A Proactive Guide to the Psychology of Motivation

Although none of the advice applied specifically to my own problems, the first principles of motivation the author described were directly applicable to my life, and showed me all the motivation-related mistakes I was making, and how to resolve them. Extremely valuable book.

Awful. Unbearably conceited author, dry voice, with the occasional out of place "big word". Waisted most of the book oversimplifying psychology, and giving droning examples.... A complete waste of money and time.

Great concept, but the lofty writing could deter the reader from actually understanding it. Personally, I threw the book out - after about 8 pages in, thinking "this book may contain good ideas, but the author seems like he's intentionally talking over my head." Upon reflection, a few days later, I concluded that what was said was right and important. You have to feel it, people, otherwise you won't take action. Conversely, if an action (habit, etc.) in a part of you - in essence- you have little hope in avoiding it.

The title seemed a little convoluted to me but I tried to read the book anyway to see what the author thought and suggested. Once I began reading, the book appeared even more convoluted, run on and repetitious. There did not appear to be any clear direction to the writing. I found myself frequently rereading complex sentences to see what the the author was trying to say. I thought at first that I might not been in the mood for such a book but several more attempts left me with the same frustration. I never got into the flow of the book and had no idea where it was headed. It's not that I don't understand psychology. I have a Ph.D. in psychology and worked for thirty-five years in various aspects of professional practice. I tried but I just couldn't do it. Each time I left frustrated and going in search of something I might enjoy reading and also learn something from. I wanted to appreciate what the author had to say, but each time got lost in endless words which seemed to wander rather than heading in any particular direction. I wish I could say something more positive, but it would be honest.

Well written and very educational; I now get a better sense of the meaning and reasons behind procrastination. This book is for everyone. Provides insight on how to get great things done. I highly recommend it.

The case studies presented in the front are essentially just amalgamations of the author's personal observations in himself and people around him. There's no scientific or clinical analysis in either these cases or any of the advice provided. I was very disappointed; I expected a solid psychological text, and all I got was the author's hypotheses.
Earning a BA in psychology doesn't make you an expert, and just printing your own books doesn't make you a credible author.

Bought this on impulse as it was an the store recommended book along with a few respected titles. Was going to give it as a gift but decided read first. Glad i did, Hard to believe a 114p book to be long winded but the content could have been summarized in a article. Not well written and questionable insight. Target audience sèems to be chronic videogammers and masturbators. Should have researched author or reviews 1st

Roam Gelperin is a BA in Psychology, not a doctor, which comes across fairly clearly. He advocates the long since debunked Pleasure/Pain principal, which is about as useful to sufferers of depression and anxiety as "Perfectly Rational Actor" theory is to marketing. The advice he offers, while not useless, exists to almost throw out the entire field of Cognitive Psychotherapy, something that most modern psychologists and therapists would at the least advocate if not prescribe.

The book is legible, but people suffering from these symptoms (which, it should be noted, are all flags of severe depression), would be far better served reading work-books by actual therapists and doctors, rather than a 4-year psychology student.

A book everyone should own and read--I mean, who amongst us can confidently say that they are consistently motivated and never lazy? Roman does a superb job of breaking down the psychological core of motivation vs. procrastination, and provides easily applicable strategies for everyone. Whether you're humble enough to fess up to your unproductive lifestyle or simply curious to learn more about these common human tendencies, this book is a must-read.

I was given this book by Mr. Gelperin to give an honest opinion of his book. I can't say I liked the book. I read every word of the first 3 or 4 chapters but it got so bogged down, I frankly got bored. I think he drew things out in a chapter that could have been said in a couple of pages. He said mostly the same thing on each example of the 4 types of problems that he was trying to help. I skipped through pages of some of the chapters but again every time I came onto something I thought I would get some help from it seemed over my head in its teaching or was just so long and drawn out I would just stop reading for awhile. I said yes I would give a review, because I wanted to see if the book could help me understand myself, why I sabotage myself over losing weight and some other areas I seem to always struggle with. I got to the conclusion and again Mr. Gelperin went over each example and what the person could have done to not procrastinate, or stop the addiction of smoking, or get to the gym every day but each time after telling what the subject could have done to help himself have pleasure or just get on with it so he could move to something more pleasurable, he would say, it probably wouldn't help because of this or that. I did follow and understand most of what I was reading but it was just so boring I couldn't make myself read it word for word.

This book reads like a bad senior thesis from 1912. The author tries to sound intellectual, but his continual choice of words and sentence structure reminds me of a poor parody of Bulwer Lytton. He circles back repeatedly with run-on sentences. The whole book could have been summed up in less than 12 pages, even with his five examples outlined. Furthermore, his use of footnotes is appalling. He references his own thoughts abstrusely. Instead of elaborating what he meant above, the footnote is just as strange as that which he references. Perhaps he doesn't speak English as a first language and cannot therefore explain himself well. That might explain his sentence structures, his inability to clarify his thoughts, if he is expounding in a language he doesn't quite grasp. Otherwise, the book is pretty pointless. How many times can you say "Motivation to start a fun thing is easy", "Convincing yourself something is fun will help you get started", "Setting up an environment that helps you overcome ______" will help you avoid the bad and do the good? Thank goodness I bought the book used.

