Ah, the joy of putting things off. Why do today what can be done tomorrow? Well, it worked for Scarlett O’Hara — sort of. I don’t know about you, but procrastination likes to hang out with me at the most inconvenient times. Housekeeping, for instance. I can live with a certain amount of disarray, but as soon as someone comes to visit, I wonder why I didn’t do a better job with the house work and now I’m in panic mode trying to catch up. In truth, having a “tomorrow is another day” attitude isn’t always the best option for me.
Not surprisingly, there are many books about procrastination and how to overcome it, but also how to use it to one’s advantage. I’m drawn to the titles that show procrastination in a more positive light, so that’s why I’m especially intrigued by “Soon: An Overdue History of Procrastination” by Andrew Santella. As we all know, Leonardo da Vinci and Charles Darwin did amazing things; but did you also know that they were “habitual postponers”? In a world where efficiency is king, and getting things done quickly trumps careful deliberation, it may be hard for us to understand how procrastination can actually aid in the creative process. This history/self-help book reveals how frittering away time can be a good thing and why it helped such notable figures as Frank Lloyd Wright perform some of their best work.
If you’d like to know more about personal time management and how to avoid the pitfalls of procrastination, take a look at the reading list below. I know myself well enough to recognize that I will never completely conquer my tendency to procrastinate, but with some bibliographic help, I might be able to lollygag more efficiently. As Mark Twain once said, “Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well.”
• “The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging, and Postponing,” by John Perry.
