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Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change

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Why do we sabotage our own best intentions? How can we eliminate procrastination from our lives for good? Based on current psychological research and supplemented with clear strategies for change, this concise guide will help readers finally break free from self-destructive ideas and habits, and move into freedom and accomplishment. With numerous practical tips for change, Solving the Procrastination Puzzle brings clarity and scientific studies—and a touch of humor!—to the quest for successfully achieving goals. This accessible guide is perfect for entrepreneurs, parents, students, and anyone who wants to get unstuck, stop delaying, and start living their most inspired life.

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 29, 2013

750 people are currently reading
6194 people want to read

About the author

Timothy A. Pychyl

7 books55 followers

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5 stars
1,595 (27%)
4 stars
2,059 (35%)
3 stars
1,507 (26%)
2 stars
411 (7%)
1 star
203 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 504 reviews
Profile Image for John Martindale.
874 reviews102 followers
January 27, 2015
This book was short and sweet. I liked his example of the butcher shop that has a sign that reads “Today meat is at regular prices, tomorrow all meat is free” and when people come in tomorrow, the Butcher than just points to the sign and tells the person to come back tomorrow, only for them to return and the Butcher again points to the sign. This captures our regular experience of thinking “I don't feel like doing it now, I'll to it tomorrow” only for the morrow to come, and again we think “I don't feel like doing it now, I'll feel like it later”.

When we begin to think this way, we should acknowledge that if we don't feel like doing something today, we will most likely not feel like it later. Therefore, we should just get started. Often when we get started, we gradually get into the work. But once we get started, of course, distractions could come, and thus it is good to create some “if ----- then -----” scenarios, to help us not get derailed, and also try to separate ourselves from Facebook, e-mail and text, and recognize that “It will just take a minute” logic often leads us to doing something, and than suddenly two hours later....
Profile Image for Emily.
253 reviews
March 20, 2017
Listened to the audio version of this one. It was decent for a self help type of book. It was short, so that was a plus as sometimes they can be a little dry.

I learned a few things about procrastination.
1. Tomorrow never comes. We put off things until tomorrow and when tomorrow gets here, we continue to put it off again.
2. Procrastinators would rather have instant gratification than dealing with something unpleasant. I would rather play games on my phone than start whatever chore. The unpleasant task continues to be put off.
3. He suggested writing down the items that you always procrastinate and how you feel about doing those items. This may help you to understand why you are procrastinating. For instance maybe you don't have all the information needed to complete the task or for my unpacking I am unsure where to put the items.
4. Some personality types are more likely than others to procrastinate.
5. Procrastinators say they work better under pressure, but in reality the job is then rushed and does not get their full attention and the end result is not what they would like it to be. This leads to feelings of guilt.
6. You need to forgive yourself of past procrastination's. By harboring the guilt it is negative feelings associated with an activity and it is holding you back.
7. Electronics are distractions. Getting on the computer to check email or do a status update often ends up taking more time than we anticipate and we still didn't work on that excel spreadsheet or do the research we need to do.
Profile Image for Ahmad.
26 reviews13 followers
February 19, 2016
A great read, I liked how the strategies of the book are interrelated. It's well written, delivers what it promises. One of the main points of the book which is implementation intention reminded me of The Power of Habit, which reaffirms the importance of being conscious about our habits and how they are affecting ours lives.
Profile Image for Duygu.
201 reviews106 followers
October 19, 2019
Pychl dile kolay 20 yıl boyunca procrastination konusu üzerine çalışmış bir psikoloji hocası. Bu kitap da onun bu ömürlük çalışmalarının bir özeti olarak düşünülebilir kendisinin belirttiği üzere.


Prokastineyşın, savsakalama belasından muzdarip olup ben neden böyle dangıl dungul davranıyorum acaba diyenler için oldukça faydalı bir rehber. Timothy Pychyl öncelikle bize hangi durumlarda savsaklamaya başvurduğumuzu anlatıyor. Benim anladığım kadarıyla, özet olarak "Hayatın gerçeklerinden kaçmak" olan savsaklamanın, hazzı erteleyememe davranışı olduğundan bahsediyor.