This book is difficult to read for too many reasons. The author desperately needs an editor to slash away the many awkward phrases, sentences, paragraphs, chapters... I worked too hard to find only shaky, unsupported arguments buried in exaggerated claims of expertise. If you really are concerned with addiction, procrastination or laziness in your own life, look to reputable experts with the wisdom to accept corrections from an experienced editor. Don’t waste your time with this book.

I tried really hard to like this book because I do admire the amount of effort it took the author to write and self-publish this book. The writing style is so poor, however, that it's incredibly difficult to figure out what the writer is trying to say. I forced myself to slog through about two-thirds of it and finally gave up.

It appears English is not the author's first language but he has obviously been exposed to higher level works written in English. I base this assumption on the numerous grammatical errors and the author's consistent use of twice as many words as necessary in virtually every sentence along with his use of many large words (which are often used incorrectly).

The author seems knowledgeable about this topic and he probably has something to say - it's just hard to figure out what it is when you find yourself rereading so many sentences several times to understand what he means.

It's possible it's just me although I am an avid reader (I read hundreds of books a year), so I don't think that's the case.

I would attempt to read another book by this author if he were to have future books appropriately edited first. I understand a self-published author's budget may not allow for that but if he wants to achieve wide readership, this is imperative.

I read the first chapter of this book in the store’s “Look Inside.” It is the chapter describing five types of people: People with problems of Addiction, Procrastination, and Laziness. And I am like, the author is speaking to me!!! And then he didn’t. And I was so disappointed. Roman Gelperin wrote the first chapter in common, everyday language; the rest of the book he wrote as an academic paper. I have two degrees. One of them is a B.S. in Psychology, so I could understand Mr. Gelperin’s psychobabble (as my Dad use to call it when I was getting my Psych degree). But I didn’t want psychobabble; I wanted nuts and bolts, how to change, these are the steps. What I got appeared to be one of the author’s term papers. What I got from this book were a few tidbits, literally a word or two here and there to chew upon. Based upon the author’s first chapter, I believe he can write for us commoners and not just for the Academia. And I hope he will go that route. After all, Dr. Joyce Brothers and Dr. Phil have probably helped more people than Dr. Abraham Maslow ever did.

I got this book on how to overcome laziness, but, I'm too lazy to read it. I was going to start a club for procrastination, however me and the other potential members kept putting off our first meeting.
I also got a book on improving my memory, I can't remember where I put it.

I've been far more motivated just reading motivational quotes from the first American to summit Mt. Everest - Jim Whittaker.

Disappointing. Author presents overly dense ideas that were hard to follow (as were his solutions). There may be some excellent ideas in here, but I didn't have either the patience or the motivation to ferret them out.

Author would benefit from professional review and editing...

I go thru a lot of books; this isn't even close to being a keeper, unfortunately.

Out of the MANY kindle books I buy, this is one of the rare few I refunded. Yep, it's that bad.

Practical, actionable insightful.

Roman reveals a mind concept that he calls the pleasure unconscious which is our natural inclination to move away from displeasure and toward pleasure. It's hardwired, we do it naturally.

Awareness of the pleasure unconscious and practical methods to work with it gave me several techniques for immediate implementation.

One technique I adopted immediately is a word association process to counter impulses for junk food and gambling. Roman explains that logic often fails when you're trying to avoid an impulse that's pleasurable but leads to negative consequences with regrets.

Using logic I might tell myself I'll only test my luck. This time I'll just bet a little bit.

His advice is to associate a word with the activity to snub the logic process. For the lottery impulse, my word is poverty. For the junk food impulse my word is obesity.

This is just one technique pulled from a one day reading, with underlining.

Roman presents science, practical techniques and examples that are immediately useful, gems.

I gave up alcohol, marijuana and tobacco over thirty years ago. This book contains techniques I used then, but it puts them into a context and a toolkit that's super helpful. With the skills acquired there's no telling what I'll tackle next, picking my nose, twiddling my eyebrows?

Some of the bad reviews may lead you to believe there's nothing new here and the example cases are unhelpful.

The gist of some of the presented material may seem simple, but isn't that what you want when studying a complex topic, a teacher who can simplify the concepts and methods that will enable you to grasp the material?

Don't dismiss the examples. You have to plow through them but they demonstrate a wide variety of useful techniques.

Dropping a bad habit isn't rocket science but it requires determination. This book will help you put a game plan together.

I'm a big fan of this book and recommend it. For me, one pass through is not enough. I intend to internalize this valuable info.

