Reddit reviews The Procrastinator's Digest: A Concise Guide to Solving the Procrastination Puzzle

omg, you are me a week back.

others have given a lot of advice here, but let me add my bit too.

to start with, this sort of thing feeds on itself, and it is important to understand that. you have to acknowledge that you feel like you have a huge weight strapped to your back, and that there is no shame in that. acceptance is the first step to working on it. it's fine to be depressed, depression isn't rational. but it will only get worse if you keep dwelling on it.

for me, even looking at my work made me depressed. it was a cycle that kept feeding itself. to break out of it, i tried doing things that put me in a more cheerful frame of mind, and while that cheeriness was still lingering, i would try getting started on my work. this is a short-term solution, it's not something you can keep doing forever. for this one week, that might be one of the things you can use.

it is very tempting to keep waiting till inspiration strikes and you feel better and then start working, but please understand that your actions affect your thoughts more than your thoughts affecting your actions. once you get started on something and start moving in some direction at some pace, that'll feed off itself and you will cheer up better as a result and feel more like going on.

for the present, i would recommend going through this book: http://www.amazon.com/Procrastinators-Digest-Concise-Solving-Procrastination/dp/1453528598/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323072287&sr=1-1
It is a nice, quick, practical guide to getting things done when you are putting them off for whatever reason, like depression or anxiety or fear. it has several practical tips and exercises which will help you get stuff done. Also of help might be the Pomodoro technique, where you work in bursts of 20-25 minutes, and break tasks down to small indivisible units each of which can be completed in 20-25 minutes. do look it up and try it out.

your first priority should be to get through this week. After that, you can look at cognitive behavioural therapy for depression and anxiety. you might also want to try mindfulness to cope with depression and prevent it from recurring. I found this book particularly helpful: http://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Way-through-Depression-Unhappiness/dp/1593851286

i would advise you to not try CBT just by yourself. please find a qualified therapist or psychologist to help you with both mindfulness and CBT. it is hard to set realistic goals for yourself in a depressed frame of mind and CBT requires goalsetting. If you can't get medical help for whatever reason, atleast try talking it through with a friend. often, depression screws with your perspective and you tend to hold unrealistic and damaging beliefs which might be set right by doing as little as voicing it out to someone you trust.

lastly, do not cut yourself off from friends and family. keep communicating your feelings with others as much as you can. i know this is hard, because of the nagging feeling that others might not empathize and might unknowingly hurt you. but do find atleast one trusted sane friend or relative who you can voice your concerns with. just the act of verbalizing your feelings sets you free a little, and clear up your mind. at the very least, you stop dwelling hard on whatever is nagging you. at best, people gently correct the wrong beliefs you might hold about yourself (e.g. 'this is impossible', 'i can't manage to do this, im not smart enough'), and help you move ahead.

also, do keep yourself physically active. go for a short run or jog or a little bit of exercise every morning. get some sunshine... it affects endorphin levels greatly. make sure to eat and sleep well. it's amazing how many problems are solved from just getting a good night's rest.

do not be afraid to seek people out to help with your problems. it's very brave of you to put this on reddit, that's a great first step. i wish you all the luck in getting over your depression and getting all your work done, and hope that once you are over this, it doesn't recur.

hope this helped!