Sonrasında kitabın ikinci yarısında ise bu davranışla nasıl baş edebileceğimizi anlatıyor yazar. Burada aslolanın en basit cevap olduğunu, harekete geçmek olduğunu savunuyor. Ve ardından şunları ekliyor: Anlık hazzı erteleyip uzun vadede neyin yararımızı olacağının muhasebesini yapmalıyız. Şimdi başlamadığımız takdirde 5 saat, 5 gün ya da 5 hafta sonra nasıl hissedeceğimizi tahayyül etmeliyiz. Daha evvel saksakladığımız bir işi düşünüp şayet savsaklamasak nasıl olurdu'yu zihnimizde bir kurup düşünmeliyiz. Ve nihayetinde, savsaklama davranışı ile bireysel mükemmeliyetçilik ve toplum tarafından empoze edilen mükemmelliyetçilik arasındaki ilintiyi idrak etmeye çalışıp, "ben bu işi son 3 günde yaptım, bir de 13 günde yapsaydım ohoo harika bir şey olurdu", "bu ödevi son geceye bıraktığım için a alamadım, yoksa kesin a alırdım" vs gibi meşrulaştırma reflekslerini terk etmeliyiz.

Fakat Pychyl nihayetinde, biraz evvel belirttiğim gibi, yalnızca (bunları) bilmenin procrastinationa düşmemek için yeterli olamayabileceğinden bahsediyor. Hemen başlamak ve devam etmek, suretiyle ancak bu bilgilerin işimize yarayabileceğini söyleyerek kitabı sonlandırıyor.

Bu minik kitabı ben kendi adıma oldukça faydalı buldum. Fakat sevgili profesör çalışmayı fazlasıyla bir "for dummies" kitabı olarak kurgulamış, biraz daha detaylı anlatsa dediğim pek çok yer buldu. Yine de birkaç saatte hemen okunabilecek bir kitap için başarılı.
Profile Image for Jenna (Falling Letters).
762 reviews75 followers
August 8, 2016
Review originally published 31 July 2016 at Falling Letters.

Solving the Procrastination Puzzle is a book written by an author who really knows what he's talking about. Timothy A. Pychyl is a Canadian academic known in psychology for his research on procrastination. He founded the Procrastination Research Group in 1995 and has published numerous academic articles about procrastination. He put together this book to organize the ideas published on his blog and podcasts (xvi), and to "communicate ideas outside of formal scholarly journal articles" (ix). I appreciated that Pychyl wrote this book to make accessible the results of his research that would otherwise be locked up in academia, unable to benefit the population at large who could really use help with their bad habits. This book will help you understand, at a deeper level than you may have considered previously, why you procrastinate and how to get past those problems.

Pychyl knows his audience. He answers the question, "Why is the book so short?", in his introduction. He doesn't want to contribute to procrastination habits by writing a dense book that might motivate us to instead procrastinate and never finish reading. He also believes "less is more". He writes, "[W]hen it comes to learning strategies for change, a few key ideas are what is required" (xvii). Extensive background research and technical descriptions are not what those of us who are looking to make real change need. I definitely appreciate this sentiment! I felt motivated to complete this book, and take notes for future reference, because its length made it feel very manageable.
The most finite, limited resource in our lives is time. (13)
Pychyl doesn't fill his book with wishy-washy feel good advice. Nearly every page includes practical and useful information. Each chapter opens with a nugget of good advice - "a key phrase that may become your mantra for change" (xviii). One phrase that particularly stuck with me is "I need to be more aware of my rationalizations" (36). This comes from Chapter 5, which then lists and explains a number of rationalizations we use when we procrastinate. For example, we manufacture our happiness conflict by 'rationalizing' our procrastination through reactions such as trivialization, denial of responsibility, saying 'it could have been worse', etc. (42-44). This is a big thing for me! Some of this stuff might seem obvious when you read it, but to see it logically explained and set out as a problem many people have was really a kick in the pants for me. Pychyl provides clear and concrete explanations of procrastination habits and proposes actionable solutions to overcome them. For me, just being aware of those habits is already helping me work past them. I also especially appreciated the 'implementation intentions' (self-regulatory statements) that he suggests. Here are a couple:
IF I feel negative emotions when I face the task at hand, THEN I will stay put and not stop, put off the task, or run away. (24)
IF I say "I'll feel more like doing this later", THEN I will just get started on some aspect of the task. (55)
My one negative criticism is that the comic strips scattered throughout don't add anything to the book. Though, they aren't integrated with the text so they're easily skippable.

