The Now Habit Book Summary - The Now Habit Book explained in key points

Listen to the Intro

00:00

The Now Habit summary

Name: The Now Habit
Rating: 4.5 (328 reviews)
Author: Neil Fiore

Neil Fiore

A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play

4.5 (328 ratings)

20 mins

Brief summary

The Now Habit by Neil Fiore is a guide to overcoming procrastination and prioritizing self-care. It introduces the concept of "unscheduling" and encourages the reader to focus on positive affirmations to increase productivity.

Topics

Routines & Habits Effectiveness

Table of Contents

The Now Habit
Summary of 9 key ideas

Audio & text in the Blinkist app

Key idea 1 of 9

What’s in it for me? You’ve been taught to procrastinate, now you can unlearn it.

Procrastination means spending your entire work day surfing Facebook and news sites instead of writing your report that’s already overdue; it means cleaning your apartment for the third time this week instead of proofreading your thesis; it means calling all your friends just to say “hello,” instead of finally filing your taxes.

Outside observers might find your procrastination amusing. But for chronic procrastinators, it’s no laughing matter.

They feel their lives are out of their control. Every time they sit down at their desk and resolutely declare, “this time, I’ll really write that report,” they end up wasting yet another day on Facebook.

When they fail to meet their goals, they have feelings of guilt and shame; and since they never get anything done on time, they suffer from chronic stress and aren’t ever really able to relax.

Neil Fiore is convinced that procrastination isn’t innate, that is, we aren’t born lazy.

All we have to do is look to children to see that this is true – they never procrastinate!

In fact, we learn and adopt this unhealthy habit; it’s taught in our schools, by our parents, and at the workplace.

Thankfully, since procrastination is something that’s learned, it’s also something we can unlearn. All we need is a shift of mind-set and a few simple tools.

These blinks will show you:

how to best understand procrastination,
how to get two horses to work together as a team,
why setting lofty goals can actually wreck your motivation,
how the underlying mind-set that causes procrastination can be changed and
which simple tools you can use to overcome it.

Let's start by looking at the source of procrastination. Why do we do it?

Procrastination is a strategy to avoid fear of failure.

Procrastination is a problem most of us are familiar with. In spite of its prevalence, procrastination is typically tied to very specific situations.

Usually, we procrastinate on work, that is, when there is a certain task we’re required to perform like writing a report, organizing a seminar or making a presentation in front of a team.

These tasks are all significant and not part of your routine. You don’t procrastinate going to the bathroom or answering a colleague who wants to take you to lunch, but you might put off starting an important presentation.

In fact, the types of tasks we procrastinate on usually have three important characteristics:

First, when you want to do a good job on something so you can live up to others’ and your own expectations.

Second, you find the work dull. It’s no fun and getting started, for example, writing the first page or filling up PowerPoint slides takes motivation.

Finally, it’s unclear what qualifies as a “good job”: you simply don’t know how to live up to others’ expectations and deliver a great presentation or write an outstanding report. What is “good?” What is “good enough?” And what if you pour your heart and soul into a project that completely fails?

When faced with these kinds of tasks, the inevitable consequence is a choice between two options:

If you start working on the task, you spend your time on something boring, plus you risk failing and disappointing both yourself and others as well.

If you don’t start working, you can avoid this boredom, uncertainty and the fear of failure.

So what do you choose? Most likely, you’ll choose the second strategy and delay the unpleasantness associated with your task. And, in a certain sense, it works: you learn that procrastination helps you avoid boredom and fear of failure – at least temporarily.

We’re taught to dislike work and fear failure.

Both teachers and parents alike believe they know why their children procrastinate: obviously, it’s because of their innate laziness!

And a child needs discipline, reward and punishment to overcome this laziness. Children that aren’t working hard enough simply need to be pushed harder! Right?

Our self-esteem is linked to work, and procrastination helps protect it.

Each and every human being wants to be valued and held in high regard by others. If we can avoid it, we usually don’t surround ourselves with people who constantly make fun of us or put us down.

In fact, we employ many strategies to combat any threats to this desire to protect our own self-esteem .

Adopt the anti-procrastination mantra: “You only learn when you fail.”

One of the key ingredients of procrastination is perfectionism: no matter what we do, we always tell ourselves that the results must be the absolute best they can be. Mistakes are to be avoided at all costs, and failure is both unacceptable and a threat to our self-worth.

In the face of this overwhelming pressure to perform well, we lock up, meaning we do nothing, instead of starting our work and facing this challenge; we procrastinate by browsing the internet, sorting our stamp collection or leaving to run some “urgent” errand.

To become a producer, change your self-talk from “I must” or “I should” to “When can I start?”

The typical procrastinator experiences a specific inner monologue, which is dominated by an inner conflict. Usually, this self-talk uses phrases such as “I must,” “I have to” or “I should,” which all implicitly mean “I don’t want to.”

This permanent conflict is like two horses pulling in opposite directions: one horse pulls you towards the task that “should” or “has to” be done; the other away from it because you “don’t want to.”

To be productive, integrate relaxation and play in your everyday life.

Procrastination is a vicious cycle: once you start delaying your work, the guilty feeling of having to catch up on everything later accumulates into a larger and larger pile of guilt.

Thus procrastination leads to a life where you constantly feel like you have more work to do than you will ever manage to get done.

If you want to make a task less threatening, break it down into small, manageable units.

Usually the hardest part about work is getting started.

