I’m on record as thinking that self-help books are usually a really bad gift idea unless you’re absolutely sure they’re wanted, but in this case I am.
I have a relative who shared my personal inclination towards procrastination and inertia, but while I am a mere dabbler in these fields, the rellie could medal in them at the Olympics. He’s interested in getting a grip on things, clarifying his goals, and taking concrete steps towards accomplishing them. But he’s not really sure how to do that, and I’m not much assistance. (I guess “Get the brick out of your ass” isn’t really that helpful.)
Dopers, do any of you have any books or systems or materials you’ve found to be helpful in terms of setting goals and disciplining yourself to move towards them? By his personality, I know he will be much more interested in practical, concrete steps or exercises, than he will be in any thing New Age-y or woo-woo.
Sounds like Albert Ellis is the man for the job. He’s got a book called Overcoming Procrastination. You can’t get much more practical and no-nonsense than the founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy.
I guess it would depend on why he’s stuck. If he has a psychological issue that needs unsticking, I like Barbara Sher’s work for that. Her book on Wishcraft is awesome, but there’s also I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was which is also very helpful in determining why someone is stuck. Barbara Sher also has a message board if he needs inspiration to keep going.
If it’s just a matter of organization, I like FranklinCovey Planners and PlanPlus if he wants the organization to be computerized and link with his PDA.
Then there’s the whole motivational field, but I’m not sure you were talking about that.
But at least after that I won’t have to listen to him complaining about how he’s stuck in neutral and doesn’t know what to do. I have some sympathy for people lacking tools; I have none for people who are handed tools and don’t take the wrapper off them, much less try to use them.
I’ve read it but haven’t acted on it – procrastination cuts deep – but David Allen’s previously mentioned Getting Things Done has a lot of passionate followers. Merlin Mann’s always-interesting site 43 Folders was spawned by the book, and he’s got a great post on getting started.
I like Steven Covey’s First Things First. It is good for putting the goals and framework in place of what you want to accomplish. *Getting Things Done * is more on the techniques for accomplishing a lot of tasks. I don’t think it’s as good for someone who feels they need the goal setting piece. It’s more for the stage where you have a lot of goals, and a lot of tasks identified to help you toward those goals, and need to make sure you are doing them.
