Soon: An Overdue History of Procrastination, from Leonardo and Darwin to You and Me

by Andrew Santella

An entertaining, fact-filled defense of the nearly universal tendency to procrastinate, drawing on the stories of history’s greatest delayers, and on the work of psychologists, philosophers, and behavioral economists to explain why we put off what we’re supposed to be doing and why we shouldn’t feel so bad about it.

Like so many of us, including most of America’s workforce, and nearly two-thirds of all university students, Andrew Santella procrastinates. Concerned about his habit, but not quite ready to give it up, he set out to learn all he could about the human tendency to delay. He studied history’s greatest procrastinators to gain insights into human behavior, and also, he writes, to kill time, “research being the best way to avoid real work.”

He talked with psychologists, philosophers, and priests. He visited New Orleans’ French Quarter, home to a shrine to the patron saint of procrastinators.  And at the home of Charles Darwin outside London, he learned why the great naturalist delayed writing his masterwork for more than two decades.

Drawing on an eclectic mix of historical case studies in procrastination—from Leonardo da Vinci to Frank Lloyd Wright, and from Old Testament prophets to Civil War generals—Santella offers a sympathetic take on habitual postponement. He questions our devotion to “the cult of efficiency” and suggests that delay and deferral can help us understand what truly matters to us. Being attentive to our procrastination, Santella writes, means asking, “whether the things the world wants us to do are really worth doing.”  

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, History, Self Help, Productivity, Science, Adhd

210 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 13, 2018

Reviews

[Allwynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must admit, I did put off reading this book for the longest time. But once I delved into it, I saw in true procrastination like fashion, lots of antidotes/good stories about fellow esteemed procrastinators and putting off the answer how to fix the issue. It was everything I expected and wanted out of this book, would write a more solid ending to this, but I'll have to finish this thought later...

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re a procrastinator looking for a self-help book, this certainly is not it. But if you’re looking for a quick, funny, and intellectually intriguing look into the minds of some of the world’s great procrastinators, it is worth your time - even if you’re reading it to avoid doing something else.

[Theodore Kinni · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wandering exploration of procrastination by a fellow practitioner--and NO advice for fixing it. Good stuff.

[Tash Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean it was good, and Santella was funny and witty, however I didn't gain an awful lot from the book. It was a solid read, just not amazing.

[Manpreet Kaur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Are books on psychology always this boring!

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

He tries to composite the definition and the practices (outcomes also at times) of the habit of procrastination. The read was interesting in the examples of the famous examples' habits and outcomes for some huge procrastination event/ events in their lives. I loved all that minutia of people like Da Vinci, B. Franklin, Darwin and others to a 4 star. But somehow that was like a gem set into a cheaper metal flawed ring setting. Because within all of that there was too much "me" talk and rather silly procrastination examples of the author on the way. I thought the idea that we were so often taught as children (early mid or mid 20th century) about procrastination equating to sloth, laziness, idle lack of initiative-that was the type of example in connotations that cored the better chapters. And that's not always true, and yet sometimes it certainly is true.

He put quite a bit of his own Catholic set of "taught" cognition for this subject into some of it. And yet I never once got the onus that he had much, if any, faith. Which to me, came off rather strange. But he sounds sincere and he does take this from all angles. The problem was that times all those angles didn't seem to connect. It was OK, but from the cleaner than average beginning I thought it would be better in the entire. Maybe I expected too much.

In age, I find that in certain prime decisions or quotients for "change" that procrastination becomes more important and often wiser, not less. In moving locations and other big decisions, for instance. That's why you should always rent awhile in any location before you begin to do the "buy" thing.

The practical applications expansions (how can you continue an art project with similar materials 25 years later??)is what I thought was missing from this. That and a more scientific view to what procrastination in some fields could compose. But maybe he just didn't get around to it!

