnson, a statistical analyst for Shell Oil, and a psychologist and career counselor at the University of California, Berkeley, Fiore brings practical tools for life and work to his seminar participants. He holds a doctorate in psychology and a B.S. degree in economics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher; Revised edition (April 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585425524
• ISBN-13: 978-1585425525
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (113 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,334 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

843 of 847 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on the market for procrastinators, December 4, 1999

By	Jennifer Kerns (High Springs, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play (Paperback)

Last year I ordered four books on procrastination from Amazon.com. This one was the gem of the bunch. All the others told you to do what you're already doing: "Force yourself to do it, even if you don't want to." Well, if that worked, my mother would have cured me of the habit when I was twelve. What Fiore does is show you that it's exactly the attitude of self-punishment that makes you procrastinate. He shows you how to start working to achieve rewards, as opposed to working to avoid punishment or failure. We work when we expect to be rewarded in return, and can't muster the effort if we expect punishment whether we work or not.

This book *works*. I am one of those people who would procrastinate so badly on a term paper that it would never get turned in, and I would be wracked with guilt over it. My gpa sometimes dipped below 2.0., but for the past three semesters it has averaged 3.5.

One reviewer below recommends the book "Do It Now," because it has a more "mature" view of the problem. Folks, "Do It Now" will tell you that you're insecure and childish, and that all you need is to realize how silly you're being. At first, it sounds familiar, and for that reason you think it will help. But it doesn't. If you want to feel like procrastination is a hopeless problem that you'll always have, buy "Do It Now." Otherwise, "The Now Habit" is the one that will teach you how to overcome the problem *without* any guilt trips.

492 of 500 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book stands out from the crowd, December 4, 1998

By	Neil Gunton (Eureka, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play (Paperback)

I recently bought a total of seven books on procrastination, because I was so sick of constantly putting my life on 'hold'. One by one I started reading them, and one by one they went off on some path that did not seem to connect with me or the way I actually live. They all start off well enough, because it is quite easy to outline all the issues and situations that surround procrastination. However, getting down to business and coming up with real solutions that actually work is much harder. This book is unique as far as I can see in that it comes from a much more human and empathic viewpoint, with some really amazing insights into human nature. It is a supremely optimistic book that explains why we all do it, and what we can do about it. The most important thing is that it delves into what motivates us to procrastinate, revealing the fact that procrastination is actually rewarding; knowing how and why it happens is half the battle. If you've been thinking that this is "just the way you are", this book will save you from yourself. Neil Fiore takes us on a journey into our own minds, which is both fascinating and inspiring. I am a natural cynic and skeptic, and it's been a long time since a book made me sit up, slap my forehead and say "So THAT'S why I do that!". Actually there is a pretty good model for life in general in here. This book should be required reading for all schoolkids and college students, if I'd had this back then I might have enjoyed myself a lot more! Like I said, I tried the other books, and they didn't do anything for me. Save your money, and just get this one. You will not regret it.

265 of 267 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Book That Got Me Into Medical School, January 9, 2004

By	Jennifer A. Rae (Kingston, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play (Paperback)

This book just might change your life. It changed mine. I had read every other book on procrastination before finding this book, including the others mentioned in these reviews. This is, quite simply, the BEST book; completely different from the rest. It is quite possibly the best self-help book I have ever read. It may also be one of the best books ever written on anxiety and on achieving one's goals in life - subjects which I have learned are all connected.

Five years ago, I worked at an office job I didn't like much. Since reading Neil Fiore's book, I have written and published two well-reviewed children's books and realized my life-long dream of studying medicine. At the age of 35, I started medical school with no science background or training and in 5 months, I will graduate as an MD. This book allowed me to follow my dreams (thirty minutes at a time) and to acheive them. It can help you do the same.

Do not be fooled by books with flashier covers; it's what's inside that counts. Anyone who procrastinates will recognize themselves in these pages; they will also recognize the feelings of being overwhelmed and paralyzed before even starting a project, and the disappointment in themselves that results from chronic procrastination.

This is a book that actually teaches you to understand yourself, to take care of yourself, and to help yourself develop simple habits that can change your life. This is truly an easy and non-scary program, proving that you don't have to turn your life upside down to turn it around! The words in this book have stayed with me for years, and I carry a little card with reminders from it in my wallet. This program works. Believe me - I learned medicine thirty minutes at a time! And, most importantly, I had lots of time left over for fun.

Stop berating yourself! You don't need more willpower. You don't need a new daytimer. What you need is the NOW HABIT. So scrap that scary to-do list. If you do only one thing this week, make it this: order this excellent book.