Overcome Procrastination
Why You Avoid the Things That Matter Most and How to Actually Start Doing ThemBy Felix KauFmann
Length8h 23m
About this audiobook
**How to Overcome Procrastination, Stop Avoiding Important Work, and Beat Perfectionism and Self-Sabotage**
Anja was the kind of person everyone assumed had endless discipline. She completed triathlons, taught herself two languages, and read dozens of books every year. Yet for seven months she could not bring herself to finish a single research paper. When cognitive behavioral therapist Felix Kaufmann asked her what it would feel like to finally submit it, she paused and replied, “I would have to find out whether I’m actually any good.” In that moment, the problem became clear. It was never about laziness, poor time management, or lack of motivation. It was about fear.
This book is built on sixteen years of clinical experience working with ambitious, intelligent, capable people who continually postpone the work that matters most to them. These are not unmotivated people. They care deeply about their goals. In fact, the more meaningful the task, the stronger the urge to avoid it becomes. The novel sits unfinished. The business idea never launches. The dissertation remains half-written. The difficult conversation never happens.
Unlike traditional productivity books that rely on willpower, discipline, or rigid routines, this guide approaches procrastination as an emotional regulation problem. It reveals how perfectionism, fear of judgment, shame, boredom, identity threats, and the discomfort of beginning create powerful avoidance patterns. Through practical cognitive-behavioral techniques, readers learn how to work with these feelings rather than waiting for them to disappear.
Inside, you'll discover the five major procrastination styles, strategies for overcoming perfectionism, simple methods for starting difficult tasks, approaches for ADHD-type procrastination, and a structured thirty-day protocol for building lasting momentum. This is not a book about becoming a productivity machine. It is a compassionate, evidence-based guide to doing meaningful work despite fear, uncertainty, and resistance—and finally finishing what matters most.
Audiobook details
GenrePsychology, Self-Help
Length8 hrs 23 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2Introduction
3The Procrastination You Think You Have vs. The One You Actually Have
4The Emotion Underneath the Avoidance
5Perfectionism as Procrastination in Disguise
Show all chaptersShow less
6The Fear of Being Seen Doing It Badly
7The Identity Threat: When the Work Could Prove You Wrong
8Boredom, Drudgery, and Tasks With No Reward Loop
9The Activation Cost of Starting Anything
10The Two-Minute Door That Gets You Inside
11Time Boxes That Actually Hold Without Becoming Tyrants
12Environments That Make the Right Thing Easier
13The Calendar as Tool, Not Trap
14Accountability That Helps vs. Accountability That Punishes
15Working With ADHD-Type Procrastination
16Procrastination Across Long Projects: The Middle Slog
17The Energy Levels Behind the Procrastination
18Sleep, Movement, and Food as Underused Anti-Procrastination Tools
19Recovery From a Lost Week (or Month, or Year)
20The Procrastination That’s Actually Wisdom
21Procrastinating on the Right Things
22Talking to Other People About Your Avoidance
23The Long Practice: Building Sustainable Work Habits Over Years . 117 When to Stop the Project Entirely
24Conclusion
25Appendix A: A Thirty-Day Starter Protocol
26Appendix B: Twelve Common Scripts You Use to Talk Yourself Out of Starting
27Appendix E: When Procrastination Is the Surface of Something Deeper
28Appendix F: A Letter to the Reader Who Has Failed Before
29Appendix G: Procrastination Across the Stages of a Career
30Appendix H: Working With Your Body When the Work Resists You 1 75 Appendix I: A Closing Letter
31Appendix J: Eight Case Studies in Long Procrastination
32Appendix K: Practical Tools, Templates, and Daily Practices
33Appendix L: Procrastination in Specific Domains
34Appendix M: A Year With Your Avoidance, Month by Month
35Appendix N: A Short Glossary of Terms I Use Differently
36Appendix O: A Final Word on Compassion
37Appendix P: Three Final Reminders
38About the Author
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