Finally, as an afterthought, I wonder how people with depression would feel about this book. I'm not sure it would be the best resource for them. When I experienced culture shock (which can include a period of depression), I had a very hard time getting anything done outside of work. I think this was a different experience than when I'm simply procrastinating, and I could recognize that difference. I'm not sure what my point is here, exactly, but I feel like giving this book to a person with depression who appears to be 'procrastinating' might not be beneficial.

The Bottom Line: An invaluable resource for anyone who finds themselves procrastinating. Solving the Procrastination Puzzle is an easily digestible book by an author who knows his stuff. This book will help you understand why you procrastinate (really why, not just 'because you don't want to do the thing') and how to overcome it (really how, not just 'by doing the thing').
Profile Image for ratherastory.
103 reviews3 followers
January 4, 2014
I've been an avid listener of Pychyl's iProcrastinate podcast for quite some time now, though I'm still working my way through his back catalogue. Nothing in this book is new if you've listened to his podcast or read his blog on Psychology Today, but it does do a great job of summing up current thinking on procrastination as well as give concrete, helpful advice on "just get[ting] started," as he puts it.

The only reason I'm not giving this book five stars is the presence of the Carpe Diem comic strips. I use the word "comic" loosely, too. I've seen them on his website, and they are scattered throughout the book. He also tends to refer to them in his podcasts. The thing is, they're simply not funny, nor are they particularly thought-provoking or insightful, which makes them entirely extraneous and irritating. I also am not a fan of the artwork. There seems to be no way to escape them so long as I follow Pychyl's work. It's unfortunate.

Apart from that, I've found Pychyl's work on procrastination to be highly useful. After about three weeks of conscientious application of what I've learned, I'm already seeing a big difference. He's an eloquent speaker and a good writer, and this book is highly accessible even for those of us who aren't intellectuals or psychologists with a background in research.

The book is a good starting point for those who want to get themselves out of the black hole of procrastination, though I would personally recommend either the blog or the podcast or both to get a more detailed overview of procrastination and in order to get even more practical advice on how to "just get started."
Profile Image for Elahe.
7 reviews3 followers
June 2, 2019
مشکل به تعویق انداختن کارها
همون شنبه طلایی که قراره یه روزی بیاد و همه حماسه ها از اون روز شروع بشه ، وخب نمیاد هیچ وقت!
کتاب نسبت به کتابهای self-help مشابه روند کسل کننده تری داشت.
اول هر فصل طرح مساله میکنه ودر ادامه اون مساله رو‌شرح میده و بررسی میکنه مثال میزنه و‌اخر فصل براش راه حل میده.
کتاب چیز جدیدی نداره و یکی دو تا موضوع رو مدام تو کل کتاب تکرار میکنه.
نمونه ای از راه حل های کتاب:
کارهارو به بخش های کوچیک قسمت کنیم چون انجام کارای کوچیک راحت تره،
این عبارت هارو نگیم این که “مهم نیست” یا “وقت هست” برای انجامش،
و بزرگترین راه حل کتاب اینه که حتا اگه خیلی تنبلیمون میاد فقط “شروع کنیم” کارها رو.
وبعد توضیح میده که اینم کافی نیست و باید استمرار داشته باشید تو انجام کاری که میکنیم.
دراخرم میگه به تعویق انداختن یه جور عادته وتغییر عادت کمی مشکله و باید صبور باشیم.
Profile Image for Pınar ÖZAYAN.
52 reviews2 followers
June 28, 2020
Böyle bir kitap olduğunu öğrendiğim anda okuma listeme giren bir kitaptı Prokrastineyşın. Bir çok insan gibi benim de canımın yapmak istemediği, yeterli motivasyona sahip olmadığım fakat yapmak zorunda olan işlerim oluyor zaman zaman. Böyle durumlarda kendimi ya giysi dolabımı düzeltirken ya da kırtasiye çekmecemdeki yazmayan kalemleri ayırırken bulurum çoğu kez. İşte bu duruma çözüm bulmak ümidi ile okuduğum giriş bölümünde yer alan ilk paragraf beni kalbimden vuran bir kitap. İşe yarayıp yaramadığını ise zaman gösterecek.
Kitap erteleme ve savsaklamanın ayrımını yaparak başlıyor ve bu ayrım ile erteliyoruz diye kibarca ifade ettiğimiz bu eylemlerin büyük bir kısmının asıl adının savsaklama olduğunu yüzümüze çarpıyor. Polonyalı kasap hikayesini sanırım hiç unutmayacağım. Ana fikir olarak bana kalan motto ise şu; Bir işi bugün yapmak istemiyorsan muhtemelen yarın da yapmak istemeyeceksin. O nedenle hemen o işi yapmaya başla.
Hitap ettiği kitleyi çok iyi tanıyan yazar kitabının çok uzun olursa bir kenara bırakılıp daha sonra okurum denilen kitaplar kategorisine girmesini istemediğinden sayfa sayısını oldukça az tutmuş. Keyif alarak okuduğum ve bilgi edindiğim bir kitap oldu.
Profile Image for Brian Johnson.
Author 1 book1,040 followers
November 6, 2023
A concise guide from one of the world's leading procrastination experts.

