The More You Do The Better You Feel: How to Overcome Procrastination and Live a Happier Life

by David Parker

This practical book is loaded with proven ideas to help you overcome procrastination and get more done. -Brian Tracy, Author of the International Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time A well put together informative book that brings awareness to disabling and habitual procrastinating behavior patterns. This is the best self-help book I have read in years! -Kenneth Reddan PhD, LCSW Are You A Human Ostrich? Do you stick your head in the sand at the thought of dealing with a task that seems boring, complicated, or unpleasant? Do you pay your bills late because the last time you balanced your checkbook was more than six months ago? While working on a task do you keep thinking you should be dealing with a different task? Is your living space messy and your life unorganized? Do you clean up only when family or friends will be visiting-only to let your place fall back into untidiness after they've gone? After you've cleaned for visitors, do you tell yourself "it doesn't count!" because you weren't doing it for yourself? Have you stopped having visitors over because you're ashamed of your mess? Do you worry you'll feel embarrassed if the landlord, a plumber, or a repairperson needed to visit your place? Do you constantly compare yourself to people who seem to "have it together?" Does your habitual procrastination leave you feeling depressed and anxious? Do you know the 25 characteristics and behaviors of the human ostrich? Are you concerned that your child or someone you care deeply about is becoming a habitual procrastinator? The Solution To Your Habitual Procrastination Is Here! Learn the golden rules of overcoming procrastination. Stop falling victim to the downward cycle of procrastination and depression. Stop feeling overwhelmed and immobilized with fear by learning how to effectively cope with your tasks and responsibilities. Become a "do"-er by learning easy to use and highly effective new tool - The J.O.T. Method™. About the David Parker suffered for years with depression and anxiety. During a particularly low point he recalled a friend's advice and started keeping a feeling's diary. As time passed, he saw a connection between the tasks that he avoided facing and his poor feelings and low self-esteem. Armed with this insight, David taught himself to face his tasks and the overwhelming feelings they brought by learning to focus on Just One Task, which he incorporated into "The J.O.T. Method™." David Parker has lived in London, San Francisco, and Brooklyn, New York. This book was previously published How Many Procrastinators Does It Take to Change a Light Take Control of Your Life and Defeat Immobilizing Depression! Unfortunately, some consumers found that title to be a bit too lighthearted and they questioned whether the book was serious. Its new title, The More You Do The Better You How to Overcome Procrastination and Live a Happier Life, better reflects its serious nature. To find out more about this book and author, please visit our website www.DavidParkerAuthor.com.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Psychology, Productivity, Health, Personal Development, Adhd

311 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 4, 2015

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.

Reviews

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the vicious-cycle link between procrastination and depression—and how to break it with one very simple technique that anyone can do. As it happens, I just became clear on this exact thing myself a week or two before I read this book, so I agree: if you have the type of depression characterized by not enough dopamine and being externally motivated (an obliger in Gretchen Rubin’s model of The Four Tendencies), this is just what you need.

If you’re not sure whether that’s you, don’t worry: the author spends a good chunk of writing on exactly what it looks like and how it feels. I’ve been there enough in real life, thank you—no need to go on and on so I re-experience it by reading when I’m otherwise healthy. Eventually, I skipped on to the good stuff.

The author’s solution is the J.O.T. Method (TM) (really, over and over, like people are lining up to steal this term off of every page). It stands for Just One Task (and also “jot it down”). The idea is: think of one small task. Write it on your list, clearly and concisely. Do it (and don’t do anything else until you have). Then mark it off. Repeat.


Why this works:
1. Making the tasks tiny and clear makes them immediately doable. I don’t know how many times I’ve gotten myself stuck by writing things like “redo website” on my to-do list. Do the opposite of that—make your tasks tiny and unambiguous. That breaks the hold of overwhelm and low self-esteem, and enables you to do the task.
2. Accumulating a list of checked-off tasks proves to you that you CAN do something.
3. Each time you check something off, you get a hit of dopamine.
4. If you struggle with internal motivation, this gives you a bit of external accountability.

