Do It Now!

William J. Knaus

Description

Dr. William J. Knaus's awareness/action approach has helped thousands of people overcome the adverse effects of procrastination. Now, this completely revised and updated edition of his classic bestseller can help you identify the root causes of your particular problem and develop a workable action plan to regain control of your life. Based on the latest research, Do It Now! includes:

• The Procrastination Inventory—a self-test to help you identify personal behavior patterns
• The six classic procrastination styles and how to overcome them
• Dozens of helpful exercises and strategies—plus special Do It Now! tips

"Don't procrastinate on reading this book and using its methods!" —Albert Ellis, Ph.D., President Albert Ellis Institute for Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

"This compelling book goes beyond procrastination and addresses a general style of life that points the way to less stress, more satisfaction, and greater achievement." —Arnold A. Lazarus, Ph.D., ABPP, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University Coauthor, The 60-Second Shrink

"Better than the excellent original. Must reading for all professionals and laypersons interested in the procrastination habit." —Richard C. Springthall, Ph.D., Director of Graduate Studies, American International College Coauthor, Educational Psychology

"By following Dr. Knaus's simple, elegant, and tested ideas, you'll get more of the rewards of life and create a more productive, powerful you." —Joseph Gerstein, Ph.D., FACP, Harvard Medical School

Sujets

• Santé et bien-être
• Développement personnel
• développement personnel
• Self-help
• Inspirational
• Motivational

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 09 décembre 1997
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780471357889
• Langue: English

Extrait

Do It Now!
Do It Now!

Break the Procrastination Habit

REVISED EDITION

Dr. William J. Knaus

John Wiley Sons, Inc.
New York Chichester Weinheim Brisbane Singapore Toronto
This text is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 1979, 1998 by William J. Knaus
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published simultaneously in Canada.
Illustrations by Don Martinetti.
Reproduction or translation of any part of this work beyond that permitted by Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without the permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Requests for permission or further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Knaus, William J.
Do it now!: break the procrastination habit / William J. Knaus. - Rev. ed.
p.cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-471-17399-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Procrastination. I. Title.
BF637.P76K53 1997
155.2 32-dc21
97-15790
10 9 8
Contents

Foreword

Foreword to the Revised Edition

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART ONE The Pitfalls of Procrastination

1 Stop Fiddling and Start Doing
The Procrastination Decision
What People Put Off
The Check Is in the Mail
Life Cycles of Procrastination
The Do It Now! Method

2 Mapping Your Procrastination Territory
The Procrastination Inventory
Inventory Instructions
Interpreting the Inventory
Postscript

3 Procrastination Traps
Procrastination and Laziness
Common Procrastination Patterns
Low-Grade Procrastination
Hindrance Procrastination
Postscript

4 The Seeds of Procrastination
A Problem Habit
A Problem Symptom
Contingency Worth
Self-Concept Disturbances
Overcoming Low Frustration Tolerance and Self-Doubts
Procrastination as a Defense
Postscript

5 Diversionary Ploys
The Wheedler s Tactics
Action Diversions
Mental Diversions
Emotional Diversions
Postscript

6 Patterns of Change
Awareness
Action
Accommodation
Acceptance
Actualization
Flies in the Ointment
Postscript

PART TWO Procrastination Contingencies and Wrong Solutions

7 In and Out of the Quagmire
A New Ma ana Ploy
Postscript

8 Control: The Pathway to and from Procrastination
Artificial Needs for Control
Controlling Styles
Gaining Control through Paradoxes
Coping with Fear of Loss of Control
Flexibility Exercises
Postscript

9 Perfectionism and Fear of Failure
The Heights of Perfection
The Directions of Perfection
Aspiring and Requiring Philosophies
Fear of Failure
Antiperfectionism Exercises
Risk-Taking Exercises
A Need for Certainty
The Accelerating Cycle of Indecision
Vindictive Perfectionism
I-Anger
Dealing with Hostility
Guilt Trip through the Mind Tunnel
Getting Out of the Mind Tunnel
Postscript

10 Approval Seeking and Putting It Off
Perilous Impressions
Eight Approval-Seeking Myths
Who Seeks Approval?
Dealing with Approval Problems
Social Anxieties
Dealing with Social Anxieties
Shyness: Another Form of Interpersonal Anxiety
Tactics for Overcoming Shyness
Postscript

11 Discomfort Dodging and Procrastination
Looking for the Easy Way
Satisfaction Seeking
Learning to Bear Discomfort
Hating to Wait
Learning to Wait
Frustration Procrastination
Six Points for Change
Attending to Opportunity, not Anxiety
Combating Anxiety
Depression Procrastination
Overcoming Procrastination Due to Depression
Postscript

