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Top positive review
13 people found this helpful
5.0 out of 5 starsDon't Delay! Read it!
ByG.S. Zimmermanon February 28, 2012
I really, really, really like this book! I found it at the public library and thought it would be another lame, "make lists, set goals and priorities" book but boy was I wrong! Rather than letting it sit for a week, like I normally do, I read it straight thru in two evenings. I'm a recovering "world class procrastinator" so I was ready to be disappointed, as I have been with so many other books on this subject, but it wasn't to be! Bottom line: I like the fact that he has science to back up his suggestions and some clear, step-by-step ways to implement them. I bought the book so I could highlight the heck out of it (libraries tend to frown on that practice. Go figure?) and have started using the ideas that fit my pattern of "addiction" - and they are working! Maybe its just me, maybe its the book or a combination, but I'm getting results that other books haven't provided. Don't skip the evaluation quizzes in the first chapter and do the full online version as well - you may not like the results! If you really suffer from procrastination this might be a book for you. Don't procrastinate! Buy it now and read it!
Top critical review
3 people found this helpful
3.0 out of 5 starsGood read, but I was expecting more concrete ways to eliminate procrastination.
ByLineon March 16, 2017
Not a good how to book. Explained the history and the why of procrastination, but slim on specific tools and techniques.
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ByG.S. Zimmermanon February 28, 2012
I really, really, really like this book! I found it at the public library and thought it would be another lame, "make lists, set goals and priorities" book but boy was I wrong! Rather than letting it sit for a week, like I normally do, I read it straight thru in two evenings. I'm a recovering "world class procrastinator" so I was ready to be disappointed, as I have been with so many other books on this subject, but it wasn't to be! Bottom line: I like the fact that he has science to back up his suggestions and some clear, step-by-step ways to implement them. I bought the book so I could highlight the heck out of it (libraries tend to frown on that practice. Go figure?) and have started using the ideas that fit my pattern of "addiction" - and they are working! Maybe its just me, maybe its the book or a combination, but I'm getting results that other books haven't provided. Don't skip the evaluation quizzes in the first chapter and do the full online version as well - you may not like the results! If you really suffer from procrastination this might be a book for you. Don't procrastinate! Buy it now and read it!
13 people found this helpful
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ByLineon March 16, 2017
Not a good how to book. Explained the history and the why of procrastination, but slim on specific tools and techniques.
ByGreen Roseon December 7, 2013
Heard this about this book on a procrastination website. Excellent book. I'm rereading it again, highlighting portions that inspire me. I was really getting trapped and losing opportunities to even make extra money because of falling into the abyss of the "putting off until later" syndrome. Lots of notations and citations. Adds to the validity of the writer's expertise. Wish I read it earlier as I could have accomplished much more. I'm already doing some healing which starts with quit blaming oneself. I'm wired this way and I CAN learn to live with this in a more productive way. That's what I learned.
ByLuciana Andrade da Silvaon May 13, 2013
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. The author also dicusses the topic in a responsible way, escaping from magic formulas or miracles to solve the problem. It's a condition we have to deal with every day, the more we know about it, the more we have control over it. It's helping me a lot!
If you're reading this review you probably have the same problem I do or are close to someone who does. I've read a few other books on procrastination over the years that didn't put a dent in my habit. Most of what I'd read previously told me I was a perfectionist and due to the fear of not being able to do something perfect, I'd put it off. I worked on the perfectionist thing and think I made some good progress. But there were still things that I constantly put off, even though it often took less effort to just do them than it would have to keep making excuses and cover up problems caused by the procrastination. (I know a bunch of you can relate.) This book is different. Piers Steel is one of us, or WAS one of us. He totally gets it and knows all the tricks we use to delay doing things we need to do and all the ways we justify it to ourselves. His writing is sympathetic and not condescending. He's says procrastination has been his life's work, both as a researcher and practitioner. He's a professor of human resources and organizational dynamics at the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business and a leading researcher and speaker on motivation and procrastination.