I think the author is correct and this method can be life-changing for the people who struggle with this. I definitely recommend it. The only minus is how long this book takes to describe such a simple solution. I buy that maybe if you just tell it right out, people might dismiss it as being too simple and not try it. But do we really need 223 pages in a 6”x9” book to explain this? I feel like it could have been a blog post or a 10,000-word ebook. But again, I’m not suffering currently, so I’m not the target audience. Maybe depressed people really need to read a lot.

Well, ok, another beef: I would quickly go mad if I wrote down “throw away piece of junk mail” for every single piece of junk mail. Even the “advanced technique” of writing tally marks when you do many instances of one task seems like it would get really tedious in cases like this. I think it’s important to realize that you need to find the right level of granularity for YOU when you track your tasks. Just as “clean house” is too big, “remove one speck of dust” x 999999999 can also be overwhelming and feel like you’ll never finish, so what’s the point? “Dust living room furniture” or “sort one stack of mail” is about the right size task for me. YMMV.

[Emma Sea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely prefer The Art of Taking Action, but this is sound, too.

[Zoe Coyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dual nature of book is incredibly effective

Being a procrastinator often leaves you feeling ashamed - this book makes you realize that you're not alone, which I found to be the most helpful realization from this book. Things that I thought only I experienced - incapacitation at normal tasks, an ability to do well at work and nothing at home, and watching endless amounts of TV - Parker shows to be relatively common side effects of being a procrastinator. The dual nature of this book - an examination of why we procrastinate, and a technique for overcoming it - I found to be immensely helpful, much more than any self help book or article I've read in an effort to increase motivation or productivity.

[Carrie Slager · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Full disclosure: I received a free paperback from the author at Book Expo America 2015 in exchange for an honest review.]

I am a habitual procrastinator. I have been since I was in middle school because I could always get away with a good mark despite doing my work late the night before (especially essays for English). And I never really grew out of that habit. Instead, it’s migrated to take over other things in my life like cleaning and other generally unpleasant tasks. So when I met David Parker at BEA offering a copy of his book, I was quite willing to give it a try. And I did, several months ago.

So why didn’t I review it until now? Surprisingly, the answer is not procrastination.

The answer is that I’ve virtually cured my procrastination since reading it in beginning of June. Of course I’m not perfect (and this book does not expect perfection) but I have really, really improved from where I was. It was especially helpful while I was preparing for my big move in the middle of August and needed to do an insane amount of inventory and cleaning. I’m not the sort of person that believes powerfully in self-help books, but this one is definitely one that worked for me.

David Parker starts the book describing his own procrastination and habitual procrastinators will end up nodding along. “Yes, I definitely do that…I also think [x] negative thing whenever I don’t get things done”, etc. He then describes how procrastination becomes a habit and then how it absolutely takes over your life. Then in the second section of the book he goes on to describe how to take steps toward curing your procrastination using his J.O.T. Method™ (Just One Thing Method).

I didn’t follow the instructions exactly but the idea of writing done just one thing, doing it and then crossing it off appealed to me. I’m sure it seems so simplistic and ridiculous to people who don’t sufer from procrastination but for me it really did help. I could see what I was doing and I finally had motivation to do it just so I could cross off that item. As time moved on, I made longer and more sophisticated lists where I was doing several things every day in order to get my life back together. For example, I began vacuuming every Friday night before I went online so that I didn’t keep leaving the vacuuming until someone was coming over or until it was so filthy I couldn’t stand it. Again, this may seem very simplistic but I can’t describe what a relief it was to finally be doing something—and to have the motivation to do that thing.

