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19 reviews for:
The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done
Piers Steel
3.56 AVERAGE
19 reviews for:
The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done
Piers Steel
3.56 AVERAGE
I listened to the audiobook. The performance is engaging, the concepts are explained thoroughly with good examples, and the offered techniques seem to be useful and practical. Ask me in a month :-)
Helpful insights on productivity and procrastination. Offers some good strategies to work with procrastinating tendencies and shows a lot of background in research. It's also a quick read - so now I can get back to work!
I was given this to read by someone who thought it might give me some ideas for helping my son who definitely has some challenges in this area. I gave this three stars because for a self-help book it is pleasantly full of actual research. However, I ended skimming through a lot of padding, and there really isn't anything new or particularly helpful here.
Reading this book just reminded me of my goals and dreams. To be honest, my dreams are so sky high that I've stopped looking at it because it strains my neck. It just seems so unlikely that I will ever get there. So these days, I've just been focusing on taking one (tiny) step at a time. As a result, I've completely forgotten what I'm doing all these things for. There are times when I just come at a full stop, as well. For longer than I would have liked.
Anyway, I came across this book at just the right time! What a read! I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about motivation!
Anyway, I came across this book at just the right time! What a read! I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about motivation!
Sigh. The opening chapters on the brain and how it works, how it programmed towards procrastination is very good, but could have been seriously condensed. Chapter 5 & 6 (Personal and Economic cost of procrastination) are annoying, unnecessary and overly long. I skimmed the end of chapter 6 because seriously, it's obvious information and had been covered in 5 and the beginning of 6 more than enough.
I am cautiously hopeful that Steel will have *something* useful to say in the remaining 100 pages, but I am not betting on it.
His premise that procrastination is not as frequently tied to perfectionism as we think/have been led to believe is interesting and I am considering his equation seriously.
Chapter 7 begins by talking about the positives and negatives of optimism - very interesting construct about how finding the right balance of this quality is important, and how too much optimism aids in procrastination. This is making sense to me.
Now deeper into "how to improve your skills to reduce procrastination" section, not bad, interesting ideas, but it's not sticking well - which may have to do with mostly reading this book before bed, but I suspect it is also due to the way Steel writes.
I am cautiously hopeful that Steel will have *something* useful to say in the remaining 100 pages, but I am not betting on it.
His premise that procrastination is not as frequently tied to perfectionism as we think/have been led to believe is interesting and I am considering his equation seriously.
Chapter 7 begins by talking about the positives and negatives of optimism - very interesting construct about how finding the right balance of this quality is important, and how too much optimism aids in procrastination. This is making sense to me.
Now deeper into "how to improve your skills to reduce procrastination" section, not bad, interesting ideas, but it's not sticking well - which may have to do with mostly reading this book before bed, but I suspect it is also due to the way Steel writes.
informative
medium-paced
Good book. Pretty well written. The research chapters weren't real interesting, but the application chapters at the end were good. While you probably won't find any real earth shattering ideas, they are presented pretty well.
I am anti-self help but Dr. Steel's research is so intriguing, helpful and accessible. His research is thorough and I found myself flipping back and forth between the text and footnotes. It literally changed the way I think about my self and my goals. Engaging read. Bonus points for referencing Will Ferguson's Happiness. I'll keep this book at hand to refer to again and again.
informative
slow-paced
The Procrastination Equation is a good book if you've been procrastinating and you want that initial push that gets you to start moving. A lot of generic advice that you get from most self-help books is here but told in an honest way. The book says that procrastination is not a disease but something we are all genetically and environmentally predisposed to. This is a very healthy way to look at procrastination as it helps you to come to terms with whatever is holding you back and understand why it's happening and how to prevent it the best you can.
It says that accepting that you are addicted to delay is the best outlook and not to justify why you procrastinate to yourself but to reflect on your past failures. Expect that you are likely to fail and move accordingly, just figure out the end goal and devise the steps to get there. Keep each other accountable and try to gain inspiration from every avenue of life.
While the book title has the word 'Equation' in it, the part of the book that is ironically hard to NOT put off reading is when it tries to use science to convey the big picture. While the 'equation' presented is a simple and effective way to look at procrastination, it's not really something that can aid you in your day to day. A couple of chapters could be shaved off that were talking about food, history and sex. Besides these minor criticisms The Procrastination Equation is a very useful book if you're trying to get back into the rhythm of things and you need a partner that can guide you through it.
It says that accepting that you are addicted to delay is the best outlook and not to justify why you procrastinate to yourself but to reflect on your past failures. Expect that you are likely to fail and move accordingly, just figure out the end goal and devise the steps to get there. Keep each other accountable and try to gain inspiration from every avenue of life.
While the book title has the word 'Equation' in it, the part of the book that is ironically hard to NOT put off reading is when it tries to use science to convey the big picture. While the 'equation' presented is a simple and effective way to look at procrastination, it's not really something that can aid you in your day to day. A couple of chapters could be shaved off that were talking about food, history and sex. Besides these minor criticisms The Procrastination Equation is a very useful book if you're trying to get back into the rhythm of things and you need a partner that can guide you through it.