Now I don't have long term experience using his techniques, since I just finished the book, (Hey, I didn't procrastinate about writing the review!) but they all make sense and are well researched. There are a couple of techniques that were, for me, "Aha!" moments, things I kinda knew before but that didn't really connect. Some of his techniques are also things you've probably read about, but once you realize the real reasons you procrastinate, they make more sense and you'll likely approach them a different way. I could never understand before why I rarely procrastinate about work related things (other than doing expense reports) but I do put off doing many other things that I also enjoy. (And a lot that I don't.) He explains why.
The book is easy to read and not overly wordy. My review copy of the book was 218 pages of reading and 74 pages of footnotes and comments. I like when authors on topics like this note all of their research and Steel did a great deal of it. He drew from a lot of studies and also from research that wasn't necessarily on procrastination, but that contributes or relates to it. He has a friendly writing style, one that makes you feel like you might be sitting in a comfy room with him having a chat over a drink. Maybe that's because he realizes that people like us would put the book aside and never get around to finishing it if it was the least bit boring. I really like this book and am glad I read it. It's already starting to make my life easier with some of the techniques he suggests.
Don't put off reading this book.
Now I don't have long term experience using his techniques, since I just finished the book, (Hey, I didn't procrastinate about writing the review!) but they all make sense and are well researched. There are a couple of techniques that were, for me, "Aha!" moments, things I kinda knew before but that didn't really connect. Some of his techniques are also things you've probably read about, but once you realize the real reasons you procrastinate, they make more sense and you'll likely approach them a different way. I could never understand before why I rarely procrastinate about work related things (other than doing expense reports) but I do put off doing many other things that I also enjoy. (And a lot that I don't.) He explains why.
The book is easy to read and not overly wordy. My review copy of the book was 218 pages of reading and 74 pages of footnotes and comments. I like when authors on topics like this note all of their research and Steel did a great deal of it. He drew from a lot of studies and also from research that wasn't necessarily on procrastination, but that contributes or relates to it. He has a friendly writing style, one that makes you feel like you might be sitting in a comfy room with him having a chat over a drink. Maybe that's because he realizes that people like us would put the book aside and never get around to finishing it if it was the least bit boring. I really like this book and am glad I read it. It's already starting to make my life easier with some of the techniques he suggests.
Don't put off reading this book.
I have lots of projects in my life but I always found myself procrastinating so I ordered this book from amazon to get tips on how to stop goofing off and start working on my projects.
The Procrastination Equation is a book written by Piers Steel, In it, the author tells you about why is it that we procrastinate, how we decided to put things off, what do we tell ourselves when we procrastinate and how to reduce or eliminate procrastination. While reading the book I often felt like the Author was talking about me, as the examples he gives out fitted me like a glove and this is what kept me hooked on this book, the Author uses so many examples of different types of procrastination (didn't even know there was more than one XD) and gives us so many real life examples of people doing it that you just can't stop reading.
The Book also gives us many ways to help us to reduce procrastination and tools, depending on the type of procrastinator there are methods to fight back against it, I found out I have sever procrastination problems, however I was still able to read this book in its entirity and was even congratulated becuase of it. Anyway I started using some of the techniques described in the book and while its hard to quit procrastinating like any vice, with the help from this book I have managed to set goals and continue with my projects (writing a book is one).
If you think you are a procrastinator or not, give this book a read, even if you are not its a fun read and will actually help you know when a friend is actually procrastinating or really a perfectionist at work.
The Procrastination Equation is a book written by Piers Steel, In it, the author tells you about why is it that we procrastinate, how we decided to put things off, what do we tell ourselves when we procrastinate and how to reduce or eliminate procrastination. While reading the book I often felt like the Author was talking about me, as the examples he gives out fitted me like a glove and this is what kept me hooked on this book, the Author uses so many examples of different types of procrastination (didn't even know there was more than one XD) and gives us so many real life examples of people doing it that you just can't stop reading.
The Book also gives us many ways to help us to reduce procrastination and tools, depending on the type of procrastinator there are methods to fight back against it, I found out I have sever procrastination problems, however I was still able to read this book in its entirity and was even congratulated becuase of it. Anyway I started using some of the techniques described in the book and while its hard to quit procrastinating like any vice, with the help from this book I have managed to set goals and continue with my projects (writing a book is one).
If you think you are a procrastinator or not, give this book a read, even if you are not its a fun read and will actually help you know when a friend is actually procrastinating or really a perfectionist at work.
