|
 Great techniques to get off your duff
Whether it's harnessing the power of a deadline or having someone with a toe tapping, waiting for your work, you can find a technique to get the job done in Jeff Davidson's "60 Second Procrastinator" book.
My favorite part of the book is where the author has you visualize the last time (there WAS a last time, right?) when you were highly productive. How did you feel? What tools were to hand? How was the lighting and temperature? What time of day was it? Perhaps setting the mood can get you going consistently and on time.
The author also addresses possible causes for your procrastination (fear of failure, perfectionism, etc.) But most of the book contains ideas to try to get you going.
There is probably something here for anyone, maybe even you, so stop dallying and get a copy of this book! Now!
It Took Me a While to Read This
It took me far too long to read this book.
I have no excuse. The author, Jeff Davidson, structured it for people like me. It is well-written. He offers 60 tips, one for each minute in an hour that can be absorbed in less than a minute. I found several of them to be inspiring.
The tips fall into 6 major themes:
1. Change your mindset.
2. Set up.
3. Give yourself an edge.
4. Take key steps.
5. Tackle harder tasks.
6. Continue on to progress.
If you are committed to success, the book's organization lends itself to eliminating procrastination. The problem, of course, is the book's intended audience, delays purchasing the book. Once purchased, the reader delays reading it. Once read, the reader delays implementing the gems contained within it.
The author posits procrastination is a habit that can be changed if you are committed.
Hum. Let me consider that thought.
I will get back to you.
 Helps You Turn On Your "On" Switch
I appreciate authors who have emphathy for readers. Jeff Davidson tells us he struggles with procrastination. That might be hard to believe when you read his achievements in the biographical section at the end. Perhaps he stuggles with it less than some of the rest of us.
Davidson seeks to instill the right habits in his readers, reminding us..."It is a well-known fact that positively reinforced behavior tends to be repeated." Consequently, he says reward yourself when you complete various tasks. He tells us to seek out role models in our industry, profession or workplace. Note what they do. Chances are they are action-oriented people. In talking about living in "day tight compartments," I'm reminded of Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount when He tells his listeners, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" (Matt 6:34).
I'm like the author in that I'm not a "techie." However, in the information age, you have to deal with a certain amount of technology. His analysis on how to approach it was very insightful. Simplify it by focusing on the features that are most pertinent to you and master those. Don't burden yourself with nonessentials.
This book is full of practical help. The author is more of a secularist than me it seems. That's an impression. He doesn't address the "why do I want to be successful" issue. Also some of his role models are not people I would consider admirable. Overall he has some very valid things to say about how to show more results in less time.
One of these years....
This is one of two "60 Second" booklets written by Jeff Davidson that I recently read, the other being The 60 Second Organizer. Most (if not all) procrastinators need to be organized and most (if not all) of those who need to get organized are procrastinators. In my opinion, few (if any) of them will read books such as these and then apply - and (key point) continue to apply -- what they have learned from them. (Davidson is also the author of more than a dozen other books, including seven Complete Idiot's Guides.) He may not share this opinion. However, here's another opinion with which he presumably agrees: On occasion, a single insight ("tip," "secret," "key," etc.) can help to elevate one's standard of living and/or improve one's quality of life.
In this volume as in the other 60 Second booklet, Davidson offers "sixty solid techniques" to "jump-start any project and get your life in gear." They comprise a series of thought-provoking statements and direct questions that can help many readers to gain new perspectives on the micro and macro dimensions of their lives.
The two 60 Second booklets share several implicit themes that I presume to express as statements:
1. Relax.
2. Focus on what is most important.
3. Be patient but persistent.
4. Do not confuse being busy with being productive.
5. As Seth Godin suggests, know what to quit and when to quit it.
6. View each setback as an invaluable learning opportunity.
7. Relax.
Obviously, there are many reasons why people have problems completing tasks and those reasons vary from one individual to the next. That said, self-improvement initiatives must be anchored in a strong faith in what can be accomplished. Henry Ford was right: "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." It would be a fool's errand to attempt to act upon, immediately, all of Davidson's sound advice. He correctly suggests selecting a few especially troublesome areas and concentrate on them. In this context, my metaphor of preference is locating and then picking "low-hanging fruit."
Of course this booklet could conceivably be beneficial to anyone but I think it can be especially valuable to those now enrolled in schools, colleges, and universities as well as to those who have only recently begun a career. Davidson thinks clearly, writes well, and is by nature a pragmatist rather than a theorist. How to rate it? I realize that there are dozens (hundreds?) of other sources that provide more fully developed ideas about how to avoid or overcome procrastination. However, for chronic procrastinators, any advice given is probably best presented as clearly and as simply as possible, and I do not damn Davidson's booklet with faint praise when saying that. His is not a definitive source nor does he make any such claim. If each reader finds only one suggestion that helps her or him to make appropriate decisions and then follow through on them, Davidson will have achieved his primary and indeed worthy objective.
 Nothing to write home about ...
It was difficult to stay "tuned-in" to this book. A few good ideas, but nothing new or different. It is not a book that I would recommend, however, I might try to listen again -- just to see if I missed the point. I certainly would NOT give this book as a gift.
|
(based on 13 reviews)
