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by Andrew Santella (Author)
"Well-researched...[Soon] argues that in many cases eminent figures have done great work while putting off work they were supposed to be doing. Procrastination might, for some people, be part of innovation and the creative process." -- Wall Street Journal
A fun and erudite celebration of procrastination
An entertaining, fact-filled defense of the nearly universal tendency to procrastinate, drawing on the stories of history's greatest delayers, and on the work of psychologists, philosophers, and behavioral economists to explain why we put off what we're supposed to be doing and why we shouldn't feel so bad about it.
Like so many of us, including most of America's workforce, and nearly two-thirds of all university students, Andrew Santella procrastinates. Concerned about his habit, but not quite ready to give it up, he set out to learn all he could about the human tendency to delay. He studied history's greatest procrastinators to gain insights into human behavior, and also, he writes, to kill time, "research being the best way to avoid real work."
He talked with psychologists, philosophers, and priests. He visited New Orleans' French Quarter, home to a shrine to the patron saint of procrastinators. And at the home of Charles Darwin outside London, he learned why the great naturalist delayed writing his masterwork for more than two decades.
Drawing on an eclectic mix of historical case studies in procrastination--from Leonardo da Vinci to Frank Lloyd Wright, and from Old Testament prophets to Civil War generals--Santella offers a sympathetic take on habitual postponement. He questions our devotion to "the cult of efficiency" and suggests that delay and deferral can help us understand what truly matters to us. Being attentive to our procrastination, Santella writes, means asking, "whether the things the world wants us to do are really worth doing."
Front Jacket
In the tradition of writers like Sarah Vowell and Bill Bryson comes a sparkling meditation on the perils and pleasures of procrastination.
While others are busy leaning in, crushing it, and trying to work smarter, faster, and better, Andrew Santella stops to ask why so many of our greatest inventors, artists, and scientists have led double lives as committed procrastinators.
Santella seeks an explanation for his lifelong procrastination habit by examining the lives of great procrastinators, from Leonardo da Vinci and Frank Lloyd Wright to Charles Darwin and Johnny Cash and even Old Testament prophets. He also challenges the modern-day "cult of efficiency"--its gurus, principles, and promises. Santella searches for answers to questions like: Can procrastination lead to innovation? Can we draw a connection between delay and brilliance? And why do we often equate procrastination with laziness?
A self-proclaimed procrastinator, Santella writes with candor and wit about his own habits, from painting a radiator to listening to sports talk radio just to avoid writing. Soon is a book for anyone who has ever put off a task, and a droll reminder that time is indeed our most precious resource, but that the "wasting" of it might just be the thing that helps us to see what truly matters.
--Jennifer Egan, author of Manhattan BeachBack Jacket
In the tradition of writers like Sarah Vowell and Bill Bryson comes a sparkling meditation on the perils and pleasures of procrastination.
While others are busy leaning in, crushing it, and trying to work smarter, faster, and better, Andrew Santella stops to ask why so many of our greatest inventors, artists, and scientists have led double lives as committed procrastinators.
Santella seeks an explanation for his lifelong procrastination habit by examining the lives of great procrastinators, from Leonardo da Vinci and Frank Lloyd Wright to Charles Darwin and Johnny Cash and even Old Testament prophets. He also challenges the modern-day "cult of efficiency"--its gurus, principles, and promises. Santella searches for answers to questions like: Can procrastination lead to innovation? Can we draw a connection between delay and brilliance? And why do we often equate procrastination with laziness?
A self-proclaimed procrastinator, Santella writes with candor and wit about his own habits, from painting a radiator to listening to sports talk radio just to avoid writing. Soon is a book for anyone who has ever put off a task, and a droll reminder that time is indeed our most precious resource, but that the "wasting" of it might just be the thing that helps us to see what truly matters.