Let's just say first that the book is well written and the information accurate. However, it is just a rehash of information that has been around since the late 70's and early 80's. It has been around since NLP was created by Richard Bandler and John Grinder. If you googled NAC(S) or maybe Tony Robbins you would find essentially the same information and steps described in a 20th of the space an with more detailed instructions. I am sure reading it would help some people who are not aware of a lot of the information out there and I read it free on Kindle Unlimited and so I gave it 3 stars. If however, I had paid for it I would have given it one or two stars just for wasting my time.

New York author Roman Gelperin describes himself as ‘an author, biographer, philosopher, and forever a student of the human mind.’ He earned his BA in Psychology from Stony Brook University, and lives in Brooklyn, NY. ADDICTION, PROCRASTINATION, AND LAZINESS is his debut in publishing.

One of the many aspects that make Roman book so accessible to the reader is his quality of relating. In his Introductory comments he states, ‘I wrote this short book back in 2013, after beating my head painfully, persistently against the thick wall of my motivational problems, and finally breaking out into full understanding, acceptance, and self-control. I dealt with these issues the same way I deal, and recommend dealing, with all psychological troubles: through introspection—that is, by paying attention to the subtle workings of one’s own mind, identifying the roots of the problem, and devising the corresponding solution. I wrote this book as a type of self-help manual, targeting the most common motivational problems in the world today, against which most people end up wrecking themselves, but that can be easily and effectively solved by a correct understanding of their own minds. Other than quitting cigarettes, I intimately experienced all the motivational problems described in this book.’

Roman organizes his book into seven parts - Anomalies in Human Behavior (procrastination, loss of motivation, cigarette addiction, videogame addiction, oversleeping – each presented in the form of a patient), Unraveling the mystery (the act and the result), The psychological nature of motivation, How the pleasure unconscious operates, The mental framework of motivation, The strategies in our toolbox, and Applying what we’ve learned. In this framework he addresses the similarity between addiction and procrastination, how and why emotions motivate, and as a final graduation cap – fifteen strategies for self-motivation.

Smart, pertinent and very useful, this little book is more than a self-help book (though it is that, too); this is a book that successfully combines psychology and philosophy. Recommended. Grady Harp, November 17
This book is free to borrow from Kindle Unlimited

This is a small book (114 pages) which packs a big message. The bottom line is this: There is hope for behavioral addicts, procrastinators, and the lazy who want to control or stop their addictions, procrastinations, or laziness. As I read the book, I was reminded of the old riddle:

Q: How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Only one, but the light bulb has got to want to change!
You and I (assuming we are concerned about our addictive habits, our procrastinations, and/or our laziness) are the ‘light bulb’. Roman Helperin is the ‘psychologist’.
He holds to the idea that “Nearly all self-observant persons will concede that they are not in full control of their behavior.” Then he explains why. . . and what can be done about it.
Helperin starts his book off with five examples which almost every reader can identify with – either personally, or they know someone just like that. Each example represents a multitude of other cases readers may be familiar with. They are:
1. The person who has a project to complete but keeps putting it off until the last minute.
2. The person who really wants to go to the gym to work out but seems to be unmotivated to do so.
3. The smoker who wants to stop.
4. The person who cannot stop play video games.
5. The person who cannot get out of bed in the morning.
For each of these Helperin shares their frustrations. He takes us through their mental and emotional feelings. He helps us understand their fear and the impact of not succeeding. He explains the various motivations and pleasures of wanting to succeed but also those associated with continuing in their present condition. He distinguishes between ‘acts’ and ‘results’, contending that people do not necessarily pursue ‘acts’ that they are involved in, but rather the ‘results’ of those acts. He shows us that there are both positive (pleasure) and negative (pain) forces for both stopping and commencing any given activity. The greater forces win out. But our ‘willpower’ can overcome a force. It all makes for interesting, although sometimes, complex reading.
But he doesn’t leave us there. He introduces us to some very practical strategies (what he calls ‘Our Toolbox’ to conquer the challenges before us.
For starters, we need to understand how our physical environment impacts our ability to stand up to the challenge we are trying to overcome. The frequency of applying such changes improves the likelihood of success with respect to what we are trying to achieve. The success of this is augmented by its frequency. A second strategy is to target the pleasure of overcoming the challenge. Involving others who can act as social motivators to your pursuit can also be very beneficial to your goals. He introduces a technique called ‘splitting your attention’ to make the hard tasks more doable – but he cautions that some tasks become impossible when attention is split. (I found this section most interesting, as I reflect on watching television and working on an essay at the same time; or watching my grandchildren working on homework – especially math – and listening to music with their headphones. His comments on this are most interesting.). And there are a number of other equally helpful tools he presents for us to utilize in our different situations.
Finally, Helperin returns to his five examples and applies all the theory he has discussed to each of them, explaining what each person could do to be successful. Where there’s a will to achieve something or to quit something or to change one’s behavior – there’s definitely a way!
This book is recommended for all those (from teenagers and up) who recognize they’re currently behaving in ways they would rather not. Counselors will also find it a great guide to help their clients overcome addiction, procrastination, and laziness. Well worth the time and effort to check it out.

 Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, August 26, 2018

To be perfectly transparent, I was sent this book by the author and asked to provide an honest review.

This book for me was a bit of a challenge to read. To me it felt like I was reading a really long term paper or the author's PhD thesis. That said, I thought it was very well written and offered some practical insights that I found interesting, even useful. I found the use of the individual examples early in the book relatable and helpful in illustrating the internal and external struggles we all face in overcoming behaviors that limit our potential as humans.

One of the other reviews I read indicated the strategies to be too basic or something like that. I am not sure that I totally agree with that. For someone that is struggling with any of the issues this book hopes to address, I think strategies need to be clearly defined, executable and relatable enough for someone to consider leveraging. I think the author does a good job in explaining the strategies and offers some relevant and actionable considerations for a reader to implement them. With such complex issues, I think breaking these ideas down to a level that the reader could consider utilizing for their own life is somewhat essential .

I gave this book three stars which somewhat pains me because i can feel the academic effort and literary attempt to deliver a book that is intended to help its reader. Unfortunately it came across a bit too academic which took away from the experience I felt reading it. That said, it was very well thought out and a worthwhile read.

Easy to understand, good examples and scenarios in the book that I can relate to. I realized I already know many motivational techniques outlined in this book like “involving a friend”, “making visual reminders”, or “deliberately making an addicting task physically impossible to do”, but where this book shines is the WHY it works and WHEN to use it. It describes why certain techniques might fail for a specific scenario, and when the strategy will be most successful. Very helpful piece of knowledge to keep in your toolbox.

Really like the easy to understand breakdown of component why it makes so much sense. It makes no judgement but makes sense in that everything we do more frequently consistently is by nature something that gives us pleasure, but that is different for everyone. The breakdown of effort to stop or start, the actual habit and the perceived result in measuring pleasure or displeasure really make sense. The application the the scenarios given also very well illustrates the concepts and challenges.

Relevant, practical and honest. The author uses an evidence/experience based approach in addressing extremely common modern struggles. If you've struggled with Addiction, Procrastination, and(or) Laziness but are hesitant to medicalize your issues, give this book a shot. It has tact and wit without judgement or overt medicalization.

This short text is well-connected (straight to point in essence), enticing and beneficial considering the fact that just about everyone out there suffers from some form of either addiction, procrastination and/or laziness (these terms are in a sense interrelated). To deny this unassailable point is to deny basic human nature. Let me briefly expound on this point: human beings have what is called the "pleasure unconscious" i.e. the subconscious proclivity to do something that would constitute an increase in pleasure. An increase in pleasure could be going from writing a paper for school to playing video games. It could also be going from idly laying down to day-dreaming. To do the reverse is difficult. That's why it is hard to transition from playing video games to doing something more strenuous or "boring" per se, like writing a paper. This makes it easier in a scientific sense to understand why when we find ourselves in a neutral state of pleasure, most commonly waking up, we will have better luck doing the more difficult tasks first. This gives us a good idea why a motivators like Brian Tracy preach that you have to "eat that frog" - in other words, do the most difficult task first and therefore everything else will come easier and seem more pleasurable. To get an understanding of this thing scientifically is what I appreciate from the text. The 'pleasure unconscious' is what makes it hard to quit many deleterious habits. With fine-tuned examples, and a to-the-point verbiage, this text made a very interesting read.

