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Title: The Procrastinator's Handbook: Mastering the Art of Doing It Now by Rita Emmett ISBN: 0-8027-7598-5 Publisher: Walker & Co Pub. Date: September, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.46 (41 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Recovering Procrastinator
Comment: Here is the rest of the story-the one I wrote about Rita in my book for writers: Successful Nonfiction.
Emmett's Law: The dread of doing a task uses up more time and energy than doing the task itself.
The writing project was going so smoothly it was scary. Rita Emmett started at the top in approaching a literary agent, and her first choice accepted her. The book, with a working title of The Complete Procrastinator's Handbook, was a user-friendly, fun approach to helping people conquer procrastination. She sent off a rough draft of the manuscript to her agent, and it was returned with suggestions for a format, plus instructions that Rita polish it and return it as soon as possible.
Then the winds of change tornadoed Rita's life. Family illness, death of a loved one and marriages of her children sent her life spinning, so she decided to "put the book on the back burner" while she concentrated on these more important life events.
It was not procrastination, it was a choice, a priority-and that was reasonable. But she never communicated to this decision to her agent-and that was inexcusable.
Three years later, Rita's life finally settled down. It was time to return to the book. She could not not do it. Although the contract had expired, she felt-morally and ethically-that she should give her agent the choice of working with her or not. More than that, she really wanted to work with the agent. But Rita was too embarrassed about the lapsed time, and she dreaded making that phone call. Thus began a year of procrastination-phony excuses, being too busy, anything to put that phone call as far from her mind as possible. The irony of putting off a book about procrastination was too painful to talk about. It added to her embarrassment.
The day came when the dread of making that phone call was making Rita sick. She had hit bottom and she finally decided to summon her courage and use every trick in the book-her book-to make that call. The agent courteously listened to her and graciously offered to look at her new manuscript. Rita's procrastination had ended.
The agent found a publisher, negotiated a wonderful advance, and that's the end of that story-and the beginning of Rita's life as an author-and as a Recovering Procrastinator. Rita writes from personal experience-she has been there! [email protected]
Rating: 5
Summary: A Great Book for Yourself or as a Gift
Comment: It's hard to imagine ANYONE who wouldn't get a lot out of this book...
THE PROCRASTINATOR'S HANDBOOK speaks to the most common attitude, or habit, in the human condition today. With every page I turned, not only did I see myself, but dozens of other folk I've known over the years. It's almost as if the pages were made of tinfoil.. they reflect so much! I've already decided that much of my holiday shopping will be handled by a bulk order of this delightful publication.
Just about everyone I know is, or has been, one of the types of procrastinators Rita Emmett outlines in this book. This includes myself, of course. (Until I heard about this book, I thought all procrastinators were my subjects, and I was their Queen.) As I read, I made a mental list of all the wonderful people I know who would benefit from the clear, self-affirming, logical tips, and "Extra Credit" tasks Rita presents. I also bookmarked the many pages that gave me sound plans for attacking both the physical and mental clutter that generate so much unnecessary stress.
My favorite element of the book is its "just folks" tone. There is never the sense that the author, nor the audience, is immune to the menial, the drudgey or the mundane tasks common to modern life. Rita speaks of scrubbing her kitchen walls, rather than attack a typing task she despised. How many books these days assume their audience to be "above" such real-life chores? How often does one get a suggestion about the least distasteful time for getting laundry folded? It's almost as if Rita is chatting with me over coffee at my kitchen table.. or hers, since my house isn't "ready for company" yet. We're "just folks" together, and she shares with us her experience of real life and how to make it more satisfying.
Another element of the book that I find most appealing is her refusal to sugar coat the unpleasant truth. She writes that, "Life seems to overflow with" unpleasant tasks, the stuff we just know we won't want to do, but must, if we wish to be considered functional human beings. The tasks are just there, though sometimes we're unable to find anything appealing in the doing of the task. Rita reminds us that we can "change our minds to change the game," and focus on the time AFTER completion of the task, where we're able to simply bask in the glow of a job (well) done. If basking isn't enough for you, Rita gives us a great starter list of rewards we can promise ourselves for gritting our teeth and plowing through those tasks. When you approach things this way, there's really nothing one cannot get oneself to do. In fact, thanks to Rita, I'm going to resume my efforts to get started on graduate school and end ten (well, okay, seventeen) years of putting THAT off.
I believe a lot of us in this "modern" generation are pulling away from Mom's Homespun Wisdom, and Rita does a significant service to her audience by bringing some of that back to us, in a most affirming, considerate, noncritical way. She tells us to get the worst stuff out of the way early in the day, so as to eliminate dread, and put a shinier glint on whatever follows. I know MY mom encouraged me to do that as well, but coming from Rita, it's not so hard to hear.
So... I say, get your hands on this book right away, make a pot of coffee, grab a highlighter or some bookmarks, and even your holiday shopping list, and sit down to a TERRIFIC read.
Rating: 1
Summary: Easy reading, shallow content
Comment: If you are serious about ending your procrastination then do not waste MORE of your time reading this book. The author gives plenty of tips, common sense advice, and even famous quotes but in a very disorganized and unstructured manner. The whole book is like a long pep talk, full of good intentions but failing to solve the problem: your procrastination. I'm sure that you've tried most of the tips in this book (writing a To Do List, planning your work, scheduling, etc.) so it does not make sense to buy a book that basically tells you to try them again. Oh, you'll try them for a week or two (again, for the n'th time), and then go back to procrastinating, because that's what we procrastinators do! We start something and then never finish it! In the back cover, Frank McCourt (author of Angela's Ashes) calls it a "light-hearted book", proving that even the editor knows this is not a serious book on procrastination, and uses McCourt's comment to sell the book as easy reading, but definitely not serious content. I recommend Neil Fiore's NOW HABIT. It's deeper, structured and a serious read. Not a "light-hearted handbook".
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Title: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen ISBN: 0142000280 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: How to Be Organized in Spite of Yourself: Time and Space Management That Works With Your Personal Style by Sunny Schlenger, Roberta Roesch ISBN: 0451197461 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: January, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play by Neil A. Fiore ISBN: 0874775043 Publisher: J. P. Tarcher Pub. Date: January, 1989 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Conquering Chronic Disorganization by Judith Kolberg ISBN: 0966797000 Publisher: Squall Press Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Time Management from the Inside Out: The Foolproof System for Taking Control of Your Schedule and Your Life by Julie Morgenstern ISBN: 0805064699 Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc. Pub. Date: 19 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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