Overcoming Procrastination - Why You Do It, What to Do About It

I have read a small number of books on overcoming procrastination - some have been very useful, and others not so. My favourite book so far has been Procrastination: Why You Do It, What To Do About It by Jane B.Burka and Lenora M. Yuen.This book is split into 2 parts: Understanding Procrastination and Overcoming Procrastination.The first part of this book was a revelation for me, especially when considering that I have never taken the time to sit back and try to understand why I feel the need to procrastinate over important tasks. I found it to be very insightful, helping me to determine the point in my life at which I became a procrastinator and how other character traits that I have may have influenced both the way in which I procrastinate and the key drivers behind it (which, in my case, is my desire for perfectionism and my all-or-nothing mentality).The second part of the book takes the learning from the first part and outlines methods for recognising the signs of procras
tination, organising yourself and prioritising your objectives to ensure that you concentrate on what is most important - and, most importantly, managing your tasks in achievable portions.I should warn you that the second part of the book does not cover any material that I would describe as ground breaking - after all, anyone who has read an article on overcoming procrastination will know of the need to organise your time and priorities, not to overwhelm yourself with the scale of the task and to use milestone to measure progress etc etc... However, what makes this book so effective for me is the pragmatic approach: it takes the information that you already know and uses lists, tables and bullet points to provide you with what is essentially an action plan for eliminating procrastination and improving your personal productivity. The chapters on The One Week Experiment and The Weekly Un-Schedule are particularly useful - the latter focuses on time management (the serial procr
astinators' greatest enemy!) and creating structure in your day.Overall I would highly recommend this book as a useful starting point for anyone looking to get a grip on their tendency to procrastinate. The information is pitched at a level that does not engulf you in confusing detail, and it is a very well written and structured book. If you would like to read more about resources available for overcoming procrastination there are a range of self-improvement books and resources out there providing advice and coaching to help you tackle the underlying causes; from time management to self-motivation and fear of failure... and fear of success, even! I hope that the links below are useful to you!

View this post on my blog: http://www.yourgamebook.com/overcoming-procrastination-why-you-do-it-what-to-do-about-it.html