Procrastination

Why You Do It, What to Do About It Now

By: Jane B. Burka PhD, Lenora M. Yuen PhD

Narrated by: Sandra Burr

Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Based on their workshops and counseling experience, psychologists Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen offer a probing, sensitive, and at times humorous look at a problem that affects everyone: students and scientists, secretaries and executives, homemakers and salespeople. Procrastination identifies the reasons we put off tasks - fears of failure, success, control, separation, and attachment - and their roots in our childhood and adult experiences.

The authors offer a practical, tested program to overcome procrastination by achieving set goals, managing time, enlisting support, and handling stress. Burka and Yuen even provide tips on living and working with the procrastinators you may know.

Wise, effective, and easy to use, this new edition shows why for 25 years Procrastination has been an immediate must-have for anyone who puts things off until tomorrow.

©1983, 2008 Jane B. Burka (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Not as an audio book.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Different reader.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The content is helpful.

Any additional comments?

As a kindle book, fine. As an audio book, not so much. I bought the audio version so I could listen while riding the subway. The narrator's voice is grating. (Really? You couldn't get anyone better?) Also, you soon realize how often the word procrastinator is used in this book...and that's grating, too. "Be firm with the procrastinator." "If the procrastinator delays on something..." "Procrastinator. The procrastinator! I realize it's a book about procrastination, but... It's like listening to the song Roxanne. If I took a drink every time she said procrastinator.... And the way she says it and the way it's used... procrastinator starts sounding like...an evil, nasty person. Procrastinator! I had to shut it off.

Waste of my money, pretty annoyed!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Ugh i don't know, but this was not for me.

What was most disappointing about Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen ’s story?

Very cliched. All stuff i had heard before many many times, but made longer...which made it more boring!

Any additional comments?

How ironic that a book about trying to cure procrastination - made me procrastinate! Trying to get thru this book was a huge chore but as i had spent so much on it i was determined to try. It was awful. I picked up a few small things but mostly this was nonsense and boring nonsense at that.

Just like a therapy

What did you like best about this story?

This is a very good book, helped me a lot and I urged to write this review. Better listening than reading, feels just like a real therapy session!

Good investment

Excellent factual information. Great step by step practical solutions. The authors are clearly very experienced in the field of procrastination.

H

It met all of my expectations and beyond. I now understand what lies beneath my procrastination, and I can move forward feeling better about myself while I implement some of the techniques to improve upon my efforts to reduce procrastination in my behaviour. Thank you so much for all of your dedication and serious efforts writing this book.

Extremely helpful and informative

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. This book took procrastination and broke it down to all the reasons why someone does it, how the brain has been affected, and how patterns have been set. It cross references things such as ADD and ED and how we were raised with Cognitive thinking and awareness. This book breaks things down in a logical format that is understandible and helps you to not condemn either yourself or your loved one who is a procrastinator.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I'm currently listening to "Everyone's a Theologian: An Introduction to Theology" by R.C. Sproul.

Have you listened to any of Sandra Burr’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this was the first book by her. She pronounces a few words a little differently than I would, but otherwise it was good.

What insight do you think you’ll apply from Procrastination?

Journalling for awareness as well as talking to the procrastinator in my life very differently.

Any additional comments?

I sure wish I could get my procrastinator to listen this book.

This Book Is Valuable

The book looks at procrastination from all angles giving the reader real and unique insights to the problem. They offer sensible, simple but thoughtful practices to help alleviate the problem.

Ponderous, I couldn't finish

After 4 hours of listening to "procrastination is like this" and "here's another example of what procrastinating is" I couldn't take it any more. Hearing hour after hour of "composite" individuals' stories and then calling them all procrastination is more self-torture than self-help. For me, "what to do about it now" is to return it and get a book that doesn't say essentially the same thing repeatedly for (at least) hours on end.

Great!

This was my first experience with an audio book. The sound was clear and the narration was understandable and enjoyable. The app is super convenient and easy to use. I'd like to listen to more books!

Comforting

The insights provided by this book have helped encourage me as have the anecdotes. I do not plan to follow all the advice. Partnering with someone would not work for me. I am a loner and ADD. A partner would be a distraction. I want to follow through by reading the book on the Kindle app. It is a worthy book.

