The procrastination equation: how to stop putting things off and start getting stuff done

If you think you are not one of the 95% of us who procrastinates, take Dr. Steel's test. Based on more than a decade of research, and written with humor, humanity, and solid science, this book offers answers to such questions as: Are we biologically hardwired to procrastinate. If so, why? Is there a difference between procrastination and prudence? What tricks do we play on ourselves when we procrastinate at work, school, and home? If visualizing our dreams isn't enough to make them real, then what steps do we need to take? Along the way, Dr. Steel dispels the myths and misunderstandings of motivation and procrastination, replacing them with a clear explanation of why we put off until tomorrow exactly what we should be doing today. He then offers specific techniques we can use to tame the bad habits that adversely affect our health, happiness, and careers.--From publisher description.

Originally published: Toronto : Random House Canada, 2010.

Portrait of a procrastinator -- The procrastination equation : the result of eight hundred studies plus one -- Wired for procrastination : putting off is human nature -- Procrastinations : how modern life ensures distraction -- The personal price of procrastination : what we miss, what we lose, and what we suffer -- The economic cost of procrastination : how businesses and nations lose -- Optimizing optimism : balancing under- and over-confidence -- Love it or leave it : finding relevance in work -- In good time : managing short-term impulses and long-term goals -- Making it work : putting the pieces into practice -- Postscript: Procrastination's chapter 11.