[miteypen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some interesting bits in it about famous procrastinators (Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci, Frank Lloyd Wright) and a lot of personal stories about the author’s own experiences with procrastination, but ultimately it didn’t go anywhere, which is fitting, I suppose. It’s as if the author couldn’t decide how he wanted to present the topic, so he just meandered all over the place. However, it was a short read and a pleasant enough way to spend some time. But I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that reading it kept me from doing other things that I should have been doing. In fact, I suspect reading for me is one of my greatest procrastination tools. Ah, well, better that then to do other things in order to avoid reading.

[Azita Rassi · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a refreshing book! Really fun.

[Kaisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful philosophical meditation on the eternal problem of procrastination. Despite the cover's similarity to productivity and self-help books, Soon by Andrew Santella is anything but. There are no tips here, this will not motivate you to be more efficient or to complete your masterpiece. But that being said, I can't recommend it highly enough. A wonderful read!

[Darnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book worthwhile, but not enjoyable. It's short on science and long on personal thoughts. What makes it valuable is that it does provide a lot of insight into the author's perspective on procrastination/work/life, which is very different from mine. I can't say I feel particularly convinced, but understanding people better is worthwhile.

[Peter Geyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book arrivedin a package of discounted books I'd spent some time ordering. There were limited copies of some and because of my delay in finalising the order, mulling about finances and struggling with the website, I missed out on two of the most interesting books.

This makes me a procrastinator, which for some appears unforgivable and even a moral failure, as at least as far as Andrew Santella's entertaining book explains.

My defence (or explanation) would be that my decision-making was derailed by problems with the website, as well as whether I should really be ordering any books at all given the numbers of partly read or unread tomes in my possession. The loss of two possibly interesting texts is a consequence, but it's not the end of the world and I may find them again. Or not.

Santella outs himself as a procrastinator, and proceeds to give examples of procrastination of historical figures, including the apparently somewhat organised and scheduled Charles Darwin, the somewhat erratic Leonardo da Vinci and others.

Whether intended or not, he highlights an issue about this category being a judgement of outsiders i.e. that so much more would have been achieved by you, me or anyone else if we were more decisive, organised or whatever.

This perspective presumes that people are all the same, or at least should be and that everybody is eminently trainable to be structured, scheduled, ordered, possibly in all aspects of life. Santella makes lists for instance, but really doesn't use them, suggesting that he's bought the idea that making a list is both useful and also a road to doing something, highly contestable in my view and here I'm speaking as a person that finds lists demotivating and that deadlines are not usually a problem.

Making a list can be a waste of time, and a distraction from doing anything at all. Being focused on a task to the exclusion of anything else may mean that an idea goes to waste because it means interrupting what you're doing.

I've just done that now, leaving where I'm sitting now to write down a phrase that I want to use later for something I'm intending to write about.

Santella appears more easily distracted than I might be, but his personal examples make sense, even if I wouldn't necessarily go to that extent.

This isn't an academic book, but some general musing about a topic with investigations involving the past (personal and otherwise) and some travel and interviews as seems to be the norm these days for a particular kind of writing.

I read this in parts of the afternoon and evening, so did other things in between. I did have an aim to finish it, and then go back to other books I'm currently reading. If you're wondering about schools, workplaces and general cultural issues then this is an easy and informative way of making you think; if you find yourself under the label of "procrastinator" then there's a bit of laughter as well as some information for you to explain yourself (not defend) to yourself, and others.

[Fern · Rating 5 out of 5]

If like me you are a procrastinator(Andrew, who knew we shared this!), or if you love a procrastinator
(and who doesn't even if we may drive you a little crazy), you'll enjoy this lively, entertaining, funny, quick read filled with interesting journeys and tidbits of information.

[JZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not enough there there. Too many first world problems and mental meanderings. A few funny things, and some good historical detail made it worthwhile, but it was just a way for me to procrastinate today. ;)

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this instead of attending to more pressing matters.

[Delia Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful extended essay on procrastination, meandering through Charles Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Ellis, and Frank Lloyd Wright, this book is a quick read and the antithesis of self-help. It is full of choice quotable nuggets and meditations on the author’s fondness for dithering and putting off. I am grateful to this book for making me aware of the crow-assassinating St. Expedite.

