Home Productivity and Time management Start Now. Get Perfect Later

Learn the key ideas of the book by Rob Moore

Start Now. Get Perfect Later

How to win the fight against procrastination

Start Now. Get Perfect Later is a true manual that explains the scientific reasons for our natural tendency to procrastinate and defer decisions, while it teaches us how to apply the Start Now method. This book explains a series of simple techniques that unveil and combat the mechanisms of self-deception with which we avoid doing truly important things, and it offers practical advice to begin with the virtuous process that will take us from being busy to being active. With a clear and friendly style, Moore takes readers by the hand and encourages them to manage their time and energy, escaping from the most dangerous fear of all: the fear of choosing.

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Start Now. Get Perfect Later
Read in 17 min.
Listen in 22 min.
IDEA CHIAVE 1/22

Why do human beings tend to procrastinate?

Indecision and the propensity to procrastinate materialize in different ways, but the reason behind this behaviour is always the same: it is a reaction to a perceived threat. Procrastination is a way to escape difficult situations and thus save the energy needed for survival. In short, it is a self-defense mechanism that derives directly from prehistoric times: Homo Sapiens, according to some scientists was the first being to know how to carry out "complex planning", which requires the ability to conceive the future as the result of a series of actions. Instead of blindly attacking a mammoth, our ancestors began to gather in groups, establish tactics, make decisions before acting. Since prehistoric times, procrastination has evolved and today it protects us from:

  • fear of failure;
  • indirect resistance to authority;
  • the fear of success and the expectations it might create.

In reality, a part of our brain has not kept up with the change that has taken place around us: certain behaviours are no longer needed to keep us alive. What is still positive about procrastinating is that we can analyze why we do it: understanding the mechanism that triggers it shows us what we are afraid of.

Perfectionism is often seen as a virtue, but it can be a block that we activate to protect ourselves from fear of failure. The paradox here is that we are perfectly imperfect and that the drive towards "it’s never enough", rather than helping us improve, can only hinder us.

Don't label yourself as a procrastinator. Instead, think about enhancing your abilities in the field where you do better. Decision muscles can be trained, and you know in which field you can be decisive: this is where you have to train. Build your decision muscle, success after success .

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The key ideas of "Start Now. Get Perfect Later"

01.
Why do human beings tend to procrastinate?
02.
What is “pre-crastination” and how to avoid it?
03.
Active procrastination: being apparently busy
04.
Bouncing from one activity to another is harmful
05.
There are no big decisions, but rather many small decisions
06.
The things we worry about rarely happen
07.
What are polarized sensations?
08.
The paradox of choice: all you have to do is reduce them!
09.
Avoid putting yourself under pressure to decrease the chances of failure
10.
How to prioritize important things
11.
Not everyone can wake up at dawn
12.
Use the Pomodoro Technique to improve concentration and productivity
13.
How to be creative
14.
Setting deadlines helps to meet them
15.
Fear of being excluded: FOMO
16.
The process that minimizes risks
17.
What is the exact balance between intuition and information?
18.
Learn to change your mind
19.
Know how to rest and play
20.
Carefully choose your commitments so you can keep your word
21.
Quotes
22.
Take-home message
 
 
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