Of course your procrastination won’t disappear overnight and it may take several months like mine did but it is such a relief to act like a normal adult now. I’ve finally said goodbye to my awful middle school habits and have taken responsibility for my life. It’s easy to fall back into the trap of procrastination, but Parker also deals with that in his book. If you fall off the horse, get back on again and don’t beat yourself up about it. He has very practical solutions for dealing with the negative self-talk all of us procrastinators have. And if you’re someone who is close to a procrastinator, there’s also a chapter for you to better understand and support them on their journey to ending procrastination.

Basically, this is a pracitcal no-nonsense approach to ending procrastination. It’s written in clear language that everyone can understand and it actually helped. I think that’s really all you can ask for in a self-help book, right?

I give this book 5/5 stars.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. I think the author has summed up the sticky complexity of procrastination perfectly, and shown the side of it that borderlines on obsessive compulsive disorders very clearly. I totally understood what he was describing. Will try his methods and see how I do about getting more done.

[Monika · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing. The whole book can be summarised with one sentence: “Write down your task, and then do it”. Seriously?

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very simple but very effective method, backed up a comprehensive analysis of some of the emotional traps that lead to procrastination. In addition, the author covers the relationship between depression and procrastination.

[Lidija · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually remember the first time I procrastinated, since my sister loves to bring it up every so often to show what a sad/funny case of it I have. It was during my first college exam period. There was a lot of stress involved in the process as there tends to be, especially because, for first time in my life, I had to memorize an entire textbook for the final. Faced with the prospect that I might fail, and everything that would mean about me, my life, my potential and my options, I decided to draw an incredibly detailed map of, of all things, Ireland. As in, a VERY detailed map. By hand. For HOURS. (To be fair, I was in the throes of reading James Joyce and W.B. Yeats, so it wasn't like I was having a complete meltdown. And it was pre-Google Maps.)

We procrastinate for a number of reasons. Sometimes it's just that box of papers you don't want to get through. Sometimes it's raw worry that you will fail (see above). Those are different concepts and therefore cannot be addressed the same way. So your first step should be to figure out where your procrastination is coming from (for that I would recommend the amazing Do It Now!: Break the Procrastination Habit, a much deeper volume on the issue).

This book will help to get you started. Much like a clogged drain, there's some help in pure momentum. For people that don't procrastinate much, Parker's book is going to seem simplistic. For those of us that do, it will sound like he had a camera on you and knows exactly how you delay/sabotage your own progress. Then he starts building the upward spiral out of the condition. Is it simple? Yes. Is it predictable? Yes. BUT SOMEHOW IT WORKS. Case in point: the first day I used his method, I got 42 things done from my outstanding task list. I felt amazing, probably from all those dopamine hits my brain got from accomplishing things that had been weighing on me.

Loved, loved, loved this book. Will revisit periodically if I need it. Thank you wherever you are Mr. Parker!

[Naessens · Rating 2 out of 5]

While it is always nice to read about the struggles of a fellow procrastinator, I find the first half of this book too long. I felt like forcing me to read about the author's experiences and symptoms of procrastination was actually procrastinating.

Fortunately, in the second half of his book, David Parker describes one method that has proved efficient for him : the "Just One Task" method. Basically, it is like a to-do list but without two of its usual drawbacks :
- instead of writing a long list of tasks, but never accomplishing anything on this list, one shall write and do one task at a time ;
- the list of tasks is not too long and demoralizing, since there is always no more than one task to execute.
Of course, it is explained in more details in the book, exceptions are dealt with, etc...

I agree with other readers' comment, the writing style is not good. If you really want to read this book, I advise to skip the first part, read the few chapters about the J.O.T. method and the last recap chapter. It'll save you time, which is precious for procrastinators.

A final warning : like other "motivational" books, it can work for readers who have the willingness to change. Simply reading a book is not going to magically change a procrastinator into a do-er.

[JennyB · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this book has proven helpful to readers, I don't want to be disparaging about it. Except, I want to be disparaging about it.

