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

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The Procrastination Puzzle

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399168125?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

One that is very popular is Solving the Procrastination Puzzle

I bought it a year or two ago, and true to my habits I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

I think, your past failures are not in your control. So, they are not bad nor good. You can only practice virtues and vices in the here and now. "That is my past, not me in this moment."

I think the journaling has only a limited effect, because we need to see that specific moment in an other aspect than our vice-blurred-vision. I think a very short, concise "error-log", or "debugger's journal" at the end of the day can help. With points like this:

• I ate too much for lunch, so I couldn't concentrate afternoon.
  
  And after awakening you can read these practical experiences during your morning meditation.
  
  You can use self-help CBT books to correct your behavior. Just remember, only the wise person/Sage is truly in control of his behavior. I think most of vices are in our lives in the form of bad habits, and not because we are evil or intrinsically bad persons. I have many bad habits / vices and not because I am bad. I am working on them for years, because they are "habits". Stoicism is about reclaiming out brain. And in this century we know so much more about our brain, and our unconscious behaviour, than our ancient ancestors. I think Don. Robertson's book has a very good aspect about the modern day's applied philosophy (he is an experienced therapist.)
  http://www.amazon.com/Stoicism-Art-Happiness-Teach-Yourself/dp/1444187104
  
  Btw.: I know very well this kind of self-judgement. This is the main ingredient of the laziness which has a fancier name: procrastination. It is my life-long vice too. Even my first readings of the Stoics was some sort of procrastination, but they are always sending me back to my study with harsh words :D :D
  
  But I think it is a far more specific problem which has a very good literature:
  
  http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html
  
  http://www.amazon.ca/Solving-Procrastination-Puzzle-Concise-Strategies/dp/0399168125
  
  
  
  (edit. a couple addition...)

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

This book helped me immensely. It's written by a psychologist who has spent a ton of time researching the mechanisms and psychological basis of Procrastination, and he explains thoroughly both why we procrastinate and how to stop.

He also has a blog and podcast series where he gives further material and exercises to help stop procrastinating. I can't recommend this book more highly.

To all having this problem:

I read a book called Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change recently and while I know that we get sick of hearing "just stop being lazy" this book isn't that and gives actual strategy we can utilize in our other methods to overcome being the busy squirrels our brains normally are. Oh - and it's on a few of your favorite ship themed websites as an audiobook as well.

In short, it isn't a miracle but I'm damn happy I read that book to widen my arsenal of tactics I can use to function.

This isn't going to be easy. It will be a years-long process, but it will benefit you for the rest of your life. By age 25 you will see vast improvements. By age 30 you will be totally unrecognizable. All it requires is that you keep moving forward. So here is my advice...

You have to build a base that will enable you to achieve success. Once you have that base built, success comes easy.

To start building your base, identify the areas of your life that are holding you back and improve those areas one at a time. Focusing on one area at a time is important because of the way willpower and habits work. Briefly, we have a finite amount of willpower to allocate to behavior change. If you spread your willpower reserve to thin, you will increase the change of failure. Once you have gained control over one area of your behavior, you will no longer need to utilize much willpower to maintain it because it will have become a habit. Mastering one behavior will also contribute to your base of good behaviors and makes each subsequent change easier because bad behaviors tend to diminish the base level of willpower you have. Think of bad behaviors as a negative modifier on your willpower stat.

If you're interested in learning more about willpower and habits I recommend Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change by Dr. Tim Pychyl, who studies the topic. The book is on procrastination but the topics are interrelated.

You've already identified areas where you are lacking: overweight, unemployed, depressed, anxious, etc. Now is the time to stop and think about what to focus on first. Let's use being overweight as an example of how I would analyze which area to focus on first.

First I would realize that being overweight isn't the problem. If I could be overweight and still be healthy then I wouldn't mind being overweight. The problem is that being overweight is a symptom of an unhealthy lifestyle. This means that we have to break down your lifestyle into different sub-behaviors that combine to make you overweight. There could be any number of reason that you stuggle with weight and that's for you to determine. A couple reason could be that you have an unhealthy relationship with food, that you don't exercise, that you aren't getting proper nutrition, etc. Tackle each of these and you will all the sudden realize that it's no longer hard to stay at a healthy weight.

Once you've tackled the behaviors that contributed to your weight problem (or whichever behavior you decide to start with changing), you will notice that the remaining changes you try to make will be easier. For instance, you would most likely already be a little less depressed as the behaviors that led to being overweight likely overlap with the behaviors that cause your depression.

I wish you good luck. It is certainly not impossible to build yourself up from your current position. Just try not to make excuses for yourself (which is hard, I do it all the time) and keep pushing forward. Look back one year from now and see all the progress you have made.