I read it in an extended gulp, pausing only to clean my bathroom thoroughly while avoiding all my more pressing life projects.

[Lee Underwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun. A bit of a romp. I’ll avoid any procrastination jokes, here. Reading this felt like reading an extended essay by a witty friend with a generous supply of banter. Spent my day reading the whole thing, which is the best way to do it.

[Brett Milam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most surprising thing about this blog post is that I’m writing it. Right now. Instead of tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the next month. That’s because I just finished listening to Andrew Santella’s 2018 book about procrastination, Soon: An Overdue History of Procrastination, from Leonardo and Darwin to You and Me.

In the book, Santella, a chronic procrastinator like myself, sets out to sort of find solace, maybe even justification, in the research into why we procrastinate, in the procrastinators of the past, and in gallivanting around the world to get up close and personal with the monuments to procrastination (literally in one case). That is, I think I’m safe in saying that Santella is sick of procrastination having such a negative connotation in our society, and in point of fact, Santella’s thesis is that procrastination is often one of our few ways of rebelling against a society that commands order, regiment, and productivity in a timely fashion. Procrastination is our middle finger to the God of Now.

But, of course, procrastination, all the usual joking aside, is decidedly one of the most anti-Buddhist concepts there is, much less to embrace it in any way, because it is anti-present. At least, anti-that-thing-I-must-do-in-the-present. Which makes it, in Santella’s estimation, an optimistic, and one could even say a faith-based, viewpoint because tomorrow is always there to be counted on — tomorrow we can get that thing done. However, where the destructive part comes in is that we all know we are going to die; thus our time is limited, and it would follow that to procrastinate is to self-sabotage our limited time on Earth.

Santella’s answer to that is that the mind’s way of thinking of ways to not do what we are supposed to be doing is one of the the greatest gifts we have been given — that it gives life its flavor. In other words, all is not lost, not even time itself. That in chaos, there is creativity. In messiness, there is beauty. In shirking our responsibilities to the “now,” there are new doors to walk through.

Of course, when you’re contrasting, as Santella does, the lives and accomplishments of da Vinci, Darwin, Frank Lloyd Wright, and others, it doesn’t exactly give me much solace. As he points out, yeah, they were all procrastinators in one way or another (Darwin procrastinated on the seminal work of his life, and our species, 1859’s On the Origin of Species, for 20 years because he was preoccupied with his love of, and fascination with, … barnacles), but uh, our form of procrastination is often to take a nap. So, it’s not like there is much gift in that, although I do love naps! But his point is taken that sometimes when I’m doing something else rather than the thing I ostensibly ought to be doing, some of my best work has manifest, and often related back to the thing I ought to be doing.

In other words, it’s that writing cliché of, even walking (or napping) is “writing” because it’s giving myself the space (and time!) to actually do the writing.

Let me hone in on Darwin for a moment because I would be remiss if I didn’t geek out. Admittedly, as someone who isn’t a science guy, but is fascinated by science, I don’t know much about Darwin, but consider: Darwin jotted down in his notebook “each species changes,” and with those three words, he changed the course of human events forever. I get goosebumps just writing that. Three simple words. From those three words, he came to understand the culling process of mutations, i.e., those that benefit (and allow those species to continue to survive), and those that lead to the downfall for a species, as the process of natural selection. Imagine arriving at this groundbreaking idea, one which Santella argues Darwin well-understood was as much, and sitting on it for two decades. What if he died before he could fully flesh it out?! I suppose that’s a mark against procrastination, or distractions! But hey, as Santella said, we all have our barnacles; our ways of doing everything but the thing.

The more important point, I think, in Santella sifting through history to find the procrastinators of prior eras is to prove a point that cuts against conceptions of our modern culture: Distractions have always been with us, and procrastinators have always been held captive by them. Distractions and procrastinating therein is not a phenomenon of the digital age, the internet, and apps in our pocket; nor is it even the phenomenon of 24/7 cable news and the radio; or the telephone; or on and on. Procrastinators have walked in our midst, being distracted by this or that, for centuries. We stand on the shoulders of giants of procrastination.

