For most of my adult life, I have struggled with procrastination. Whether it is finishing lessons for an exam or preparing a presentation for a meeting, I have never started it on time. Over years, I devoured some of the best books on procrastination. This exercise helped me realize how procrastination plagues lives of several young adults because of different reasons. Some studies that explain these reasons are:
- Blunt & Pychyl, 2005: The ambiguous nature of some tasks triggers procrastination.
- Fuschia M. Sirois, 2007: People procrastinate or delay their tasks to avoid anxiety or stress.
- Piers Steel, 2007: Procrastination as a result of short-term mood regulation.
From academic journals to Reddit threads, I have read everything on the topic to understand it better. This rigorous research has helped me collate this list. I hope this will help anyone struggling with finishing their tasks on time, like me.
1. Atomic Habits by James Clear
Genre: Self Help, Nonfiction, Psychology
Topping the list of best-selling books on procrastination, Atomic Habits is a page turner. Backed by the science of habit formation, it gives the readers a clear pathway to overcome laziness and inculcate productive practices. It is an important self-improvement book as it helps readers develop consistency and proposes that as a solution for all of their demotivation woes.
As is obvious from the title, the book focuses on changing or adapting small habits to be able to overcome the instinct to sabotage tasks at hand. It urges the readers to work on these tiny details that can culminate in bigger and more significant accomplishments.
2. Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways To Stop Procrastinating And Get More Done In Less Time by Brian Tracy
Genre: Personal Development, Psychology, Non-Fiction
What do frogs and procrastination have in common? Nothing. But can frogs be used as the placeholder of all the tasks you want to postpone? According to the author of this book, yes, you can. Brian Tracy, in his widely acclaimed book, gives 21 steps to stop wasting time and maximize productivity.
Readers have termed this a practical guide to deal with procrastination. It invites readers to eat their ‘frogs’ or conquer their most difficult task first. With guidelines such as writing down your tasks before beginning or applying the 80/20 rule, the book gives readers actionable solutions.
3. Getting Things Done: The Art Of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
Genre: Productivity, Non-Fiction, Self-Help
Getting Things Done is another important work on reclaiming one’s time and productivity. What sets this book apart from others is its extremely pragmatic approach. Instead of focusing on descriptive concepts like inspiration, values, and motivation, the book adopts a prescriptive approach.
Its solution to putting things off for later is to create a physical and highly organized system. According to the author, this will remind us of finishing our tasks on time. The book masterfully highlights something that is often overlooked–dumping things out of our short-term memory allows us to focus on one thing at a time. This also helps procrastinators deal with the overwhelming feeling of getting things done.
4. The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play by Neil A. Fiore
Genre: Self-Help, Nonfiction, Productivity
Among the best books on willpower is Neil Fiore’s The Now Habit. It takes readers through a variety of strategies, explanations, and examples. It is helpful for everyone, from those who suffer from occasional bouts of procrastination to those who have more severe problems related to it.
Most importantly, it helps readers in letting go of tasks and chores that are inconsequential or irrelevant to one’s quality of life. In doing so, it outlines the fact that procrastination is mostly a consequence of burnout. Therefore, it urges readers to focus on weeding out the unimportant tasks that tend to exhaust us before getting to the meaningful tasks.
5. Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change by Timothy A. Pychyl
Genre: Nonfiction, Psychology, Productivity
With a touch of humor and the latest psychological research, Solving the Procrastination Puzzle is an outstanding read. One of the best self-help books to overcome laziness, this book explores a wide array of strategies. It compels the reader to be conscious of their habits and how they are affecting their lives.
It asks the reader, despite the knowledge of the harmful consequences, why we are not able to embody the required discipline to live up to our potential. And answers with the latest psychological research. This framework helps people break out of quick fixes of 5-minute rule approaches and employ more sustainable tactics.