THE PROCRASTINATION EQUATION takes a fairly superficial approach to understanding behaviors which lead us to procrastinate, and ways to counter them. It does discuss a few common reasons for procrastinating, and provides some useful pointers. However, it doesn't delve much into the nature of emotional blockages and obstacles, nor deal with the lack of clarity and the confusing ambiguities and complexities we may encounter when avoiding or facing a difficult task.
The book (which is 1/3 footnotes and bibliography) consists of ten chapters on such topics as How Modern Life Ensures Distraction, the Personal Price of Procrastination, the Economic Cost, Balancing Under- and Over-Confidence, and Managing Short-Term Impulses and Long-Term Goals. The author briefly discusses the role of the prefrontal cortex and limbic system in regard to distractibility and avoidance of unpleasant activities. His focus however is on three factors that influencing procrastinating behaviors - the value of an activity (is it boring or meaningless?), expectation (can we expect to succeed at it?) and time management (are we able to forego immediate gratification and focus on long-term goals?).
"You need a string of future goals that you find intrinsically motivating to hook your present responsibilities to," he tells us. Controlling environmental triggers helps, as does creating constructive routines and habits, breaking down tasks into tiny steps, rewarding ourselves, preparing for setbacks, and learning how to recover from failures. If we are really blocked, we can gain energy by doing tangent tasks related to the target task. The first step is the most difficult, and approaching it so that we can experience an initial small success will increase our confidence and further motivate us.
All of these are useful tips, although not particularly new, original, or life-changing. They can help motivate us to tackle the humdrum activities we avoid on a regular basis. But what about the emotionally difficult ones? What about the ones which we avoid because of very real internal or external obstacles? Are there not times in which we need to "honor the resistance" and perhaps as a result re-evaluate our needs and priorities in order to reawaken our motivation? As a psychotherapist, I have often found that there are VERY GOOD reasons why people avoid doing many activities that they think they should do, and those reasons need to be honored.
Not all procrastination tendencies are due to laziness, preference for watching tv or surfing the Web, and addiction to immediate gratification. But Piers Steel seems to assume that most procrastinators have the disposable time, energy, health, clarity, knowledge, know-how and/or skills necessary to tackle the activities which they avoid and which they SHOULD be doing.
Some actions (e.g. a necessary confrontation with a parent) may trigger unresolved traumas from the past or have unfortunate consequences. Others may requires skills we do not have, stirring up feelings of shame or inadequacy or confusion in regard to how to get the help we need. If, for example, we are chronically ill or overcommitted (e.g. working fulltime while caring for several young children), we may not have the energy to do all that is urgent on our to-do list, and may procrastinate on the most demanding tasks, even if they are the most important. How do we come to terms with our procrastinating tendencies such very real and arduous circumstances?
Sometimes, simply deciding whether a task is worth the investment of energy can paralyze us. Would we, for example, be wasting our time applying for jobs in a field for which we are barely qualified? Often we procrastinate because we are unclear, unable to make a decision, to assess the value of an action or its likely consequences, or to understand how to go about doing it.
Steel refers indirectly to some of these issues, but doesn't explore them or give us the tools we need to move through the confusion and work through the internal obstacles. Nor does he focus enough on the intrinsic value of committing ourselves to building our self-respect, and experiencing on a regular basis the very real satisfactions of increased self-mastery. His book would be much more valuable if it provided this kind of psychological insight and guidance.
The book (which is 1/3 footnotes and bibliography) consists of ten chapters on such topics as How Modern Life Ensures Distraction, the Personal Price of Procrastination, the Economic Cost, Balancing Under- and Over-Confidence, and Managing Short-Term Impulses and Long-Term Goals. The author briefly discusses the role of the prefrontal cortex and limbic system in regard to distractibility and avoidance of unpleasant activities. His focus however is on three factors that influencing procrastinating behaviors - the value of an activity (is it boring or meaningless?), expectation (can we expect to succeed at it?) and time management (are we able to forego immediate gratification and focus on long-term goals?).
