Best Procrastination Books: 7-Day Challenge to Overcome Procrastination
Struggling with procrastination? This 7-day challenge introduces the best books on motivation, focus, and getting things done—so you can stop delaying and start achieving.
Day 1
"Eat That Frog!" by Brian Tracy is a guide to stop procrastinating, increase productivity, and master time management.
It teaches you to tackle the hardest tasks first, helping you get more done and make each day more focused and productive.
"Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal." —Brian Tracy
Day 2
Getting Things Done is a system to help us be more organized and productive.
It basically turned into a popular movement during the early 2000's.
David Allen says we can feel in control of our busy work lives, simply by learning to manage our daily tasks effectively.
"Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them." —David Allen
Day 3
Atomic Habits is about how tiny, consistent changes in behavior—atomic habits—can lead to remarkable results over time.
James Clear breaks down the science of habit formation and gives a clear, actionable 4-step system for building good habits and breaking bad ones.
Instead of focusing on goals, he emphasizes systems, identity change, and the power of compound growth.
"Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results." —James Clear
Why read it?
If you’ve ever told yourself “This is the year I get my life together!” and then immediately binge-watched three seasons of a show you don’t even like… Atomic Habits is the book for you.
It’s not about grinding harder or becoming a productivity robot—it’s about sneaky, science-backed ways to trick your brain into becoming the kind of person who actually follows through.
Day 4
Deep Work is about focusing deeply so you can thrive in your professional career.
Cal Newport says reducing distractions and increasing our ability to concentrate will allow us to learn new skills faster and produce higher quality work.
"Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not." —Cal Newport
Why read it?
In a world where the siren song of distractions is almost impossible to resist, Cal Newport's "Deep Work" emerges as the lighthouse guiding us back to productivity and meaningful work.
Newport champions the invaluable skill of deep work: the ability to focus without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks.
He teaches us that in the age of superficiality, the depth of your focus determines the depth of your success. 🏆
Day 5
The War of Art explains how you can do more creative work and overcome your procrastination, distraction, and paralysis.
Steven Pressfield says inside all of us is Resistance, a tricky enemy that sabotages our dreams, and it is the source of our fears, doubts, excuses, and poor habits.
"The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying." —Steven Pressfield
Day 6
Dopamine Nation explains how to break bad habits using the neuroscience of dopamine, the "pleasure molecule" in our brains.
If you want to retrain your brain to like doing hard things, Dr. Anna Lembke shares tools that may help like dopamine fasting, self-binding, truth-telling and leaning into pain.
"The paradox is that hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake, leads to anhedonia, which is the inability to enjoy pleasure of any kind." —Anna Lembke, MD
Why read it?
Imagine a book that helps you understand why we're all seemingly addicted to things like coffee, Instagram likes, or that that sweet, sweet rush of completing a to-do list.
Dr. Anna Lembke takes us on a journey through the neuroscience of pleasure and pain, proving that sometimes, too much of a good thing is exactly as bad as it sounds. 🍩
Day 7
The Power of Habits by Charles Duhigg is a deep dive into the science of how habits work.
If you want to change your habits but don't know where to start, this book can help you.
It provides a simple 3-step formula called "The Habit Loop" to break bad habits and build better ones.
"Habits, scientists say, emerge because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort." —Charles Duhigg
Why read it?
Charles Duhigg's book first popularized the habit loop - the idea that all our habits follow a cycle of "cue-routine-reward." More importantly, he gave practical ways we can "hack" the steps of this loop to take back control of our habits and our lives.
Before Atomic Habits, this was THE go-to book on habits and it is still well worth reading. (For psychology nerds, the habit loop was actually based on the psychologist B.F. Skinner's work that described a 3-step process of stimulus, response, and reinforcement.
Basically, his theory explains why your dog turns into a slobber machine the second you rustle their treat bag. 🐶
Day 8
Essentialism by Greg McKeown is a productivity book that helps you get more done by doing less.
It teaches you to focus only on what’s really important and say no to things that distract you.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed by too many tasks, you'll learn how to prioritize and concentrate on what truly matters in your life and work.
"If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will." —Greg McKeown
