Exam season is coming up and everyone knows what that means: procrastination. Sure, you should be studying. But suddenly the dishes need doing. Your room needs cleaning. And why don’t you get ahead by studying for next week’s test, rather than the one that’s tomorrow? If this sounds familiar, don’t panic! The library is here to help.
An excellent place to start is Piers Steel’s The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Things Done. The title is a bit misleading; this is a book about why we procrastinate, rather than on how to stop procrastinating. Steel’s book explores many of the myths associated with procrastination; his prose can be a bit dense with citations, but the book is well researched and very interesting to read.
Of course, if you don’t have time for theory and want to get right into some practical tips on how to be more productive, the library has several excellent titles. Rita Emmett’s The Procrastinator’s Handbook: Mastering the Art of Doing it Now approaches procrastination as a habit, giving you many tips and tricks to help you break the pattern of putting things off. Emmett is a professional speaker who gives seminars on procrastination; reading this book is like sitting in on one of her talks, providing you with much-needed motivation to break free of procrastinating.
Another option is Eat that Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy. Tracy has studied procrastination for many years, trying out many strategies to see what works best. This book is the result, his “twenty-one most powerful principles on personal effectiveness.” Eat that Frog! is focussed on getting more done at work, but you can easily use these strategies in other areas of your life, too.
If you need an easy and fast read, give Put Your Rear into Gear: Understanding and Breaking Free from Procrastination by Jeanine Reiss a try. At first glance this book seems to be written for a younger audience, with goofy stick-figure pictures and a relatively simplistic design. But don’t be fooled; Put Your Rear into Gear is full of many great tips that will help you stop procrastinating.
If you’ve got a little more time and want some exercises to help you get to the bottom of your procrastination habit, Time Efficiency Makeover is the workbook for you. It will help you figure out in which areas you struggle; it has some helpful tips to assist you in overcoming those problem areas as well. Just be sure to answer the questions on separate paper so other people can enjoy the book, too!
But what if you are a parent who is concerned that your child is procrastinating too much on homework and studying? We have a couple of books for you as well. An excellent place to start is Rita Emmett’s The Procrastinating Child: A Handbook for Adults to Help Children Stop Putting Things Off. This time Emmett shares her expertise on procrastination with parents who want to teach their children healthy time management habits. Another great book is See You Later, Procrastinator! (Get it Done) by Pamela Espeland and Elizabeth Verdick. Like Put Your Rear into Gear, See You Later, Procrastinator! is full of great tips but written in a fun way that makes it really easy to read. This is the perfect book for tweens and older children, but it will even teach adults a thing or two about beating procrastination.
So if you’re having trouble sitting down to study, perhaps a trip to the library is in order. Just be sure you save enough time to put the tips you learn into action!
Shauna Kosoris
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