I'm Exhausted!

Actually, I rather enjoyed this book- it's always a good sign when I realise I am quietly giggling to myself when listening. It is read very well by the narrator who has an engaging voice. In summary, I think that the greatest strengths of this book are also its greatest weaknesses. Ironically for a book on procrastination, this is a fairly long book- and yet it manages for the most part not to procrastinate. What it does do is to suggest that just about every single challenging issue in life is a basically procrastination and that this all is ultimately linked to our parents and childhood. The book adopts a Freudian psycho-analytical approach, often at the expense of other psychological interventions. This is fine, albeit that the book does go on and on. There were many times I felt like shouting 'why can't you just let things in the past be that you cannot change, accept them and move on from a position of empowerment?'

Not as advertised

The subtitle of the book 'what to do about procrastination' suggests that it will help combat procrastination - well it doesn't in my view. To start with the narrator has a very boring monotonous voice and then spends the first 2/3 of the book explaining the theories around the subject that just goes on and on and on ..... Without any real insight or interest. The section where I hoped to gain some useful tips into dealing with procrastination did not fare any better. It goes off in tangents - eg there is the best part of an hour discussing the loneliness of first generation immigrants in the US and how this affects procrastination - not a solution for me. Kept on listening in the hope of some wisdom but sorry, just completely wasted my time. Would have wasted less time procrastinating - how ironic.

boring

Any additional comments?

I don't know but I hugely blame my very low ratings on the "narrator" it wasn't the pace (i know you can toggle that in the setting), it was mostly the narrator's style of reading. Also for some reason the ideas seemed dated to me.

Good info - Terrible Narrator

Would you try another book written by Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen or narrated by Sandra Burr?

I've had to google the narrator to make sure she is a real person. She sounds like an automated answer machine. Even though the internet tells me Ms Burr is a human being, I still have doubts. I would never get anything narrated by her again. It's very distracting.

Would you ever listen to anything by Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen again?

Yes. The information is in depth and helpful.

What three words best describe Sandra Burr’s voice?

Artificial. Insincere. Synthetic.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

No.

Patronising nonsense!!!

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

A 12 year old child maybe.

Any additional comments?

Awful. Awful awful awful. Somehow I managed to get thru listening to all of this (despite falling asleep on several occasions) - nonsense. Patronising nonsense. I got practically nothing of any real value from this. The only thing I did get is the sudden motivation to write my own book, because if people make a living writing nonsense like this, then I need to try this ;)

Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but this was a total waste of money!

life changing if you let it!

this book goes to the root of why people procrastinate and how to stop it.

Absolutly great!

I was awaiting for this book for a long time!. It treats the problem of procrastination seriously and talks about the problem with the methodical manner! Informative Innovative and touches all sorts of problems related to main topic. I've learned a lot about my behavior from this book! It also points out the medical problem which a re related with the subject which is really valuable!

Very thorough and good to listen to

I've not quite finished this book yet because it's rather long but have found the very detailed discussion of the topic to be very beneficial to me. I may update this when I do finish - or get impatient and forward wind to the second section!

Broad Subject Coverage

This book goes into a wide variety of the effects of procrastination and the possible sources of an individual behaviour from a pschological perspective. It insistently reiterates the negative realities of procrastination. There are ample examples of very familiar 'self justifying' thoughts we sufferers tell ourselves to get out of an uncomfortable, yet highly important task and some deep hitting reality checks that show the damage our frequent excuses can lead to.

After listening to this you will have far more respect for the problems of procrastination and a better knowledge base to figure out how to notice and respond in a healthier way.

The only thing I didn't enjoy much was the narrator's style. I prefer more tonal variety and emotional engagment. It is however read with clarity and at a steady pace.

Toothache is more fun!

This is the most boring, monotonous, least engaging audiobook I’ve ever experienced. Few solutions, just repetitive, droning examples of procrastination and endless condescending quotes from pop psychology. It’s as if the writer dated a procrastinator and this is her revenge! This book won’t just waste your money it will waste your life as well!