“If you are reading this, it is probably because you are bothered by procrastination.

You may even be reading this because you are procrastinating right now. You are avoiding some other task. I want to make the time you spend off task, right now, worthwhile.

That is the purpose of my writing. An hour from now, you will be prepared to act differently. You will be prepared to be more successful in your goal pursuit.

Are you ready to get started? That is one of my most basic strategies: just get started. In this book, I explain why this works and summarize the research evidence for such a simple, practical strategy.”

~ Timothy Pychyl from Solving the Procrastination Puzzle

Timothy Pychyl is a professor of psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa and is one of the world’s leading experts on procrastination. He’s been researching and writing about procrastination for 20 years and distills the absolute best ideas in this great little book.

It’s a fun, practical, super quick read. No excuse to procrastinate on it. :)

If you struggle with procrastination I think you’ll dig it.

Get a copy of the book here.

Some of my favorite big ideas from this book include:

1. What’s the Puzzle? - Procrastination defined.
2. Motivation - Not required.
3. Implementation Intentions - Predecisins + IF ... THEN.
4. Just Get Started! vs. Just do it!
5. ‘It Will Only Take a Minute’ - Yah, right.
6. Multitasking - Is a myth. Period.
7. Disconnect - To connect.
8. Expect to Stumble - Be nice to yourself when you do.

I’ve summarized those Big Ideas in a video review that you can watch here: https://youtu.be/jW0JtF7ZcMw?feature=...

I’ve also added Solving the Procrastination Puzzle by Timothy A. Pychyl to my collection of Philosopher’s Notes--distilling the Big Ideas into 6-page PDF and 20-minute MP3s on 600+ of the BEST self-development books ever. You can get access to all of those plus a TON more over at https://heroic.us.
Profile Image for Ahmet Alpat.
146 reviews56 followers
February 11, 2017
Şimdiye kadar çalışma verimliliğini artırma bağlamında procrastination ile ilgili akademik çalışmalardan blog yazılarına, 10 adımda 11 adım tadında içeriklerden konferanslara kadar bir yığın içerik tükettim. Bu kitap kadar kompakt ve hedefe yönelik bir içerik okumamıştım. Farkındalık artıran, ufku genişleten her kitap 5 yıldızı hakediyor.
Profile Image for Anantha Narayanan.
252 reviews6 followers
December 6, 2019
The main cause of procrastination for current generation is mobile phones. Step 1 is to identify if they are procrastinating or not. RescueTime app helps you monitor which apps or websites you frequent, daywise app helps you to have E-breaks pre fixed. Have a productive day.
Profile Image for Ömer Ayhan Micaz.
22 reviews
May 5, 2025
Sana dönmeyi hiç istemiyordum ama yıllar sonra, elimde biriken bir yığın iş ve hayalle kapını geri çaldım :(
Profile Image for Kıvanç Oktaş.
77 reviews1 follower
September 21, 2020
İyi bir blog ve podcast kitap projesine dönüşünce aynı ölçüde etkili olmuyor. Kitap, detay yorum yapılamayacak kadar yüzeysel kalmış.
Profile Image for Ümit Mutlu.
Author 63 books364 followers
November 16, 2021
Beklediğimden çok ama çok fazlasını veren bir kitap oldu. İncecik bir şey her şeyden önce zira; ama yazar bunu baştan da belirtmiş: ayrıntıya boğulmak yok, net sorunlara dair net -fakat bir o kadar da temelli- çözümler var. Her şeyi ucundan kıyısından psikolojiyle bağlaması ise en güzel kısmı.