PART THREE Strategies for Overcoming Procrastination

12 Procrastination Styles: A Fresh Look at an Old Problem
New Year s Resolution Procrastination
Resolving the Resolution Dilemma
Fantasy Procrastination
Recognizing and Changing Fantasy Procrastination
Mental Procrastination
Turning on the Light
Drifting
Dealing with Drifting
Behavior Procrastination
Beating Behavior Procrastination
The Frustrated Artist
Spring Free
The Competitive Procrastination Style
Constructive Competition
Bureaucratic Procrastination
Overriding a Bureaucratic Style
Intrigue Creating
Productive Stimulation
Enactment Exercises to Alter Your Procrastination Style
Postscript

13 Your Imagination Can Help You Get It Done
The Tiger and the Pussycat
What Does Your Anxiety Look Like?
Making Oil and Water Mix
What Would You Do If You Were Someone Else?
Imagine What Double Trouble Is Really Like
If I Were a Privileged Character
The Getting-It-Done Trip
Ma ana Confronts Today
Sing a Merry Tune
Postscript

14 Clear Thinking Gets It Done
Extremist Thinking
Allness Thinking
Boomerang Questions and Disguised Demands
Verbal Vagueness
Indefinite Referents
Dichotomous Thinking
Faulty-Thinking Thickets
Changing Faulty Thinking Using the ABC Method
Using Hypotheses to Explore Reality
Irrational Self-Talk
Using Attribution Theory to Clear Your Thoughts
Reversing the Label
Defensiveness
Postscript

15 Getting in Touch with Your Feelings
Intellect and Feelings
Procrastination and Sensitivity
Rogers s Approach to Feelings
Contacting Feelings
Feeling Experiences
Perls s Pillow Talk
Postscript

16 Following Through by Rewarding Yourself
Self-Regulation Strategies
Problem Analysis
Setting Goals
Stabilizing Change
Your Cognitive-Behavioral Self-Regulation Plan
Advanced Techniques
Graphing Progress
Postscript

17 Planning to End Procrastination
Action Planning
Charting Change
Action-Pattern Analysis
Postscript

18 Get Yourself Organized and Follow Through
Schemes for Organizing
What Is the Incentive?
How to Get Organized
Practical Strategies for Following Through
Postscript

Afterword: Enjoying the Journey

Index
Foreword
Procrastination adversely affects many lives. But we currently have many effective methods to change devastating procrastination patterns. Dr. Bill Knaus has been actively developing such methods for years. His major work has come to fruition in this timely book, which holds great promise of help for even the most inveterate procrastinator.
Fortunately, we have many ways to examine procrastination and to counter this time-thief practice. The awareness-action approach advanced in Dr. Knaus s book shows how to identify the underlying dynamics of the procrastination habit, and how to take action to overcome this drain on time and life.
Now, those who seriously wish to rid themselves of procrastination have a tested pathway to gain command over their time rather than be controlled by the procrastination habit. To discover more, read the pages within. I ll use no more time so that you can quickly begin.
-L. R ENE G AIENNIE , P H .D. Senior Vice President, Singer Company (ret.) Fellow, American Psychological Association
Foreword to the Revised Edition
This is an excellent book for people who want an organized, well-coordinated program to help themselves kick an age-old problem habit. This revised edition of Do It Now! takes the reader from the top to the bottom and from the inside out and back again in the area of procrastination. This complete text is well grounded in the reasons why people put things off and in how to stop procrastinating and start living.
Another compelling feature of this book is what it is not. It is not another quick-fix pitch like so many others that flood the popular psychology self-help book market. This book elegantly tells the reasons behind the strategies for overcoming this all-too-common and troublesome human tendency. It shows how to stop stalling and get done what needs to be done. For the tougher minded among us, Dr. Knaus s methods can be assessed for their impact and outcome. This is a rare and helpful advantage that the reader can put to good use.
-D R . J OHN W. E DGERLY Director, University of North Carolina Counseling Center
Preface
In 1972, Dr. Janet Wolfe of the Albert Ellis Institute asked me to come up with a popular new workshop topic. This was a challenging assignment. Then the idea came to me in a flash: why not do a workshop on procrastination?
I had good reason to think this topic had universal appeal. As I looked around, I saw signs of procrastination everywhere. Many of my friends, business associates, and psychotherapy clients repeatedly complained about putting things off. I even had to admit to myself that I procrastinated on handling administrative detail, sending out my bills, and writing.
When the main hall filled, we dealt with the workshop overflow by assigning people to various rooms with closed-circuit televisions. We scheduled additional workshops that same weekend to satisfy everyone who wanted to participate in the original program. Since that date, tens of thousands of people have attended workshops and programs on how to stop procrastinating. Hundreds of thousands have read my books. Indeed, the workshop at the Albert Ellis Institute continues, under different leaders, and draws many who are tired of procrastinating and want to do more with their time.
When I wrote the original edition of this book, I found no other self-help books on procrastination, other than a book I initiated and wrote with Albert Ellis. Even that first procrastination book first came out privately. At the time, publishers did not believe that there was a market for the subject.
As with many new ideas, there was resistance to the idea of a book on procrastination until the idea worked its way into the mainstream. Undaunted, I wrote Do It Now: How to Stop Procrastinating. I was determined to make these ideas available to the million