I think the worst stereotype, or negative connotation, associated with procrastination is that the person procrastinating is lazy. As a chronic procrastinator, I can feel the heat of the negative scorn when people call me a procrastinator, like I am messing up in some way. And Santella argues that this stereotype probably developed from the procrastinator himself, for after all, the procrastinator would rather you think they are lacking effort (being lazy) than think they are lacking ability. Because that is the worse charge of the two. It is the fear of not expressing one’s ability fully, and to its best capacity, that often stymies the start of something, leading to procrastination.

Leaning on British philosopher Bertrand Russell’s In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays (where Russell argues, among other things, that a “great deal of harm” is done by those who buttress the virtuousness of work), Santella’s book is decidedly not an advice book (he detests those self-help books), but an apology in the nomenclature of the day, and an apologia, in the way the Greeks meant it, an “argument for” procrastination. He believes our culture is too geared toward productivity, embodying the cliché of “time is money,” and making us feel guilty for not doing the thing. For being a procrastinator. We are so uncomfortable with the thought of, well, sitting with our thoughts! Of being idle. Productivity. Efficiency. Go go go. However, arguably, unlike any other field, creativity sometimes needs that cauldron of idleness to blossom into something worthwhile.

Procrastinators tend to fall into two categories, Santella said: The procrastinator who can’t even get started, and the procrastinator who can’t finish, both sometimes afflicted with a desire for perfection. I tend to float between both. Sometimes I find it difficult to start (but once I do, it’s easy, which is frustrating), and sometimes I find it difficult to finish (I get so amped to start that the follow-through is often lacking). Interestingly, Santella said he’s a procrastinator who also partakes in to-do lists because there is something satisfying about crossing items off of a to-do list. Yet, I was thinking, I’m not a to-do lister because that’s just another thing to do! What tends to happen is, if I do a calendar, or a list, or whatever else, I tend to ignore it. Womp womp.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout-out to Roger Wayne, who read Santella’s book, and did a good job of conveying the casualness of the words. Santella’s book is easygoing, light, and humorous, although it does go deep in the nerdy woods on some of the historical procrastinators, and the research..

I’m not sure I quite get to where Santella is in terms of feeling vindicated by the past for my future procrastination of the present, and that procrastination can be a gift, and a virtue, but I also agree with him that procrastination has an undue negative reputation, and we shouldn’t feel so darn guilty about it. Freeing ourselves from that guilt is a worthy endeavor.

To that end, mission accomplished, Santella. I feel less guilty for now. Until next time.

[BOOKLOVER EB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Santella’s “Soon” is a tongue-in-cheek exploration of procrastination. Included in this slim volume is a bit of historical background as well as handy rationalizations for our tendency to dilly-dally. Santella claims that he misses deadlines, shirks responsibilities, and finds more satisfying things to do than the job at hand. Rather than beat himself up for his failure to stay on task, he discusses such famous procrastinators as Moses, St. Augustine, Leonardo da Vinci, Charles Darwin, Edgar Allan Poe, and Frank Lloyd Wright. (Where are the female procrastinators, one wonders?). In 1837, when Darwin was twenty-eight, he returned from “a nearly five-year circumnavigation of the globe aboard the H. M. S. Beagle.” What he saw made him ponder why various species changed over time. Yet Darwin's magnum opus, “On the Origin of Species," was not published until 1859.

Alas, not everyone considers procrastination to be a minor imperfection. The author quotes Professor Joe Ferrari, who believes that putting things off is “rooted in unmanaged moods and emotion.” Timothy Pychyl states that “there are real costs to procrastination…. economic costs, yes, but the personal costs are huge. In relationships. In self-worth.” Benjamin Franklin sums it up succinctly: “Lost time is never found again.”