Bir kez daha okunası ve dedikleri yapılası bir eser.
Profile Image for Gözde.
158 reviews8 followers
Want to read
September 23, 2023
Bir arkadaşım önermişti. Erteleme konusunda kendisine çok yardımcı olduğunu söyledi. ben de bunun üzerine aldım ve hemen okumayı erteledim.
Gerçekten işe yarıyor.
Profile Image for Youssef Khouili.
122 reviews7 followers
January 23, 2025
Pretty straightforward, concise, and short-- discussing procrastination and how to deal with it. I liked the fact that when you are hardworking, you tend to be less distracted and focused, thereby you aren't procrastinating, and vice versa. Most of the time, when we procrastinate, we usually try to shun away from the painful and stressful situation to another one that's easier or familiar that's why we procrastinate.
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
488 reviews30 followers
June 11, 2021
I heard professor Pychyl speak recently, and I was captivated by his deep knowledge on the topic of procrastination. (The fact that he lives and works in my hometown also made me want to support him further.) I picked up this book hoping to get some practical tips on how to beat procrastination. I had intended to use what I learn in my own life and in my work with clients.

While this book is short and relatively dry (it really does read like an academic text), the solutions suggested are simple, practical, and applicable to any situation. None of what professor Pychyl offers here is groundbreaking. And it's nothing you haven't already heard or read from dozens of other sources. But everything serves as a solid reminder for what we already know: doing the work is the only way to meet our goals. And the more we can resist distractions and ignore the lure of feeling good in the moment, the quicker we'll get there.
Profile Image for Yasmin.
426 reviews202 followers
February 5, 2018
slowly but surely ...
عشان نبطل نسوف الى ورانا ونأجل لأننا بطبيعتنا بنحب الحاجات الى نتايجها لحظية ..
فأفضل نبدأ نحقق حاجات بسيطة فى مشروعنا واحدة واحدة لحد ما نخلص
وبكدة نكون انجزنا وكسرنا حتة اننا واجعنا الشغلانة المملة الى مش بتخلص
Profile Image for Lionkhan-sama.
185 reviews7 followers
August 18, 2016
A very boring book, with not much to offer. Most of the points made in this short audiobook are derivatives of common sense.
Profile Image for erkamdiyorum.
103 reviews6 followers
January 15, 2025
öncelikle internette rastgele bir video izleyip bu kitabı önüme çıkardığı için `ceren sungur`a teşekkürlerimi sunarım.


120 sayfalık bu kısacık kitap ilerleme yolundaki her insana, özellikle savsaklama konusunda uzman olan benim gibilere, çok şey vadediyor. benim günlük okuma kapasitem 30-40 sayfa olduğu için kitabı 3 günde anca bitirebildim. eminim daha uzun okuyabilen birisi çok rahatlıkla kitabı bir günde bile bitirebilecektir. çünkü kitap muhattabı için çok akıcı bir şekilde ilerliyor. zaten konunun uzmanı yazarımız da sade bir şekilde konuyu ele aldığı için kitap beni hiç sıkmadı.