A couple weeks ago this video was posted to /r/videos, and it lead me to this book by him called "Solving the procrastination puzzle", which is a quick read, it gives you a much better understanding of what procrastination is.

• He regularly writes for psychologytoday
  
  
• http://www.procrastination.ca/
  
  
• iProcrastinate Podcast
  
  I'd definitely recommend you start by watching that video from one of his lectures, then read his book. There are a few steps in the book which you can write down and memorize.
  
  

Nice, thanks for posting! This is the related book that he mentions: Timothy A. Pychyl - Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change.

A book you can find from, ahem, other sources online is Solving the Procrastination Puzzle

Since it's a mental thing, the only way to address it is by filling your mind with material to help counteract your natural tendencies. Read (or listen to) Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich and then keep reading self-help/motivational material. There's a reason motivational speakers are always in high demand: people need motivation. There's nothing wrong with needing motivation, it just makes you normal. But you've got to address the problem at the thought-pattern level. (And in fact, I believe it was on this sub that someone recently posted a YouTube vid of a professor who researches procrastination - I watched it, it was a good vid. He has a book, too.)

For the adaptive thinking skills area, Tim Pychyl, the procrastination researcher, has some resources including the book, Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: https://www.amazon.com/Solving-Procrastination-Puzzle-Concise-Strategies/dp/0399168125 , or his rarely updated, but very useful Podcast: http://iprocrastinate.libsyn.com/

For those interested his name is Dr. Tim Pychyl. I had to google images 'procrastination professor'. Here is a link to his book with decent reviews.

There are plenty of good procrastiantion recourses at /r/getdisiplined.

A good overview of procrastination: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhFQA998WiA

Personally I have good experience using the tools from the book:
https://www.amazon.com/Solving-Procrastination-Puzzle-Concise-Strategies/dp/0399168125

Get his book then, for your own sake at least: https://www.amazon.com/Solving-Procrastination-Puzzle-Concise-Strategies/dp/0399168125

It's an effective way to deal with procrastination. Check out this book, definitely worth a read: http://www.amazon.com/Solving-Procrastination-Puzzle-Concise-Strategies/dp/0399168125/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1457316388&sr=1-1&keywords=solving+the+procrastination+puzzle

Yeah I know, been there, done that.

Like i said, order Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change, meanwhile install habitica, start drinking water, find some community for bonus kicks in the ass, and stop finding excuses :-)

oh and of course: start meditating :-D

(insight timer is a good app, plenty of free guided mediations, a basic course .. later you will use only the timer)

Never failed a midterm before but I used to have severe procrastination habits, like I would be a straight up gold medalist in the procrastination olympics (think doing assignments in the bathroom while class where assignment is due is taking place). Read these 3 books: Mindset, [Willpower Instinct] (https://www.amazon.com/Willpower-Instinct-Self-Control-Works-Matters/dp/1583335080/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519758091&sr=1-1&keywords=willpower+instinct), and [Procrastination Puzzle] (https://www.amazon.com/Solving-Procrastination-Puzzle-Concise-Strategies/dp/0399168125/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519758158&sr=1-5&keywords=procrastination) Not to be woo woo about it but internalizing the lessons from these books really exposed me to a better way of handling my work. My hs teachers would probably never believe that I actually get work done in advance throughout my college career. Take it one step at a time and I hope the books help.

Tim Pylchyl is a leading researcher on procrastination. He has helped me a los. Here is a link to his "practical" book:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.es/Solving-Procrastination-Puzzle-Concise-Strategies/dp/0399168125&ved=2ahUKEwjc6v3W2NLjAhXr6eAKHcTdBCAQFjAIegQIAxAC&usg=AOvVaw3w28XGhRB1y9_MHr4Wuly8


You are just starting!!! Cling to small habit changes and sustain them.

Parli inglese?
https://www.amazon.it/Solving-Procrastination-Puzzle-Concise-Strategies/dp/0399168125

I'm higher on some testing for ADHD. I have really good success with pink noise. Listen to it at a level where you can barely hear it.

Overall, take breaks when you need to. It sounds silly, but when you do go for a quick walk around the office, take a file folder with some papers in it. Again, it sounds cheesy, but it at least gives the impression that you're doing something instead of taking a quick break.

For me, I make a lot of lists and break everything down into ten minute chunks. It works for me, but its definitely not universal.

Fidget toys are ok, but also not perfect. I have a few fidget cubes and like them, but I find that they only work once in a while for the restlessness.

Overall, I've found that lists broken down into chunks works best. Get into the habit of just doing it.

Its worth checking out 'Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change' by Timothy A. Pychyl.