Book SummaryImmediate Action, by Thibaut Meurisse

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Immediate Action

Many of us are masters of the art of procrastination. No matter how big or small the task at hand, we’re skilled at finding excuse after excuse to put it off until later, or tomorrow. In Immediate Action, Thibaut Meurisse argues that procrastination is a bad habit that we all have—but one that serves the specific evolutionary purpose of deterring you from expending energy you could conserve or taking risks you could avoid. By thinking more clearly about what procrastination is and why you keep putting off the most important tasks on your to-do list, you’ll be able to stop postponing the things you need to do and...

Immediate Action Summary What Is Procrastination?

Meurisse defines procrastination as feeling resistant to working on the things that we know we need to do. Procrastination indicates that you don’t want to work on a specific task. Meurisse writes that when you notice yourself procrastinating, you need to figure out why you’re resisting working on that particular task.

Even though procrastination makes it difficult for us to achieve our goals, we shouldn’t feel ashamed of it, according to Meurisse. In fact, everybody has the tendency to procrastinate, and we can’t stop procrastination altogether. But by learning why you tend to procrastinate and changing the way you approach the tasks on your to-do list, you can build more positive habits. Over time, those habits will make it easier for you to do the things you need to do, even when you don’t feel motivated to do them.

What Have Psychologists Discovered About Procrastination?

Meurisse’s idea that procrastination involves an emotional or impulsive decision is borne out by psychology research. Psychologist Piers Steel, author of _[The Procrastination...

Immediate Action Summary Why Do We Procrastinate?

Though we all know what procrastination feels like, few of us have thought about why we’re so easily tempted to put things off. Meurisse contends that procrastination is a holdover from earlier stages of human evolution where it served a purpose: When we lived in dangerous environments, our brains needed to protect us from expending energy and taking risks on tasks that weren’t vital to our survival (or our ability to reproduce).

He writes that when you feel compelled to put off a task, it may be because your brain perceives the task as either an unnecessary use of your limited energy or as a potential risk to your physical well-being. After all, your brain has evolved to maximize your chances of survival: Its goal isn’t necessarily to motivate you to take actions that will help you thrive. Meurisse notes that **while procrastination served a purpose earlier in human evolution, it can hold you...

Immediate Action Summary How Can We Minimize Procrastination?

Now that we know why we procrastinate, we can equip ourselves to address this tendency. In this section, we’ll explore Meurisse’s tips to minimize procrastination.

Recognize Faulty Patterns of Thinking

Meurisse says that the first step is to recognize faulty patterns of thinking, namely: We rely on motivation to act, we accept our feelings as facts, and we think our future selves will act for us. We’ll discuss each one as well as Meurisse’s advice for correcting each pattern.

We Think Motivation Enables Us to Act

The first fundamental error in our thinking is that we assume that the level of motivation we feel determines whether we can apply ourselves to a task. But Meurisse writes that this is a misconception: We don’t need to feel motivated to make meaningful progress toward our goals.

One way to counter this kind of thinking is to stop waiting for motivation. Meurisse writes that you need to cultivate the habit of sitting down and starting work, even if you don’t feel like it. If you take that first step and start to make progress on your task, you’ll start to feel more motivated.

(Shortform note: None of us can feel motivated all the time....

Shortform Exercise: What’s Causing Your Procrastination Habit?

All of us procrastinate. But Meurisse explains that we can build more productive habits (and healthier relationships with our work) by taking a closer look at why we’re putting off a specific task and addressing that cause.

Think about a task that you’ve been procrastinating on: It might be something you need to get done at work, at home, or in another area of your life. Briefly describe the task and estimate how long you’ve been putting it off.