Chronic procrastinators understand this: once they get started, they might actually have to write part of that report, so instead they spend hours opening the document, closing it, checking their Facebook page or cleaning the kitchen just to open the document again half an hour later…and then they repeat the cycle.

For stress-free productivity, try “unscheduling.”

One simple technique to make your work week both more pleasant and more productive is to employ the Unschedule technique for time management.

The primary objective of this technique is to get as many short (around 30-minute) periods of uninterrupted, focused work into your day, instead of spending ten hours “working,” half-focused and riddled with procrastination and distractions.

To fight off distractions, always have a piece of paper or a notebook within reach.

There seems to be an infinite number of ways of getting distracted on the job:

Maybe you have a sudden stroke of genius and feel the intense urge to research or share it with a colleague. Or maybe you remember an urgent task and you’re afraid you’ll forget if you don’t take care of it right away. Or maybe your favorite co-worker swings by to say “hello” or reminds you of a report you promised to send her by the end of the week.

Want to see all full key ideas from The Now Habit?

Key ideas in The Now Habit

More knowledge in less time

Read or listen

Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.

Find your next read

Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.

Shortcasts ^New

We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

What is The Now Habit about?

The Now Habit investigates a problem many people can relate to today: procrastination. Why do people put off important tasks until the last possible second? And how can they be helped? The Now Habit explains where this phenomenon comes from, and which mindset and tools can help us overcome it.

Who should read The Now Habit?

Anyone suffering from procrastination
Anyone who wants to help a chronic procrastinator
Anyone interested in self-management and personal development

About the Author

Neil Fiore is an American psychologist and bestselling author of a number of books, including The Road Back to Health, with a primary focus on productivity and hypnosis. As a trainer and coach, he has helped thousands of clients and consulted many renowned companies.

Categories with The Now Habit

Psychology Productivity Personal Development

Book summaries like The Now Habit

The Procrastination Cure

Damon Zahariades

21 Proven Tactics for Conquering Your Inner Procrastinator, Mastering Your Time, and Boosting Your Productivity!

23 min

4.5

The Procrastination Cure

Jeffery Combs

7 Steps to Stop Putting Life Off

Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life

10 min

4.0

Procrastination

Jane B. Burka & Lenora M. Yuen

Why You Do It, What to Do About It Now

17 min

4.1

The Pomodoro Technique

Francesco Cirillo

The effective method of structuring your workday into small, manageable chunks

The Small Changes That Change Everything

An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time

The Secret to Achieving More with Less

18 min

4.4

Procrastinate on Purpose

Rory Vaden

5 Permissions to Multiply Your Time

19 min

4.3

Willpower

Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney

Why Self-Control is the Secret of Success

Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices

25 min

4.4

My Morning Routine

Benjamin Spall and Michael Xander

How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired

A Guide To Spiritual Enlightenment

Mastering Self-Control

17 min

4.5

Million Dollar Habits

Brian Tracy

Proven Power Practices to Double and Triple Your Income

Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness

How to Get Everything You Want – Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible

The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential ... in Business and in Life

14 min

4.5

Smarter Faster Better

Charles Duhigg

The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business

How to Accept Your Fears, Release the Past, and Live Your Courageous Life

The Official Unrepentant, Ass-Kicking, No-Kidding, Change-Your-Life Sidekick to Unfu*k Yourself

Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation

Little Things That Can Change Your Life… And Maybe The World

You Have More Time Than You Think

How to End Self–Sabotage and Stand Up for Yourself

How to Calm Your Thoughts, Heal Your Mind and Bring Your Life Back Under Control

16 min

4.3

Love Your Life, Not Theirs

Rachel Cruze

7 Money Habits for Living the Life You Want

15 min

4.3

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Gabriel García Márquez

Step Into an Enchanting World of This Postmodern Masterpiece

26 min

3.8

The Happiness Project

Gretchen Rubin

Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

24 min

4.4

The Greatness Mindset

Lewis Howes

Unlock the Power of Your Mind and Live Your Best Life Today

The 7 Things Resilient People Do Differently (And How They Can Help You Succeed in Business and Life)

20 min

4.5

The Power of Discipline

Daniel Walter

How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

Ancient Wisdom For Modern Living

How to Release Your Trapped Emotions for Abundant Health, Love, and Happiness

25 min

3.9

The Unemployed Millionaire

Matt Morris

Escape the Rat Race, Fire Your Boss and Live Life on YOUR Terms!

Get More Done One Thing at a Time

15 min

4.4

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

Eric Jorgenson

A Guide to Wealth and Happiness

Give Yourself the Gift of Done

14 min

4.4

Mindful Self-Discipline

Giovanni Dienstmann

Living with Purpose and Achieving Your Goals in a World of Distractions

How to Get the Most Out of Your Life

The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success

9 min

4.3

Seven and a Half Lessons about the Brain

Lisa Feldman Barrett

Have Your Understanding of Consciousness, Emotions, and Memory Revolutionized

How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality

19 min

3.6

Built to Move

Kelly Starrett & Juliet Starrett

The Ten Essential Habits to Help You Move Freely and Live Fully

18 min

4.6

Communicate to Influence

Ben Decker & Kelly Decker

How to Inspire Your Audience to Action

Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done

11 min

3.8

The Stress Prescription

Elissa Epel

7 Days to More Joy and Ease

20 min

4.6

The Productivity Project

Chris Bailey

Proven Ways to Become More Awesome

13 min

4.4

People ❤️ Blinkist

Sven O.

It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

Thi Viet Quynh N.

Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

Jonathan A.

Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

Renee D.

Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.