This is a little more in-depth than the 5-second rule. The 5-second rule is a book about a premise that can be written in a single sentence: if you know you should do something, you count down 5-4-3-2-1 and then you do it as soon as you hit 1. The rest of that book is why you would do things this way. This particular book is about something similar to the "activation energy" concept of physics or chemistry. In order to achieve a physical result (or a chemical reaction) a certain amount of energy has to be input into the system, and then the reaction takes over from there. Again, a straightforward concept around which another entire book has been written. I've only gotten so far and haven't seen how this relates to addiction. This particular book I think helps people identify when a goal requires a certain amount of energy, and helps the person decide to put in that energy in a timely manner. Personally I don't have a problem with either of these concepts.
Actually I sort of have an issue with books of this sort. There is an unspoken concept of "wasted life" that drive all such books. The idea is, the more things you accomplish faster, the greater "usage" or "utility" you are getting from your life, and supposedly the more you'll enjoy it. Like, you put in a certain amount of energy to accomplish a high school education, and your life is measurably better than if you hadn't. Then you put in even more energy to complete college, and then your life is even better still. I guess you do this all the way up to a PhD, presuming such investment in time and energy gives you the greatest satisfaction of all. Anyway, the premise is if you do not choose to put in that energy, that potential gain has been lost, and that period of your life has been wasted. I think this is as fallacious a concept as the one about people using some certain fraction of their brain. As we now know, people use all of their brain. Or let's say, if you had worked and worked you could have been an Olympic level athlete; but you hadn't. Does that mean you had wasted your potential? So we can gradate people depending on what level of athletic achievement they had reached, from nothing at all, all the way up to Olympic gold medal (or world record). And then there are people who look at even this measure, and say "ok, you run 100m in under 10 seconds, but what good does that do you?" These are all concepts from Utilitarianism. If you don't need to be a star athlete to be "successful", if you don't need to be a mental wizard to be "successful", then why do you have to sweep the kitchen floor to be "successful". I mean, don't get me wrong, I have swept the kitchen floor!
Also there's another potential cost of accomplishing too much. Let's say you fill the dishwasher, and run it, but then there arises another dirty dish, which could have fit, except you missed the load, and now you either have to hand-wash it (even more energy expended) or wait until another wash cycle (could be a week!). This is a problem that economists tend to try to solve, how to achieve optimum efficiency: "what's the most benefit from the least amount of effort", well often times this involves hiring out that task to someone more skilled. The more workers you have (each creating more value than they cost) means your total wealth, or benefit, is increasing at an ever-greater rate.
So in conclusion, if your problem is you're not a very effective house cleaner, and you're procrastinating, maybe you need to investigate hiring that task out. There are services available, after all. A savvy person identifies when the hired task cannot be bought economically, and takes that on themselves. Some people are too heroic and try to do Everything, save all the costs, do all of the work, and wind up doing half-assed projects most of the time.
I'd say the main problem of motivation is how to put your effort into activities that you are most effective at, and pay other people to do the rest on a priority basis; and now it's a problem of how to recognize which is which. Maybe you don't study because you're not very good at that subject? So what other subject are you actually good at.

I've been immersed in helping people overcome bad habits, procrastination to Level Up their results for the past 18 years. Doing it myself was the first step to be able to explain these concepts in "How to" terms, and Roman Gelperin does this really well. He gives a handful of case studies at the start of the book, with people who are struggling with something (going to the gym, stopping smoking, or stopping video game addiction) with a clear explanation of how to bypass the damaging behavioral patterns, to achieve the desired results. It all comes back to human motivation and the stakes that are set for the desired outcomes. We must have the motivation for the end result, or procrastination will occur. How do we get this motivation to start the task, complete the task and experience the consequences of putting in the work and effort? Gelperin points out the importance of keeping the end in mind, along with more tips to get over the slumps of procrastination. If you truly want to take your results and life to the next level, you will read this book, and pick ONE thing you want to accomplish. You should be able to use this book as a guide to achieve one goal at a time.

Badly written with very little practical advice. I would really hate this book if I had paid for it. The writer's perspective comes from a zone of superiority and a capricious lack of practical experience. Arrogant, self serving, thumb sucking pablum. About as useful as snake oil without the squeeze.

The first half of the book is concerned primarily with the mechanics behind procrastination etc. The author frames it all in terms of the pleasure subconscious: all our actions being motivated entirely by our brain's desire to increase pleasure and decrease displeasure. He then notes three fundamental elements to any activity (desired or undesired): the energy required to start, the pleasure/displeasure experienced while performing the activity, and the positive/negative consequences.

The key idea of the book is to make things you should be doing 1. easier to start, 2. as pleasurable as possible, 3. associated with the positive rewards of doing them. Conversely, making the things you shouldn't be doing 1. hard to start, 2. unpleasurable, 3. associated in your mind with the negative consequences of doing them.

There is inspirational value in the chapter on the various methods available for achieving these goals. But in order to extract as much value as possible from this book, the reader should take these basic principles the author lays out and build a self-guided plan for success, possibly with novel techniques or techniques imported from other resources. The pleasure-displeasure schematic is the key takeaway from this book.

I'm still reading this, but I am feeling hopeful about understanding how people, not just me have these issues and to hopefully help me help myself to have more success in my life. I am really enjoying this book! Very glad I came across it on the store.com.

Ok, I have now finishes this book. It really helped me for a number of reasons. First, just knowing that people all over have these same problems and issues helped me not judge myself harshly. Second, understanding how our minds work, and why we do the things we do. And lastly, I love the tools Roman Gelperin gives to help us to help ourselves! I feel excited and motivated to make the changes that will help me be the person I want to be.

I feel like the writer wrote this book, then went back after looking through a thesaurus and replaced everday words with whatever sounded “fancier”. I feel like he also went back and tried to make everything more scientific sounding. Kind of like how a clueless college student writes a case study and writes it in a way that sounds smart, but in reality nothing makes sense. My point is that because of the way this book is written, I feel like actual messages and points were lost just because of unneeded and inacurate vocabulary. I found myself having to reread many sentences like three or four times because of Improper use of words and just unnecessary complexity. This book was not written with the reader in mind and offers very little practical solutions. I honestly believe this was the work of a freshman college student for a class assignment and just turned it into a bookjust because he could.

This book helped me understand and analyze the reasons behind my constant procrastination. I always thought it was an issue with will power, like I just wasn’t good at life. As it turns out, I just need to change my perspective and rephrase the way I think about tasks. I’m looking forward to utilizing the tools at the end! Great book!!

