The Anti-Procrastination Habit blows away the competition when it comes to other books on the subject, and believe me, I’ve read most of them.
Steve Scott, who is known for creating content that is actionable, doesn’t waste the readers’ time when he dives right into the action tasks we can implement right away to kick procrastination out of our lives once and for all. As I was reading this book I had to take notes, which I rarely do when reading, because there is a lot of tasks and tips for saving time, avoiding distractions, and focusing on the 80/20 that I wanted to start using right away.
The book kicks off with an explanation of the reasons why people procrastinate. Grasping these reasons gives us greater leverage to recognize procrastination when it’s happening. There is reference to the GTD material by David Allen that serves as a comparison to the Anti-Procrastination Method Steve describes throughout the book. But as we learn, GTD isn’t for everybody, especially if you are already struggling with procrastination. It is hard to take action and get organized when dealing with overwhelm and mental paralysis from all the things occupying your attention. This is where the Anti Procrastination Habit comes in.
I like the approach Steve takes from the beginning by asking readers to “Just focus on the items that you have the ability and capacity to do from today until one year from now.” This cuts out a lot of the stuff we get pulled into that wastes time and energy, two vital components needed for combating procrastination.
Steve provides a framework for dealing with procrastination that he gets into at the 1/3 mark by asking readers to “Focus on 5 Core Projects.” Having been through this exercise, I can say that it is the core foundation of the book that makes reading this all the worthwhile. From here, we learn about the 25-5 rule and identifying core values that make up our belief system. Just for reference, this rule gets you to write down 25 projects you have in your life that matter…then cut out 20 of them and focus on just 5.
The Anti-Procrastination system here is really well explained and organized. Steve walks you through how to choose the five core projects in line with your values, and how to stay focused on just these five projects while ignoring all of the other noise [aka those other 20 things that are not important right now]. There is a part on SMART goals that serves as a great reminder of who to set these up and stick with your goals through weekly reviews.
One of the core philosophies behind the Anti-Procrastination method is to identify a few core activities in your life, singularly focus on them, and eliminate everything else. This frees up your time so you are not procrastinating on what is really important. But the question that the system answers is: “How do I stay focused, balanced, and productive with all of the daily little stuff that gets in the way?”
This is where the “Big Rock Theory” comes in. If you don’t know what that is, it is worth it to read and find out. You’ll have a greater grip on the big 5 you should focus on without getting pulled away by the little stuff.
Moving into the last part of the book there are some great tactics here for staying on course. They are:
1. Block out time on a calendar for commitments, hobbies, thinking time, meetings and spending time with friends or family.
2. Practice batching and create theme days.
3. Set aside time for deep work [check out Cal Newport’s book of the same name]
4. Plan your weekly schedule
Finally…my favorite part. We finish the book with “14 daily practices to end procrastination.” These practices are discussed as:
1. Resolve Any Potential Emergency
2. Do a 5- to 10-Minute Daily Review
3. Focus On Your MITs
4. Eat the Frog
5. Use the Eisenhower Matrix to Make Quick Decisions
6. Complete Quick Tasks Immediately
7. Create a Mini Habit for Challenging Tasks
8. Build Elephant Habits for Ongoing Projects
9. Use Sprints to Work On Challenging Projects
10. Build the Discomfort Habit
11. Remove Hidden Blocks with the Awareness Habit
12. Bundle Rewards with Actions
13. Attach All Tasks to a Goal
14. Create Accountability for Your Tasks
The bottom line with this book is this: if you struggle with procrastination and you feel like you’re stuck like I was, the solution is in the Anti-Procrastination Habit system. I’ve started using it and I’ve already taken action on tasks I was putting off for years. I just needed a solid, straight forward system to help out and explain why I was feeling overwhelmed.