If it weren’t for the last minute,
I wouldn’t get anything done.
—Anonymous
We all put things off. For example, I managed to put off writing this foreword until the night before the final deadline. Had I read this book sooner, I would have used Bill Knaus’s ideas to get the foreword done long before the deadline.
Fortunately, no one procrastinates 100 percent of the time, but everyone procrastinates, some more than others. According to Psychology Today, 20 percent of people identify themselves as chronic procrastinators. This book is not focused on procrastinators, but is actually about procrastinating actions, thoughts, and feelings. You’ll benefit from this book if you experience occasional procrastinating actions or if you are someone with a more serious problem who has considerable stress and anxiety.
The characteristics commonly associated with procrastination are varied, including low self-confidence, calling attention to how busy you are, stubbornness, manipulation as a means to cope with pressure, and being a frustrated victim. Adlerian psychology has taught me that all behavior has a purpose. So when I read a book on procrastination, I am always looking for the goal or purpose of this type of behavior. Some people use procrastination for the purpose of avoiding difficult or time-consuming tasks. Others use it because they lack knowledge or skills and are afraid that if they screw up, others will find this out (i.e., nothing ventured, nothing lost!). Some use it as a way to express anger (passively) at another by withholding their best efforts. This book will help you learn just how complex human behavior can be and discover the many reasons or goals that might be met by delaying a necessary activity.
Procrastination is often seen as a method for coping with the anxiety involved in making difficult choices or decisions and taking action. This response has become especially prevalent in today’s world, where choices are such a big part of everyday life and very few people have been taught choice-making skills. Because we do not know what to do, we do nothing and hope that the situation will go away. This is akin to riding a horse facing backward or swimming upstream. It seldom works, and it can have destructive consequences.
In End Procrastination Now! Bill Knaus will teach you a three-pronged approach to cutting through procrastination and accomplishing more in life. The three prongs are:
1. Educate yourself about how procrastination works and change procrastination thinking (the cognitive way).
2. Build tolerance and stamina to tough your way through uncomfortable circumstances (the emotive way).
3. Decide on your direction, behaviorally follow through, and apply what you know to prosper through your work and accomplishments (the behavioral way).
In this book, Bill Knaus demonstrates the rare ability to simplify the complex procrastination process and to provide clear, easy-to-follow steps to learn self-regulation. By following his suggestions, you will learn to be in charge of your life and to restore feelings of strength and purpose. As the Scottish proverb states, “What may be done at any time will be done at no time.” Don’t put this off! End procrastination now by reading and applying the wisdom in this book.
Jon Carlson, Psy.D., Ed.D., ABPP
Distinguished Professor
Division of Psychology and Counseling
Governors State University