The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done Hardcover – December 28, 2010

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.

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.

I'm writing this review during time I reserved to write my novel, so I have plenty invested in this book's topic. But as a teacher, I see procrastination's lingering, destructive consequences daily. As my colleagues dither about grading and administrators dilly-dally over budgets, students take their cues from us and do as little as possible, right up to the moment their work is due. How can we break this cycle?

Dr. Steel identifies three procrastination categories: we expect to fail; we don't value the work; and we let momentary impulses rule us. We may show any or all of these. Each reason begins in different brain regions, incubates under different conditions, and expresses itself in different ways. But each costs us, not only as individuals who miss our rewards, but as a society, when lost productivity translates into economic doldrums.

Steel, a psychologist, combines new research in psychology, neurology, economics, political science, and more fields, extracting a broad overview of what procrastination is, where it originates, what it costs us, and how we can redress it. His suggestions for fixing bad habits require fine-tuning for your individual situation, but they can get you started pulling your time together and accomplishing your long-held goals as painlessly as possible.

While I wonder if those who most need this advice will ever plow through such a book, I applaud Steel for presenting his research and counsel in such lucid terms. He writes with humor, humility, and a lively tone that keeps readers engaged. While he's unlikely to pry everyone away from his identified sources of procrastination, if a few make even mild gains, the individual and social rewards will be profound.