It is, first of all, about 200 pages longer than it needs to be. I can sum up what you'll get from it by telling you this: take one task you've been avoiding, break it down into components, make a list, and cross off each step as you complete it. Do you need 250 pages for that? I think not.

Second, if you insist on slogging through additional extraneous reading, at least do yourself this favor: start with Chapter 16, the "Review," then go back and cherry pick through whatever you want to know more about. I'd be willing to bet it's not much that's covered in chapters 1 through 9.

Last, my three stars are given reluctantly. I didn't *hate* this, so I won't give it two stars. But it is dated - balancing a checkbook? paying bills with like checks and stamps? who does that?! no wonder you put it off! - and I didn't find it particularly insightful or motivating. Basically, it hasn't done much to change my negative impression of self-help books, and I doubt it will do much to make me less of a procrastinator either.

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helps us understand why we procrastinate and how we can overcome it.

We procrastinators do not realize how the way we think and how we self-talk can defeat us, causing us to be depressed , and how this develops into an endless cycle causing us to feel defeated. It gives us advice on how we can take the first step toward action and start feeling good about ourselves. We feel so good about completing a dreaded task, that we want to have this feeling again. My procrastination centers mostly around housework. This book talks a lot about that. Once we begin the process of completing some cleaning and organizing tasks, we like the results so much that we do not want to go back to our old ways; however, we will sometimes mess up and slip back into our old habits. When we do that we will be so depressed with a messy disorderly house, we are reminded that we have the capability of getting it back in order because we have done it before. This book talks about procrastination with tasks other than housekeeping, but that is the area that applied to me the most.

[David Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes it felt as if he'd been watching me waste time. Never knowing why I couldn't break the habit. Yet at work I'm able to get so much more done. But at home I feel paralyzed. Thank for the JOT method.

[Yuri Pérez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like it takes forever to get to the point and it is not even that great

[Ahjonjon · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, I have to say the writing and formatting is kind of ugly and off-putting. Parker has a personality that rubs me in the wrong way. Regardless, the first half of the book painted a very familiar picture of a procrastinator - me.

As I related oh so well, there was a repeating refrain of "this will take time." It's not a quick fix book. But the principles here, mostly the borrowed JOT Method, are extremely helpful. Even though I'm not a fan of the writing style, I can't deny the value of this topic and the real stories that are shared in this book.

We are not alone, and don't have to stay this way as habitual procrastinators.
Also, as a person who has struggled with depression on and off over the years, it was helpful to see the correlation between procrastination and my feelings. As simple as the title is, I know my mental health won't be miraculously healed by simply doing things. But knowing steps and tools that can help me combat those spirals is extremely valuable.

Highly recommend!

[Christy Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all fall along a spectrum when it comes to procrastination, but even those with a more mild tendency can take something from this book. Parker emphasizes patience above all else, which cannot be repeated often enough as a form of true self-care, as well as being a foundation for better relationships. He also ties inactivity and indecision to depression - citing the chicken and egg dilemma, which I found interesting. His JOT technique is based on focusing on one thing at a time, and although he doesn't specifically mention it as a tool for mindfulness - it helps keep one present in the moment.

The book is also an account of David's journey, and I was cheering him on (for finishing the book) and by extension all of us who have been stymied by procrastination and negative self talk.

[Jacqui Schischka · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the title of this book and wholeheartedly agree with it however this book just didn't hit the mark for me. It was very badly written and was really only an anecdotal account of a former procrastinator's journey to becoming more productive.

In saying that, it was an interesting read however the author's procrastination went a lot further than mine! I still do my dishes at night so perhaps you could say I am a "functioning procrastinator". The author's JOT method was interesting too and may help some people and I definitely agreed with the link the author made between depression and procrastination.

[Karen Counts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical and Simple Tips

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to overcome procrastination and overwhelm. The author presents practical tips and techniques that work to break out of self-defeating inaction. The basic techniques, and the fact that much of the book is framed in bulleted lists, are especially helpful for those in active depression. Overall, I would rate it very good, and I found the techniques helpful.

