Book SummaryThe Now Habit, by Neil A. Fiore

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of The Now Habit

Why do we put off the things that matter most to us, even when we know that doing so makes us unhappy in the long run? That’s the question at the heart of Neil Fiore’s classic The Now Habit, which teaches you how to overcome procrastination by understanding why we do it. Fiore argues that procrastination isn’t caused by laziness and can’t be fixed by trying harder. Instead, procrastination is a symptom of the fear and anxiety we sometimes feel about our work—and to solve it, you have to address those underlying emotional struggles. Fiore explains how to do just that using psychological and time-management strategies. He asserts that if you follow his advice, you’ll get more done, feel better about yourself, and enjoy life...

The Now Habit Summary Part 1: Why We Procrastinate

Fiore argues that before we can tackle procrastination, we need to understand why we procrastinate in the first place. His central idea is that procrastination isn’t a character flaw—it’s a symptom of underlying psychological distress.

Debunking the Myth: Procrastination Isn’t Laziness

Fiore says that traditionally, we tend to think that procrastination results from laziness. In this view, procrastination in itself is the fundamental problem: It results from a failure of motivation or willpower, and the solution is to try harder and be more disciplined. In contrast, Fiore argues that procrastination isn’t the primary problem—instead, he says that we procrastinate because we’re anxious about starting (or finishing) a task. In his view, procrastination is a natural coping mechanism that we adopt in order to deal with the stress we feel about the task.

Differing Views on Willpower

More recent studies support Fiore’s suggestion that willpower isn’t the answer to procrastination. In The Willpower Instinct, Kelly McGonigal argues that [willpower is a limited...

The Now Habit Summary Part 2: How to Overcome Procrastination

Now that we’ve seen what procrastination is and where it comes from, we can look at some strategies for changing it. Because procrastination comes from our anxiety about work and because that anxiety in turn stems from how we think about and approach work, most of Fiore’s suggestions involve changing your relationship to work (and to play). Specifically, he suggests developing more positive self-talk, changing how you plan your week, changing your approach to work, and learning how to focus while working.

Strategy #1: Change How You Talk to Yourself

One way to change how you think about work in order to avoid procrastination is to change your self-talk. Fiore argues that procrastinators typically talk to themselves in “have to” and “should” statements—both of which only build negative feelings that then lead to procrastination. According to Fiore, if you tell yourself you “have to” do something, you make yourself a powerless victim of circumstance because you feel like other people or external circumstances are coercing you to do whatever it is. This causes undue stress, pressure, and resentment.

(Shortform note: One way to overcome “have to” thinking is to [focus...

Shortform Exercise: Analyze Your Own Procrastination

According to Fiore, we procrastinate because we’re overwhelmed by fear and anxiety about our work. Therefore, one of the first steps in correcting procrastination is recognizing when that happens so we can adjust.

Describe a recent time you’ve procrastinated on something. What was the task? What exactly did you do to procrastinate?