şu küçücük kitapta her yerin altını çizesim geldi. umarım dönüp dolaşıp tekrardan göz gezdirebilirim bu notlara.

kitaptaki en sevdiğim motto: "bir iş yapmak istiyorsan, hemen başla" kısmı oldu. spor mu yapmak istiyorsun, yarın yaparım diye kendini kandırma. bugün kendi vaktini ayarla ve yap. zira yapmayınca o fikir beynin arkaplanında çalınıp duruyor. spor niye yapmadın, yapsan kendini iyi hissedecektin gibi. ama biz de kendimizce bahaneler üretip duruyoruz. kitap aslında bu düşüncelere karşı nasıl direnç kazanabiliriz bize bunu aşılamaya çalışıyor. konuyla ilgili hatta şöyle bir alıntı var, paylaşmak istiyorum:

"bir örnek daha: her ne kadar açık havada koşuya çıkmak ve bisikletle gezmek için güneşli bir günü tercih etsek de, yağmurlu havada da pekala yağmurluğumuzu giyip dışarı çıkabiliriz. aslında bu, başarılı sporcuların her gün yaptıkları bir şey; sadece güzel havalarda antrenman yapacak halleri yok. hava durumundan planladığımız faaliyete uygun hale gelmesini rica edemeyiz. umduğumuz değil, içinde bulunduğumuz durumla yüzleşip yapmamız gereken şey her neyse onu yine de yapabiliriz."

son kertede, ben sevdim eller alsın diyorum. kendimizin daha iyi haline ulaşmak niyetimizle.
Profile Image for Kadir Baytimur.
74 reviews
July 5, 2021
Kronik bir savsaklayan olarak bu kitabı keyifle okudum ama bana pek bilmediğim bir şeyi öğretmedi. Kısa bir kitap olması olumlu.
Profile Image for Sirunmanug.
158 reviews10 followers
February 7, 2021
Kendinize yüklendiğiniz, yapmanız gerekeni bilip harekete geçmediğiniz durumlar içinde boğuldunuzu hissediyorsanız, kendinizi tanıyarak bu sorunla baş etmeyi öneren bilgileri hap gibi bir kitap. İhtiyacım olan bir anda okuduğumu düşünüyorum.
Profile Image for Fulya.
20 reviews
November 11, 2020
Türkçe meali - savsaklama. Bir işi neden savsaklarız, savsaklamamak için ne tür yollar izlemeliyiz vb. başlıklar halinde savsaklama hastalığı hakkında bilgi veren bir kitap. Önemli olan okumak değil aslında hayatımıza uygulayabilmek. Umarım bir gün başarırız 😁
Profile Image for Pinkapantherella.
10 reviews4 followers
December 9, 2020
Savsaklama problemine cozum bulmakla ilgili cok iyi bir yol gosterici. Kisa ve oz.
Profile Image for DanielaK.
24 reviews3 followers
January 29, 2020
It says “a concise guide“ on the cover and it is exactly that (maybe a bit too concise). But that’s what I wanted, I didn’t want to spend hours and hours reading a scientific study whose results boil down to the slogan “just do it”. Here it is toned down to “just start doing it” so as not to scare us by being too aggressive. The other mantra is “tomorrow I won’t feel like doing it either”. Very true. And I feel that’s all I need to know about procrastination. There are some chapters with concise explanation of 'why' but I didn’t find there any new or eye-opening information. So I take it as what it is, a brief summary of what procrastination is and how to deal with it. But to tell the truth Tim Urban's Ted talk was far more entertaining and even managed to scare me into activity.
Profile Image for Sahra.
127 reviews31 followers
March 29, 2019
kitap bende o kadar işe yaradı ki okurken savsaklama alışkanlığımın neredeyse yarısından kurtulduğum için sürekli savsakladığım eylemleri (ki bu ders çalışmak oluyor) yapmak için kitabı okumayı unuttum. zaten çoğunlukla kitap okumayı sevmemin yanında görevlerden kaçmak için kullanıyordum. bu yüzden elimde biraz fazla sürünmüş olabilir. ama bende işe yaradığı için bu kitaba en fazla yıldızı vermek istedim ve çalışma masamın kenarına da koydum. olur da yine tavsiylerine ihtiyaç duyarsam hızlıca bir bakıp yapmam gereken işlere koyulayım diye.
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