Why do we dawdle when our conscience tells us that we should make to-do lists and stick to them? Among the reasons are fear of failure, distractibility, and a perverse reluctance to let the calendar dictate what we do and when we do it. Whether you are a go-getter or a slacker, you may enjoy Santella’s wit, self-deprecating humor, charm, and erudition. Next time you find yourself daydreaming in the midst of an important project, you can console ourselves with the following words of wisdom: “To conform to dictated timelines and schedules is to cede some measure of individuality and humanity.”

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I thought it was going to be, but it was a mildly amusing and thoughtful book to read for a few days. Since I am a huge procrastinator, I was really hoping for some tips on how to shake myself out of my usual "I don't wanna do it" rut. This book, however, took me on a journey of procrastination through the years, interspersed with personal confessions from the author. I did find some of it fascinating, though. I didn't know about Charles Darwin's obsession with barnacles. (We all have our barnacles.) I hadn't heard procrastination referred to as a "self-handicap," which does make total sense. I didn't know there was a patron saint of procrastination, St. Expedite. I didn't know there were clubs for procrastinators. (You have to wonder though, if the members are truly procrastinators, how does that work?) There was even a bit on motion study, and how we use the same terminology for time as we do for currency. The author had some theories about how the things you do while putting off what you're supposed to be doing can be valuable activities in themselves. Eh, maybe. I'm more of the mind that I'm just incredibly lazy!

[Erin Kernohan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decidedly okay rumination on procrastination. I thought I would relate more to the author because I have identified myself as someone who procrastinates. However, after reading this book, aside from a few key things, I don't think I'm a procrastinator at all. Part of the problem is that there doesn't seem to be a good working definition of procrastination in the book, or if there is one it's muddied by some unconvincing examples and a narrow view. I enjoyed reading the parts about St. Expedite the most - there's something comforting about there being a somewhat unofficial Saint for those who tend to put things off. I think my take away from this book is that procrastination is a matter of perspective, more about what others think you should be doing rather than what you should actually be doing.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd and occasionally interesting and amusing book the ponders the tendency of humans to put things off, to not just get up and do what needs to be done, but rather to find all sorts of other things to do instead. I had anticipated more of a historical/biographical study of famous procrastinators, and while some of that occurs, there is more personal musing, sort-of philosophizing and random thoughts on the whole question of why it is we are often so reluctant to do what is immediately required.
I liked this well enough. Nicely written, but largely forgettable.
He calls Darwin a procrastinator, without considering Darwin's clear understanding of how thoroughly his insights would shake up society and science. Leonardo, too, procrastinated, putting off commissioned projects for years, decades even.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, funny and interesting tidbits. Not a self-help book, just a look at some other procastinators and how sometimes a better outcome comes of not being so quick to finish something! Is it wrong I had to renew this book twice (2x) from the library because I just didn't get around to reading it right when I checked it out??? :)

[Ian Yarington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in the giveaways back in February so when I finally got around to reading it I felt a little connection. Honestly though, I wasn't sure if I would like this book, but it turned out to be a well researched and interesting book. I'm glad I finally decided to read it.

[Roger Smitter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This quick read begins with one of the greatest procrastinators (according to the author) of all time: Charles Darwin. Seems that Darwin collected lots of data on his trip to the Galopolus Islands but didn’t write the book that has shaped our understanding of biology until 20 years had passed.

Procrastinator Leonardo da Vinci gets a chapter as well. Frank Lloyd Wright gets a mention (but not a chapterz). Santella cites data that suggests 1/3 of all undergraduates are prognosticators. (I think the majority of them were in my classes). Someday I’ll do a book about how to cure the plague based on my experience. don’t believe that.

He also introduces the Lichtenbergian Society, a real-life group in Georgia whose motto is “cars melior est”. (Tomorrow is better). The meeting place has a sign over the door: Meeting postponed to tomorrow.

While there’s considerable fun in the book, there’s also a lesson. Fortunately, the book doesn’t give us a formula for overcoming our tendencies to put off work or decisions to the future. The book ends with a useful chapter that in the hands of other authors might give us the cure to sorrowing about procrastination.

