Name: The now habit
ISBN: 9781585425525

The now habit

Originally published by Tarcher in 1988, The Now Habit has sold more than 58,000 copies, and is as relevant as ever!Author Neil Fiore offers the first comprehensive strategy to overcome the causes of procrastination and to eliminate its deleterious effects. His techniques will help any busy person get more things done more quickly, without the anxiety and stress brought on by failure to meet the workplace's pressing deadlines.This revised, redesigned edition includes a new introduction and a section that provides strategies to understand and deal with the complex role technology plays in procrastination today.

What Hacker News says

andaiApr 2026

Great article, especially appreciated the graphs. The idea of "keep adding novelty" is probably what separated my successful long term projects from the unsuccessful ones.

I previously attributed that to having lots of variety and freedom, but the consequence of those factors was indeed novelty.

I want to mention Neil Fiore's excellent book The Now Habit, which is a practical manual on overcoming procrastination. The core thesis is training yourself out of the Victim Mindset, with language like "I have to", and into the Producer Mindset, with language like "I choose to."

What's interesting to me is that this isn't an arbitrary choice. "I have to" is actually a delusion.

Think of the most extreme scenario. Someone has a gun and is "forcing" you to blow up a school. Do you "have to" do it? Or would it be better to say no?

If that freedom holds even in the most extreme scenario... doesn't it always hold?

Sometimes your options are truly terrible, but you always have a choice.

That might sound too philosophical, but I think that's an important distinction to learn to recognize in everyday life.

Because the failure to recognize it is what supports this delusion of "I have to", which seems to be the main cause of procrastination: the resentment and pushing against perceived loss of autonomy.

So my meaning here is that it isn't just more useful to think this way, as some psychological trick, but that it is actually more true as well.

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maxvijApr 2026

Glad you liked the graphs. They're my favourite part.

I looked into The Now Habit, and added it to my reading list. Great addition, thanks! Trying to rephrase 'I have to' to 'I choose to' is already something I try, but in the end, this only lands when you've genuinely internalised it - if you don't truly believe you're choosing it, it doesn't really work (at least for me). As you say, it's a delusion.

Essentially it's affect labelling in disguise, as mentioned in the article.

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personjerryJan 2026

I recommend The Now Habit if you found this line of thinking to be useful. It provides frameworks to understand why you have such mental blocks and more concrete strategies to try.

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dzhar11Aug 2025

I appreciate the author's notes on managing ADHD. I was glad to find I didn't learn much new, because I'm already applying many of these practices.

I've tried several to-do apps, but centralized systems didn't work for me. I now use multiple to-do lists across different media: some on paper, some on my phone, others in markdown files within project folders... sending email to myself. It may seem messy, but it works for me. One system doesn't fit everyone. And any customization and tweaks are encouraged.

Books that helped me:

Atomic Habits by James Clear emphasizes small, consistent changes. Over time, they build into significant improvement. It’s better to improve your system gradually than attempt a major overhaul.

The Now Habit by Neil Fiore offers tools to overcome procrastination and start tasks. It helped me understand my resistance and find ways to move forward.

Getting Things Done by David Allen focuses on reviews and planning. I struggle to make time for them regularly, but even occasional reviews help.

Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, especially annotated versions, provide a Stoic perspective. His reflections on virtue and responsibility inspire me. He seemed to dislike being emperor, preferring philosophy, but accepted his role out of duty. That example helps me do necessary tasks, even when I don't feel like it.

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squid_caFeb 2024

Three books that have helped me:

- "Feeling Good" by David D. Burns

- "The Now Habit" by Neil Fiore

- "Getting Things Done" by David Allen

"Feeling Good" is about Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, and will teach you some practical ways to get yourself out of a bad mood (depression, anger, self-criticism, etc). Procrastination is a logical response to how you are feeling about some task, for example, you are feeling anxious about failing a test, so you play video games because it feels better to play video games than to feel anxious. This book will help you get past the anxiety, so you can focus on the studying. If you only read one of these books, I would recommend this one.

"The Now Habit" offers you some practical advice on how to beat procrastination and schedule your time so you don't feel like all you do is work, work, work.

"Getting Things Done" has a lot of practical advice about how to keep track of what you've got going on in your life so that you can get all your stuff done.

And yes, if you think you are depressed or have undiagnosed ADHD, go see a doctor and/or therapist.

Hope some of this helps.

edit: formatting

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BeetleBSep 2023

If procrastination is the problem, I suggest the book The Now Habit:

https://www.amazon.com/Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination-...

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