The Art of Procrastination

Discover the power of putting things off: "Insightful, sensible, and amusing" (Harry G. Frankfurt, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of On Bullsh*t).

This is not a book for Bill Gates or Steven Spielberg. Clearly they have no trouble getting stuff done. For the great majority of us, though, what a comfort it is to discover we're not wastrels and slackers, but doers. . . in our own way. It may sound counterintuitive, but according to philosopher John Perry, you can accomplish a lot by putting things off. He calls it "structured procrastination."

Celebrating a nearly universal character flaw, The Art of Procrastination is a wise, charming, compulsively readable book-really, a tongue-in-cheek argument of ideas. Perry offers ingenious strategies, like the defensive to-do list ("1. Learn Chinese") and task triage. He discusses the double-edged relationship between the computer and procrastination-on the one hand, it allows the procrastinator to fire off work at the last possible minute; on the other, it's a dangerous time suck. Most importantly, he explores what may be procrastination's greatest gift: the chance to accomplish surprising, wonderful things by not sticking to a rigid schedule.

"John Perry is the wittiest philosopher since Marx (Groucho), and he brings to this book a delightful combination of wisdom and humor." -Thomas Cathcart, author of The Trolley Problem

"Reading this straight-talking, badly needed book has changed my life." -Bruce McCall, writer and illustrator for The New Yorker