BTW, I wrote this review an hour after I finished the book.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this advanced copy for free in exchange for an honest review. Here it is.

I really enjoyed this light read. But I would say that as a procrastinator, wouldn’t I?

There are lots of funny one liners in this book that had me laughing out loud. It was kind of like observational humor. Pointing out the little ways that we justify our inaction.

I have a slight issue with authority so much of what the author said resonated with me. A small sample from the closing chapter - “Our evasions, our small delusions and self-deceptions, these are what give life its flavor. They are what help us feel a little less at the mercy of our obligations and the systems of control that impose them.”

I’m not sure that I would have consciously picked up a book about procrastination when I have a stack of other books I’m waiting to read, but I’m glad that I did. It has led me down my next rabbit hole of reading about Leonardo Da Vinci and Charles Darwin. Great thinkers that let themselves follow their interests... it’s not procrastination if I don’t have anything else I am obligated to be doing.. but I would say that, wouldn’t I..

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is like many others of its type. The author picks a facet of everyday life, dissects it from several perspectives (scientific, psychological, historical, etc.), runs around the country or world finding unique takes on the chosen facet, comes to grips with it on a personal level, and finally wraps it all up with a few witty closing remarks. I've read looks like this on butter and traffic, to name two.

What I want from a book like this is some insight into the chosen subject. I would say Santella gets me part way there. I enjoyed reading about Darwin and his barnacles, Frank Lloyd Wright, Saint Expedite, Leonardo da Vinci and others. The opening chapters dealt more with the "whys" of procrastination, which I found a little more interesting, but not particularly actionable if one's goal is self-improvement.

It's a plus that the book is a quick read.

[Kathleen Garber · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for a book to teach you to stop procrastinating, this is NOT that book. This is an homage to procrastination. The author procrastinates all the time and even procrastinated on writing the book. He uses real life examples from history to show that people have always procrastinated, and probably always will.

You’ll hear more about Charles Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci and other people from history who seemingly procrastinated. He reveals what his research found and what others who write or talk about procrastination have to say.

It’s a short book and can be read in one sitting if you’re a reader like me. Reading the book is just for fun, it won’t better your life or anything. However it may make you feel less guilty about procrastinating or help you understand you’re not alone in doing it.

[Les · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean...if you were dying to learn a lot about the author (you've never heard of), then read this.
Highly unlikely though. I wasn't. There are factoids but that's mostly it.
Some good one liners, but you can stumble across those on your own from like...living and to a lesser extent, paying attention.
It's not a history of procrastination despite some field-related research.
It's info about notable people through mostly mainstream history who have procrastinated and then, primarily, a ton of detail about the author's own journey. His journey is somewhat relatable but not very interesting.
The quote endorsing it on the cover referred to it as "catnip". Not quite.
Shame - I liked the concept and the spirit of the book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best thing about Soon is that it is mercifully short. After reading the blurbs on the book and a few reviews, I expected to come away with some history of procrastination and some understanding of why so many of us tend to procrastinate. There are a few of those points in this book, but they are buried beneath rambling mini-biographies and completely unrelated facts. What is most off-putting though, isn't the lack of organization in the writing, but self-satisfied the author is. He makes generalizations and assumptions, then follows them with jokes that I do not find amusing. It seems more like an attempt to be found charming than to educate the world about procrastination. I would put it off if I were you.

[N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

An entertaining read but it's important to note that Soon is about procrastination's positive side. It is absolutely not a book on how to avoid procrastination and become more productive. In fact, the author goes into the history of productivity and how a single man with a timer ended up being the founder of all that misery-inducing emphasis on doing things faster to increase the bottom line. The author also mentions cases in which procrastination may have led to better results in the long run.

If you're looking for a book on how not to procrastinate, I recommend The Procrastination Equation by Piers Steel, an author and researcher who is casually mentioned in Soon.

I received a copy in return for an unbiased review from HarperCollins. Many thanks!