The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play

Rating:
Summary: Pragmatic and very useful.
Review: I consider myself a chronic procrastinator, I frequently find myself almost literally paralysed by procrastination and over the years it has cost me a lot in all areas of my life. If you are anything like me you have probably berated yourselves over your procrastination and are exhausted from the weight of unfinished tasks you mentally carry.

I have to say I really enjoyed this book. First it made me understand why I procrastinate, what the psychological drivers are behind it. The techniques are brilliant in their simplicity, so simple you'll wonder why you didn't work it out before. I have got through more work this week than the last month using them. But more importantly I've really enjoyed the time I have had off for the first time in years.

I also have adult ADD and find that procrastination is often the symptom of the larger issues of ADD. For those that are dealing with this debilitating behaviour on a day to day basis I urge you to buy it. A habit like procrastination is not developed overnight and I doubt that it will go away overnight either. The techniques you'll find in the book will immediately get your working on the right path and I for one have really felt for the first time that I can beat this wretched behaviour and really start enjoying life.

Order it now! :-D

Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable.
Review: I don't write many reviews on here, but this book has had such a profound impact upon my life that I want to add my voice to those below: The Now Habit is, hands down, the greatest self-help book I have ever read.

Like many of the reviewers below, I've had great success in school and life when I've actually applied myself, but have sold myself short for my entire life by never putting in a consistent effort.

I read The Now Habit about a month ago, and applying its suggestions has literally revolutionized my life. Keep in mind that I've read self-help books and listened to motivational tapes for years: Zig Ziglar, Anthony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, Earl Nightingale, etc. These materials were always helpful and made me feel great and motivated, but after reading The Now Habit, I realized that the majority of them told me the same thing: discipline yourself, have a positive mental attitude, and just do it.

That never worked to my satisfaction, though. I found myself having streaks of success and positive thinking, but then I would fall into a rut and get behind on everything in my life through procrastination. I always felt guilty about spending nights out with my wife rather than studying, or would find myself playing computer games for hours, putting other things off, and never TRULY enjoying it. All of my play time was guilty play time. I had tried to adopt the mantra of the salesman Tom Hopkins, "I must do the most productive thing possible at every given moment," and found myself miserable in trying to do so.

This book helped me to realize the importance . . . no, the absolute **necessity** of PLAY TIME. In its words, you have to play hard to work more productively.

At the time I read The Now Habit, I had been procrastinating on applying to dental school for almost a year. After reading it, I applied within a week, and actually enjoyed the process! I've caught up with ease in all of my school classes, and have been enjoying my play time more than ever before. It's been incredibly easy to start on projects early, and I actually look forward to a big chunk of work time, since I get to play after every half hour!

I know what I'm saying sounds sensational, but I'm really quite sincere about it. There is some very powerful psychology in this book. Maybe it won't work for everyone, but it's probably worth $15 to at least give it a shot.

Take the negative reviews below with a grain of salt: this book is well-written and easy to follow. It is written in a very compassionate and understanding voice, and offers stories of fellow procrastinators that give hope.

I was somewhat skeptical at first, but seriously: this book can change your life.

Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: I want to say that I've never been inspired to write a review before but this book has really helped me. I've been trying to work on a book-length manuscript for a long time and the principles in this book helped make the entire progress fun. As a top student who always managed to get by on all-nighters, I came across a whole new problem when I tried to tackle a project as big as a book. You just can't churn out a book at the last minute and so I just kept procrastinating. Finally, I read the Now Habit and I have to say, honestly, that I'm averaging 10-17 hours of work on my book a week, it's less painful than it's ever been, I think my work is good and simply, it works for me. I'm speaking as someone who was TOTALLY stuck for years, producing zilch.

I'd like to note that I think the excerpts displayed by Amazon.com here are not the best part of the book; they're pretty generic and unoriginal and when I first looked in the Now Habit on Amazon.com, I skipped over it because it seemed contentless. I bought the Albert Ellis foundation's procrastination book instead because I knew about the RET principles and it seemed scientific. Unfortunately, that book didn't help me at all, it just said -- well, it's irrational to procrastinate so don't do it. Well, I knew that already.

What convinced me to finally get the Now Habit were the customer reviews here and they were right. The book itself is quite fresh; encouraging but with concrete tactics to tackle your own mental blocks. It teaches you to trick yourself into getting your butt in gear again. I can only say that it worked for me.

Rating:
Summary: It stopped me from being a procrastinator
Review: Rarely ever do I give a review of a book until I know it's for real. I love self-help books, and was drawn to this after reading ALL the Amazon reviews for books on overcoming procrastination. If you want a book that says to buckle down and "Just Do It", this book isn't for you. But don't you tell yourself that enough? This book cuts at the root of procrastination. In my case, perfectionism is a big reason. I totally identified with the woman in the sample pages. I've loaned this book out and recommended it to many people I know. I was tired of procrastinating, then being wonder-woman at the deadline. IE. Staying up all night at school to finish a project everyone else finished already. Getting F's one semester than making up for it the next. Without disclosing too much personal information, I've been on academic probation almost every other semester in college! That's no way to live. (beneath my abilities) If you are reading this, buy this book. I read others, and this has a different approach. Thank me later.

Rating:
Summary: Response to "Old news" review
Review: This book does not deal with procrastination in a "Don't worry, everything is going to be fine" attitude. It explains what procrastination is, why we do it, and provides many "tools" to defeat it. If you misunderstand "Guilt-free play" and "the Unschedule", these tools won't help you. Read this carefully with a highlighter and, no matter how badly you procrastinate, you'll amaze yourself!