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6. The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging and Postponing by John Perry
Genre: Nonfiction, Self-Help, Psychology
A quick and insightful read, The Art of Procrastination by John Perry is carefully crafted for its target audience. Several readers found out that they were not just procrastinators but structured procrastinators after reading the book. And if you want to find out about which category you fall into, you should probably pick up this book.
The chapters of this book are short, and the tone remains pleasantly conversational throughout. The book is also quite funny in the examples that it chooses to quote. The author also talks about harnessing the power of procrastination, which is a revolutionary thought in itself. Lastly, I would say that with its approachable style, this is one of the must-read books on productivity.
7. The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done by Piers Steel
Genre: Productivity, Psychology, Nonfiction
If you are looking for a book that could distill all of the scientific research on procrastination into accessible prose, then this one is for you. Piers Steel effortlessly takes us into the science of procrastination and leaves us with a lot to think about. Unlike most books, the suggestions in this one don’t sound like they come simply from one individual’s experience. They seem solid and backed by exceptional research on the topic.
For people who have procrastination as a thorn in their side for years, this will be like a panacea. It has the potential to help readers win back their focus.
8. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
Genre: Nonfiction, Self-Help, Psychology
While not directly talking about procrastination, Deep Work dives into one aspect of it–getting distracted easily. Cal Newport’s deeply engaging work, also available on Kindle, focuses on honing attention and eliminating distraction. It makes its points through stories like that of Carl Jung, building a stone tower in the woods to work on his focus.
The narrative of the book flips the script. Instead of talking about the harmful consequences of distractions, it lauds the power of attention. It is an essential productivity book because of how increasingly rare deep work is getting. In a world where distraction is at our fingertips, this work becomes extremely important.
9. Finish: Give Yourself The Gift Of Done by John Acuff
Genre: Nonfiction, Self-Help, Business
The title of this book is self-explanatory. At its core, it talks about time management and why we struggle to finish our tasks after starting them. What stunned me about the findings presented in the book was that the secret to getting work done was not pushing yourself harder but taking the pressure off.
The strategies in the book have been designed by conducting research with hundreds of participants at a university. The novel is filled with data pointers, such as, people who have more fun are 43% more successful. For me personally, it tops the list of good books on procrastination.
10. Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal, Julie Li
Genre: Nonfiction, Self-Help, Productivity
In Indistractable, the author gives us four research-backed pillars of overcoming distractions. Largely, the book talks about how technology is now embedded in our lives and why this is a problem. In the face of an unrelenting digital onslaught of content, making time for actual human interactions has become a rarity.
While most books on this list revolve around helping readers overcome procrastination to be more productive, this one is different. This book talks about the way we procrastinate human interactions in favour of microsecond dopamine boosts enabled by tech. It is an eye-opener for the digital generation.
Conclusion
This is not an exhaustive list of the best books on procrastination. These are, however, exhaustive in the sense that they encompass almost all different streams of thought on the topic. From behavioral psychology procrastination to structured procrastination, it contains a little something for everyone.
So whether you are going through professional or creative blocks, pick your type and choose a book to hold you through it. And if you find it hard to maintain concentration while reading these books, don’t worry! Because you will find a book (or two!) on this list to help you with that as well.
FAQs
1. Which book on procrastination is scientifically backed?
Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change by Timothy A. Pychyl is filled with scientifically backed examples and explanations.
2. Are procrastination books actually helpful?
While procrastination books can be helpful in identifying an individual’s specific problem that leads them to procrastinate, it might not actually help solve the problem. However, it is completely dependent on individuals and is not impossible.
3. Are audiobooks effective for learning productivity habits?
Audiobooks can be effective for learning productivity habits but that is, again, completely dependent on how an individual chooses to embody it in ones life.
4. Is procrastination linked to ADHD?
Yes, procrastination has been strongly linked to ADHD. Several peer reviewed articles [(Barkley, R, 1997), (Rozental & Carlbring, 2014), (Müller & Roberts, 2020)] have established this linkage between the two.
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