"You need a string of future goals that you find intrinsically motivating to hook your present responsibilities to," he tells us. Controlling environmental triggers helps, as does creating constructive routines and habits, breaking down tasks into tiny steps, rewarding ourselves, preparing for setbacks, and learning how to recover from failures. If we are really blocked, we can gain energy by doing tangent tasks related to the target task. The first step is the most difficult, and approaching it so that we can experience an initial small success will increase our confidence and further motivate us.
All of these are useful tips, although not particularly new, original, or life-changing. They can help motivate us to tackle the humdrum activities we avoid on a regular basis. But what about the emotionally difficult ones? What about the ones which we avoid because of very real internal or external obstacles? Are there not times in which we need to "honor the resistance" and perhaps as a result re-evaluate our needs and priorities in order to reawaken our motivation? As a psychotherapist, I have often found that there are VERY GOOD reasons why people avoid doing many activities that they think they should do, and those reasons need to be honored.
Not all procrastination tendencies are due to laziness, preference for watching tv or surfing the Web, and addiction to immediate gratification. But Piers Steel seems to assume that most procrastinators have the disposable time, energy, health, clarity, knowledge, know-how and/or skills necessary to tackle the activities which they avoid and which they SHOULD be doing.
Some actions (e.g. a necessary confrontation with a parent) may trigger unresolved traumas from the past or have unfortunate consequences. Others may requires skills we do not have, stirring up feelings of shame or inadequacy or confusion in regard to how to get the help we need. If, for example, we are chronically ill or overcommitted (e.g. working fulltime while caring for several young children), we may not have the energy to do all that is urgent on our to-do list, and may procrastinate on the most demanding tasks, even if they are the most important. How do we come to terms with our procrastinating tendencies such very real and arduous circumstances?
Sometimes, simply deciding whether a task is worth the investment of energy can paralyze us. Would we, for example, be wasting our time applying for jobs in a field for which we are barely qualified? Often we procrastinate because we are unclear, unable to make a decision, to assess the value of an action or its likely consequences, or to understand how to go about doing it.
Steel refers indirectly to some of these issues, but doesn't explore them or give us the tools we need to move through the confusion and work through the internal obstacles. Nor does he focus enough on the intrinsic value of committing ourselves to building our self-respect, and experiencing on a regular basis the very real satisfactions of increased self-mastery. His book would be much more valuable if it provided this kind of psychological insight and guidance.
ByB.L.on July 27, 2011
There is some interesting material in this book, but I think that many of the people who could potentially be helped by it won't get far enough in to get any real benefit. A book that targets people that procrastinate enough that they would want to buy a book for help needs to start addressing the question of "what to do" early on in order to help make sure people even get through the book. This one waits until the end to give you much in the way of suggestions.
I was reading an uncorrected proof that was given to me for review purposes by the publisher, but unless they massively restructured this book you have to wait until nearly to the end to get any substantial advice. I would still recommend this to people that I think would have a strong interest in topics like theory and the personal impacts of procrastination, but for your typical procrastinator it's only decent. It's worth a look, but definitely not a "must read".
I was reading an uncorrected proof that was given to me for review purposes by the publisher, but unless they massively restructured this book you have to wait until nearly to the end to get any substantial advice. I would still recommend this to people that I think would have a strong interest in topics like theory and the personal impacts of procrastination, but for your typical procrastinator it's only decent. It's worth a look, but definitely not a "must read".
ByD. Worthamon June 10, 2011
Summary: Well written, well researched, good techniques to combat procrastination. Worth buying for yourself or as a gift.
---
This is a really well written book. Dr. Steel approaches the subject from a scientific point of view which could have easily turned this into a dry tome on the subject.
Far from it. It reads like a novel. Interesting and well written.
The bulk of the book is taken up with explaining why procrastination exists along with some interesting historical information about the phenomenon. Historical figures are also quoted remarking on procrastination.
As the title indicates, Dr. Steel has created a formula for putting things off, an equation to represent the likelihood of experiencing it in any given situation.
The last part, really almost a third, of the book concerns itself with ways to combat this omnipresent beast. This is really some fresh reading and the good Dr. addresses his solutions to fit his model of procrastination. If you are a self help junkie then there may be nothing actually new here but without a doubt you haven't read it the way it is presented here since his thesis is unique (at least I've never heard it described the way it is in this book). The very last part is a fictional tale that incorporates his solutions in story form.