I was sent this book to give my review. Here it is.

The brain is a miraculous part of the body, the brain tells the rest of the body what to do by sending messages to each part telling it what to do when needed. This is a self help book to help people try to rid themselves of problems that is interfering with their lives and well being. Or perhaps, problems they don't want to get rid of, but need to. The book is short, 114 pages, but gives me much to think about

Mr Gelperin writes of five characters who need to lose bad behaviors that are ruining and running parts of their lives. This is a good read for people who are needing advice on life problems. This means probably everyone.

He writes of what gives pleasure, what tasks are unpleasant, how to do away with pleasant habits that keep people away from tasks that need to be done. One way is to break away from boring work for awhile and do a fun thing, to break from unpleasant to pleasant. Example is a nice lunch away from the desk. Another is reading a dry, serious have to book, then picking up and reading a fun read

The use of a white board is interesting to me and makes a lot of sense. Create everything that needs to be done or what the person wants to do as it drifts into his or her mind. Write it down and when he or she has a free moment do it. Erase tasks and fun projects as they are finished.

Mr Gelperin writes of several ways people can use to help with addiction, procrastination and laziness. The book contains much good sense. Read and learn. It is an interesting read.
Gelperin.

To be accountable, I was given the e-book for an honest read and review by the author.

With that said, I have a suspecting suspicious feeling the people who did NOT like this book as told in some of the reviews may either NOT maintain recovery from addictions or they just didn't read the whole BOOK. I am a person who maintains recovery from gambling addiction now 11 years and can tell you the author "hit the NAIL on the HEAD!"

The book and guide could have been shortened with a few areas of restating the same info, and maybe it could have been structured better, but the meat of this book is a NEEDED in-depth look as to why and how many seeking to recover or are in recovery from addiction or maybe even wanting to "better themselves" in life can become "stuck" and not know HOW to move forward. This book explains some of the roots to that "laziness." We all come to a fork in the road within our recovery journies and think? "what next?" However, most of the time they really haven't done ALL the work that is required to make it in long-term recovery. IT IS THAT SIMPLE!

And that is what the author clearly explains and shares some of what is needed to do so. It truly is a common sense approach and in easy written understanding. He tells us in no uncertain terms that recovery is a "Lifetime Journey.

And the author plainly explains why. Many don't like to "Look In The Mirror" of their "Bad habits and behaviors" that are gained when you are an addict of any kind. Overall I give it a 4 Stars! As "I Got The Message!"

Do the WORK PEOPLE in recovery!

Catherine

Addiction, Procrastination and Laziness by Roman Gelperin. The first third of the book relates certain experiences that we can all relate to and involves the scientific side of procrastination. The next part focuses on motivation, which I was the most interested in reading. Motivation seems to be based on pleasure versus displeasure of the action and consequences involved. Strategies are given to help with motivation, such as The Power of Habit and Association and Controlling our Environment. The experiences are recapped and the conclusion sums it all up with the fact that each of us is different with different backgrounds and insecurities and talents and skills. These factors all contribute a part of why we might procrastinate in certain situations. We all need to reflect on these factors in our own lives and apply what we learn about ourselves to help accomplish goals we’ve set. 3.5 stars for a simple guide for conquering procrastination.

Roman, your book was very helpful to me in trying to understand my addictive behavior. Thank you for being so good about NOT "dumbing it down" for folks like myself who know very little about human psychology.

I've listened to the audio version of Addiction, Procrastination, and Laziness twice. It is a fascinating take on a very specific subject and lent me a great deal of ideas to ponder. Mr. Gelperin offers up several different scenarios of persons dealing with the title subjects. Each scenario is different from the others. Following that set-up, the book delves into the causes of addiction, procrastination and laziness and the author's advice and techniques to address them. By the end of the book the reader is reacquainted with the scenarios given at the beginning, but this time we've a toolbox with varied ways to not only identify why the problem exists, but an arsenal of techniques to solve the problem.

I really don't understand the earlier one star reviews. This is well written for an intelligent reader capable of reasoning. It's basis is simple - if your brain is under entertained doing something it wont do it. I realized It's why Starbucks is booming from easing the drudgery of billions of people from their daily work (Caffeine, fat, sugar) they do to pay the bills and stay out of bankruptcy. Great little read, worth taking the short time it took. Now I find ways to fool my brain into doing boring tasks by rewards, background stimulus and avoiding deferred activities.

As a writing teacher, this author has too many run-on sentences. The sample I read on Kindle was annoying and filled with long-winded unnecessary phrases. Roman, I was hopeful when I began reading, but too many words can actually be confusing, Write a 2nd edition, and I'll help you edit. Your heart is in the right place to help us.

So far what I have read has added to my understanding of how pleasure seeking is unconsciously used to increase or decrease our ability to accomplish tasks. With that in mind, I found the writing straightforward and easy to grasp.

