Procrastination: How to do it well

by The School of Life

Many of us are quiet geniuses at the art of procrastination. We tend to feel so guilty about everything we haven't done yet (and the hours frittered away as though we were immortal), we never get around to reflecting on why we delay and how we might do so less o en. It seems as if we have procrastinated too much to deserve a new start. Far from it. As this book shows, procrastination isn't a weird affliction we alone have been cursed it's a fascinating and solvable design-flaw of the human animal. The goal is not to remove procrastination altogether (it sometime has things to teach us), but to understand its roots and plot a nimble path around it. This is a book about managing our procrastination, getting the most out of our afternoons on the sofa and then sometimes daring to get on with the most important tasks in our lives.

Genres: Self Help, Productivity, Personal Development, Nonfiction, Psychology, Philosophy, Personal Growth

55 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 31, 2020

About the author

The School of Life is a global organisation helping people lead more fulfilled lives.

We believe that the journey to finding fulfilment begins with self-knowledge. It is only when we have a sense of who we really are that we can make reliable decisions, particularly around love and work.

Sadly, tools and techniques for developing self-knowledge and finding fulfilment are hard to find – they’re not taught in schools, in universities, or in workplaces. Too many of us go through life without ever really understanding what’s going on in the recesses of our minds.

That’s why we created The School of Life; a resource for helping us understand ourselves, for improving our relationships, our careers and our social lives - as well as for helping us find calm and get more out of our leisure hours. We do this through films, workshops, books and gifts - as well as through a warm and supportive community.

Reviews

[Graeme · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely little book, full of unconventional wisdom and beautifully presented. You will feel better after reading it, and may find much joy in the rest of your life.

[Hadithe Mz · Rating 4 out of 5]

یه کتاب کوچیک و جمع و جور درباره به تعویق انداختن کارها، درباره فواید و معایبش، علت‌هاش، راهکارها و دیدگاه‌های جدید درباره تعلل.
ارزش خوندن داشت، خیلی سریع و راحت هم خونده میشه.
من با ترجمه نسترن حسینی‌نژاد یزدی از نشر لگا خوندم.

[Javiera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libro cortito con distintos enfoques y reflexiones sobre la procrastinación. Excelente para darle una vuelta y una mirada distinta a este "mal" que nos afecta a todos 😌

[J.G. Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise, beautifully written, and completely engaging. The layout of this tiny book is so attractive that you can't stop reading it until finishing it, at least that is what happened to me. It puts in words all my afraid and releases me of them while reading it. I am thinking of reading it every morning until I know every single word by heart

[Ziyy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that I know the theory of procrastination and other things around it, I guess I can use it to deal with every time that procrastination comes.
Well, it's a piece of comprehensive knowledge about procrastination. Well written, concise, and useful enough to be used as a guide.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There is enough time left."

[Vitor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but useful book, along the same vein as all other books by The School of Life. A therapeutic-ish view on procrastination, why it happens, and examples of procrastination that push us to be more accepting of our own faults.

Key insights to me—not necessarily new, but definitely worth rereading from time to time:
1) Our shame about procrastination just guilt-trips us into procrastinating more.
2) Unfortunately, we often procrastinate on the things we care most about. In a counterintuitive way, being less attached to the outcome of our biggest priorities will help alleviate stress and reduce procrastination.
3) Procrastination is often caused by a tunnel vision on our immediate responsibilities, losing sight of how they fit into our long-term plans (and that we signed up for them)
4) Kierkegaard seems to write on some questions I think a lot about, in particular around the decisions we must make that end up closing other, potentially alluring, paths. Fearing these decisions is a major source of anguish in life. This is very related to some cornerstone ideas behind my blog and personal philosophy, so Either/Or is now high on my reading list.
5) Procrastination is very correlated with our environment, and we can make changes to our routines that make it harder to procrastinate. For me, this means working at a library/office rather than at home, limiting how much time I can spend on social media, blocking distracting apps and websites, and scheduling commitments with friends.
6) Achievement in one area of life requires mediocrity in another. To become masters in our craft, we must accept that we will ignore and procrastinate on things we don’t care about. We don’t need to banish procrastination. We just need to choose what we’re allowed to procrastinate on, so that we can be good at something else.

[Gabriele ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of great points of view: procrastination is not just one type of activity - and it’s not that you can interpretate it in different ways.
No, procrastination is one name - for many different activities.
That’s my conlusion.I recommed. I read this book for 5 months.

[Zahra · Rating 5 out of 5]

So enjoyable. I suggest it to everyone specially students and parents.

[Fairy Biba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh I love most of the books of this publishing house! I wish I discovered them sooner! Great insights, it saves you a lot of time on thinking, thinking for you straight at the core

[Maui Rochell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short book from The School of Life tackling about procrastination, its origin and its effects. I love the history side to it.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressively thought provoking for such a small book

[CH JAHNAVI · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me feel understood in a time of absolute catharsis.It will make you cry and smile genuinely.A truly amazing piece of work.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to confess I procrastinated half way through this book🙂
But that’s the point of reading it.
Off to gaze out the window and think small thoughts.

[Biminator · Rating 5 out of 5]

หนังสือเกี่ยวกับ ความขี้เกียจ ที่บอกเล่าในเชิงปรัชญาโดย ท้าวความตั้งแต่ประวัตืศาสตร์ของมนุษย์ ไล่เรียงวิวัฒนาการณ์ของความขี้เกียจจนมาถึงปัจจุบัน โดยบอกแง่มุมต่างๆมากมาย ของสาเกตุของความขี้เกียจและผู้อ่านสามารถนำแง่คิดเอาไปสำรวจตนเองได้