So, a well written book with some interesting insights into procrastination and then some real ways to combat it.
A few things I didn't care for:
Dr. Steel brings up politics a few times. Please. Please. Please. If your book is not specifically about politics or religion just leave it out. You will offend someone needlessly. Some people will say 'so what' and my response is you are missing the point dummy.
He mentions Taylorism and Henry Ford and gives Ford a bit of a short shrift in the balance. Taylorism was the germ of Ford's assembly line operation but Ford was the person that took the theory and made it work. And it wasn't so simple as just doubling worker pay. Ford is the man responsible for Weekends no matter how many times you hear the lie about Unions gifting us with that blessing. I know some union zombies will down thumbs me for truth telling but before you do that google it yourself and quit drinking the union koolaid.
Ford is also the man that gave us the 40 hour work week. He also did that to take Taylorism from theory to practice.
There are a few other things I found off or even objectionable. You probably will too.
Oh! Are you stuck trying to get your job search off the ground? Keep putting off what you really need to do? You could benefit directly from this book. He deals with job hunting specifically over several pages. I thought that was kind of interesting since changing jobs or getting a new job can be a huge area of procrastination.
Highly recommended if you suffer from putting things off mildly or insanely. There are probably very few people that couldn't benefit from this book. It would make a great gift to that self admitted procrastinator in your life too.
---
This is a really well written book. Dr. Steel approaches the subject from a scientific point of view which could have easily turned this into a dry tome on the subject.
Far from it. It reads like a novel. Interesting and well written.
The bulk of the book is taken up with explaining why procrastination exists along with some interesting historical information about the phenomenon. Historical figures are also quoted remarking on procrastination.
As the title indicates, Dr. Steel has created a formula for putting things off, an equation to represent the likelihood of experiencing it in any given situation.
The last part, really almost a third, of the book concerns itself with ways to combat this omnipresent beast. This is really some fresh reading and the good Dr. addresses his solutions to fit his model of procrastination. If you are a self help junkie then there may be nothing actually new here but without a doubt you haven't read it the way it is presented here since his thesis is unique (at least I've never heard it described the way it is in this book). The very last part is a fictional tale that incorporates his solutions in story form.
So, a well written book with some interesting insights into procrastination and then some real ways to combat it.
A few things I didn't care for:
Dr. Steel brings up politics a few times. Please. Please. Please. If your book is not specifically about politics or religion just leave it out. You will offend someone needlessly. Some people will say 'so what' and my response is you are missing the point dummy.
He mentions Taylorism and Henry Ford and gives Ford a bit of a short shrift in the balance. Taylorism was the germ of Ford's assembly line operation but Ford was the person that took the theory and made it work. And it wasn't so simple as just doubling worker pay. Ford is the man responsible for Weekends no matter how many times you hear the lie about Unions gifting us with that blessing. I know some union zombies will down thumbs me for truth telling but before you do that google it yourself and quit drinking the union koolaid.
Ford is also the man that gave us the 40 hour work week. He also did that to take Taylorism from theory to practice.
There are a few other things I found off or even objectionable. You probably will too.
Oh! Are you stuck trying to get your job search off the ground? Keep putting off what you really need to do? You could benefit directly from this book. He deals with job hunting specifically over several pages. I thought that was kind of interesting since changing jobs or getting a new job can be a huge area of procrastination.
Highly recommended if you suffer from putting things off mildly or insanely. There are probably very few people that couldn't benefit from this book. It would make a great gift to that self admitted procrastinator in your life too.
I don't need a book to tell me I'm a procrastinator. I know I am. However, The Procrastination Equation reveals the different types of procrastinators out there (I didn't realize we came in different flavors) and how our nasty habit of procrastinating can hurt us in the different facets of our lives. This is revealing...like someone taking the rose-colored glasses and showing us the wall of hurt we face if we don't find a way to control our procrastinating ways.
The Procrastination Equation is a good book to read in dissecting the subject and the problem of procrastination while also offering sound advice to help conquer it.
The Procrastination Equation is a good book to read in dissecting the subject and the problem of procrastination while also offering sound advice to help conquer it.
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