The author does an interesting job of taking five subjects who are having problems controlling their behavior. We learn about motivation for pursuing a current activity versus motivation for beginning a new one. He speaks a lot about pleasure unconscious. It helps that he gives strategies we can use to combat maladaptive behaviors instigated by the pleasure unconscious. Fascinating reading if you appreciate psychology and human behavior.

It is worth reading if you have any issues with procrastination, laziness and some form of addiction. I wish I read something like this 10 years ago, I would have made better choices. It is important to know the feelings behind your habits, especially the ones you want to eliminate. I strongly believe Gelprin has given us enough tools here.

I was looking for another perspective on motivation. What I found was a book that almost motivated me to stop reading. As I have found in many books, the authors seam to be more interested in the number of pages they can produce over the real theme of the book. The beginning of the book identifies the subject. The middle three chapters were written to prove his point including the way animals think. Give me your ideas on what is the problem and then a solution to it. If you don't want me to have ADD don't give me a reason to have it.

What qualifies this guy to write this book? I'm not seeing a PhD, PsyD, MD, LCSW, LPC behind his name. So, as a LCSW in private practice and specializing in addiction and trauma, I have a problem with this book before opening it. When I do open it, I'm not seeing any index that can immediately take me to a topic I want to zero in on. There is no bibliography. No citations. No references. There's not even a section found in most books entitled 'about the author.' So I Googled him. His Facebook link describes him as a psychologist. His own website says he has a bachelor's degree in psychology. That's a looooong way from a PhD!! Judging from the book itself, he's never written a thesis or a dissertation. Me thinks this guy's got a problem. Laziness, maybe? Procrastination, maybe? Ineptitude, maybe? I'm sorry, but anecdotal information, which he uses to launch his thoughts and opinions, doesn't cut it in the field of psychology. And then there's his ability to write. He can't. So don't waste your money like I did.

I have major motivation problems. Since I had back surgery, I've found it harder and harder to get off my rear end and accomplish even basic tasks around the house. I've put on a ton of weight, too. I'd rather drink beer and watch TV.

I know this book could be the cure to all my problems, but I can't get around to reading it. I actually even sat down with the book, but the TV was already on and a notification popped up on my phone. I ended up falling asleep on the book after about half an hour at 1pm on a Saturday.

Hopefully I can absorb some if this book's wisdom through osmosis. Or maybe tomorrow...

Reads like a 20 year old psychology book. The author even admits that the main principal behind his Freudian theories, the Pleasure Principal, is no longer practiced in modern psychology. It's interesting and somewhat informative on how and why people may develop certain lazy or procrastination techniques, but it is a BORING read. I made it a third of the way through the book, and the author had yet to offer any practical advice on breaking the habits. Too slow, not enough practical information. Not for me.

I think this is an amazing book. I have just read it a couple of days ago but it explains so much in my life that I find it scary. It is a more mechanical approach to how your subconscious works. It is not a guide of what to do to stop procrastinating, it is a manual about how your brain is working. I thought the book could have ended in the first half. Instead of a guide to success this will teach you how you work so you can make your own adjustments, you do need to put some thought in to this process to really understand it but for me it was life changing. Highly recommend.

An articulate, resonant manifesto on the pleasure-seeking purpose of life disguised as a self-help book. The scope of this piece of work is relevant beyond the issues addressed in the title. It is nuanced, textured, concise and descriptively obvious. There are "a-ha" moments on every page. I read it once and immediately read it again and actually think I'm going to get the physical copy so guests can peruse it when visiting my home. Definitely think this is a work to share with others!

I Listened to the audiobook. I love that with the download they also provided the handouts in a PDF doc. The material was easy to follow, with the information clear and understandable. I appreciate that the author presented the information in a non-judgmental way; I completed the book feeling empowered.

I deal with ADD. This book gives unique insights and methods not only for ADD folks, but for anyone who ever has experienced aiming north, but ended up south -- or not even starting. The book not only offers hope, but doable methods to stay on trac k. Buy this book! Read it! Apply what it says!

Not all the way through yet - but this is pretty compelling stuff. I like the way he builds your knowledge slowly by adding slightly more complexity with each section. Great insights that really hit home with me.

It is a very down-to-earth, common sense approach to self-awareness and mental/emotional discipline. It is easy for a novice to read as well as informative enough for someone with more knowledge to still walk away from with useful information. I have not yet completed the book (I have 30 pages left) but I anticipate adding to this review when completed.

This book contains less than 150 pages and will bring you to a new journey to understand yourself.

Do you have habbit problem? Then you really need to read this book. Because you will understand why you are doing so, how you should behave to it, and how to get rid of it.

This book is really cheap! In my opinion, this book is worth for 40€!! You won't regret it!

Though the title was promising, I did not buy it. When I came to the words "Ayn Rand" as a self actualized person, I immediately lost interest. Looking at the other reviews, I see that this was an excellent omen apparently.

