Ries answers “Can anyone recommend a good book on...”

Susan Duffey asked this question about The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play:

Can anyone recommend a good book on overcoming procrastination? There are many titles to choose from but I'd like to narrow them down. I'm a terrible proscrastinator and struggle everyday trying to get things done. I'm also terribly disorganized and have a disabling pulmonary condition which slows me down too. Time management and prioritizing are difficult for me. Thanks so much, everyone!

Ries Hi! I recognize the problem all too well, being diagnosed with ADD and getting medication for it. Still, as I sometimes feel that procrastination is t…moreHi! I recognize the problem all too well, being diagnosed with ADD and getting medication for it. Still, as I sometimes feel that procrastination is taking over again, steering me into anxiety issues, I keep looking for ways to better deal with it. Therefore, even though you posted your question 4 months ago, I'm quite sure you'll still feel the struggle from time to time. If not, I am happy for you, although I think others could still be helped. One thing's for sure, you're not the only one.

Not too long ago I picked up the book "Succeed: how we can reach our goals" by Heidi Grant Halvorson. She has really looked into the science behind what motivates people - finding different results for different groups of people - and how to best deal with specific - easy and hard - tasks. I personally found it very inspiring and it seems to be helping me on my way to improve structure in my day-to-day tasks and long-term goals, and to downplay the negative talk. By no means it is a full replacement for certain psychological issues you may encounter - "The Now Habit" has been a good help for this too in my case - but it could provide some better understanding about the 'why' of your behaviour and a toolbox for the 'hows' to improve it.

Additionally, I split up my day in blocks of 50 minutes with short brakes in between, and I am using an old-fashioned organizer, together with a large to-do list, in which I (try to) keep track of what needs to be done with the highest priority still, also making sure to prevent too much distraction. The last tip for now, as there are many possibilities, is to install "StayFocusd" as an extension to Chrome (only when you don't share your laptop), which you can order to only allow a maximum amount of time each day to be spent on a selection of distracting websites of your own choice. Good luck!(less)

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