Procrastination is universally recognized as a character flaw. But in “The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging and Postponing” that it isn’t as bad a trait as everyone deems it to be. In a delightfully compact and witty 92 pages, Perry analyzes the habit and offers tips on maximizing output as what he calls a “structured procrastinator.”
Even before the actual book even begins, it’s clear Perry has his audience pinned down. He prefaces his acknowledgements with a Mark Twain quote—“Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow”—that aptly summarizes the motto of procrastinators.
Being a procrastinator himself, Perry realizes just how hard it is the eradicate the habit. So he strives to further understanding and embracing of one’s situation so that procrastinators could work efficiently in their own way, instead of hating themselves for not being type A go-getters.
But instead of veering off into the dull writing characteristic of many self-help books or pedantic and complicated prose one might expect from a distinguished philosopher, Perry keeps the reader engaged with witty, tongue-in-cheek humor and a plethora of anecdotes. Procrastinators will laugh at the familiarity of Perry’s actions. Aside from providing laughs, this provides perhaps the most comfort out of anything in the entire novel; they’re proof that procrastinators can indeed accomplish a lot with the right techniques, as Perry, who is quite the hardcore procrastinator, has become a professor at a prestigious university.
Perry also offers many helpful tips, such as tailoring to-do lists for the mind prone to putting things off and adapting a specialized morning plan to jumpstart—not spend fifteen minutes longer in bed than planned—the morning.
So, procrastinators of the world: don’t procrastinate on reading this book. Perry’s “The Art of Procrastination” will not only provides a humorous diversion from finishing whatever “important” task on the to-do list, but may even enable you to procrastinate with pride and efficiency.