I took one star away because the author became a bit repetitive, and because he seems to believe that just because something rhymes, it is automatically true. I would have liked to see a bit more science included or referenced.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple, effective nuggets of wisdom from an awful writer filled with far too many cheesy examples.

Pros: a few good pearls/tips along with a system that can be effective for some. Also, a good book to help you change your mindset about procrastination and realize your not alone in a society that fetishizes achievement and struggle.

Cons: this guy is no bill Shakespeare. He is a downright awful writer and reading the book is eye roll inducing at times. Too much fluff for the few bits of good stuff. Should be 75 pages instead of 225ish.

[Ekj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simplistic and repetitive

I am a procrastinator. I have been for years and years, and I do get depressed when the procrastination becomes overwhelming and I can’t even get started. The author advocates what he calls The JOT Method … write down just one task. Essentially, it’s making a list but you write Just One Task (ie, JOT), do that one task, cross it out, then write another Just One Task and repeat. The only advantage I see is that you don’t get overwhelmed by a long list of tasks. Will see if it helps …

[Luz · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book was unnecessarily long, 400 pages! What procrastinator can handle that many pages without getting bored and loosing focus? I only finished it because I made a promise to myself that I would, but it was painful. I didn't get much out of it. The author should have fallow his own rules about dealing with habitual procrastination when writing this book. Should have given us the J.O.T. in dealing with larger projects with this huge book!

[Ridwan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is such a boring book. I have no clue how it was approved for publication. I understand that authors need to fill pages with fluff, but this book takes it to the next level. Everything mentioned is fluff and rambles. The publisher and the author should be paying us to read this garbage. I hate this book with a passion.

If any fascist decides to ban and burn books, this one should be on top of the list. Do not recommend!

[Jevgenij · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main idea of that book is to keep a list of todo items and cross them out when done. In general it's a quite effective method, although I would argue with keeping only one item on the list at a time.

Other suggestions are basically just mentioned as bullet points and are very generic.

If this book was 2 times shorter, it would have been much better.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Parker’s JOT Method outlined in his book is a great way to get started if you don’t feel like doing much. I’ve tried pretty much every to do list program and technique but they all seem fun at the start but a lot less fun when they are full of hundreds of tasks! It’s much more like a fun adventure to have a blank piece of paper each day and see what you will end up doing.

[Russ Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reminders of the simple stuff. Sine new ideas as well

Even though some concepts were simple and good reminders of the simple stuff (jot method, Todo list). It was different enough to be interesting and valuable. I also really liked the tie in to feeling good and ultimately the goal of accomplishing tasks is to feel good.

[Arthea J. Larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have felt increasingly “stuck” at home, living in the face of a thousand tasks that I can’t seem to catch up on. The method described in this book has been a game-changer. My perception has shifted so that I can now pat myself on the back for what i’ve done rather than beat myself up for what remains.

[Lorraine A Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should be on the top 10 list for Psychology reading list

I took a chance on this book after reading many others about procrastination and thank God I did. David is brilliant and if you think I’m exaggerating buy the book and prove me wrong.

[Regi Trotter · Rating 3 out of 5]

No more procrastination

The editing should have been done better. What happens when depression is not a byproduct of your procrastination? More could have been done in relationships.

[Sonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay

It started out promising enough, I thought the author e,explained the reasons why people procrastinate very well but the remedy i felt was too simplistic and wish he had offered more than just one way to overcome it.

[Joanna Leona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful overall, but far too long

I enjoyed the first few chapters, but then it started to feel redundant. I had the sense that continuing to read this book had become a form of procrastinating in and of itself.

[Paul Bristol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall depressed cope book…. Overall kinda looser vibes, like you gotta be really down to read this, actually so bad it made my depression worse. Only getting an extra star cause a couple of the chapters were solid.