I appreciate how straightforward and terse the material is. The underlying psychology concepts, and the techniques to program oneself within their constraints are explained without wasting any words or time.

Lots of good information on several issues. I am particularly interested in the tips to avoid procrastination so I will try putting them into practice. I think they will be helpful. I liked the way the author broke down the reasons for each issue and the suggestions for making positive changes for each.

Highly recommend! A practical and deeper-than-it-first-seems book on how your mind really works. For many it will unlock (in minutes) problems that years of therapy, drugs, willpower, or other self-help books never solved.

I like the inclusion of examples from the lives of real people. Also like how the author associated addiction, procrastination, and laziness under the umbrella of psychology and showed their relatedness.

This book is basically pseudoscience propped up with anecdotes and sometimes weird suggestions. If you want a simple and reductive way of looking at addiction, this is the book for you. It does contain some common sense pearls of wisdom so it might help addicts see their addiction in a different light.

Five pages in and I swear this book was written about me and all of the people I know, that all display these similar habits of procrastination. It’s a quick read filled with knowledge written in an easy to understand and approachable language for readers of all backgrounds. Don’t procrastinate reading this book or it’s your loss! It’s not dry or weighed down with long scientific rants, instead, it is quite entertaining and proves to be a nicely paced read.

A self help manual that focuses on motivation in a person's life. We do a lot to stay motivated but what is difficult is how to maintain that level of motivation throughout your life and this book will be a great help for that.

I loved the strategies the writer portrayed on sustaining the motivation level in your life, how they work and how they will change your life for the better.

Half of the book covers the pleasure unconscious, which may be a little boring or tedious for the pleasure unconcerned (which you will soon become aware of while reading this book) A good amount of insight on how a part of the unconscious mind works. Second half was more practical uses and tips to help keep that part of your mind satisfied while fueling activities you need to do.

I am at the beginning of the practical section and it seems quite promising but I am not yet sure it is not the same old ideas from a different perspective. But I found the theoretical part very well written and really fascinating...the best in the genre I have seen.

I have downloaded this book as part of my prime membership and because the subject interests me. I am a procrastinator and struggle with this since I can remember. The book is very insightful and it has given me a deeper understanding of why we do what we do most of the time unconsciously. I liked it very much.

This was one of the most insightful reads in understanding behaviors (or the lack of them) I have read. The author does not sugar coat human behavior not judge it. This text just enabled one to understand why we act the way we do and how we might use this information for our beterment.

I think this book offers great insight to things you may not have thought about before. Its best to learn as much as you can about your habits, and why you have formed them, and this is a good place to start.

This book is very comprehensive. It covers this topic from start to finish. Additionally, the examples the book uses are incredibly relatable; making it very easy to envision the real-world connection to one’s own life.

This was not an informative or entertaining book. The examples had absolutely zero specificity leading to a dull read. If you have never read a self-help book in your life you may potentially find this book worthwhile to read.

Seriously though, as a recovering addict after 2 weeks of the book sitting on my night stand I read it and received tools to apply in my life. Now all I need is willingness to apply them. When the pain gets great enough I'm sure I will.

Some of the wording and writing style can be confusing at times. Although that almost certainly has something to do with my high school reading level. It gets easier to read as you stick with it, and there’s definitely some valuable information in there.

Always good to learn new things. This is the first time I’ve read something like this before. I’m glad I did. Good information on an area where we are lacking in. Really enjoyed this book. Keep up the good work. Want more books like this.

JORGE HARRINGTON

I have read very good books about habits and procrastination, but this one is life changing!

I really think that the author nailed it, and manages to explain on the begin in why you behave the way you do.... Unconsciously makes you think about it when you are doing something that you want to change!! This is life changing because it makes you remember your goals!!

Then he give you several techniques explaining how to change or avoid those behaviors, techniques that really work!!

The book is a little bit repetitive, but I think that is what makes it so good! Because that repetition explaining you why, makes you think about t constantly! And when gain awareness about your actions you can change them!

A well-written book on the psychology of motivation, well-argued, well-illustrated, well-explained, logical and straightforward. We creators all know that pleasure is so important while we never heard anything about it in our schooling or vocational training. This book explains all the hooks and crannies about pleasure and why pleasure, positive feelings are so important for learning motivation.

I myself have experienced that learning motivation if often asphinxed by discipline and inflexiblity in the form of misguided willpower. When you force things, the elegance that spontaneity and carefreeness add to your creations evaporates and the result is a dry and rigid thing that smells coercion.

While the author tackles the subject academically and I would say left-brained, I myself keep my learning motivation high through a more spontaneous approach, an extremely flexible approach that avoids pushing things through to a point to resent a certain task because it comes over as a boring routine. What to do to keep your motivation high?

I am myself using my subconscious mind when I am losing motivation. This means that I do not try consciously and willfully to regain motivational drive, but wait until it naturally occurs as a result of my subconscious mind activating it again through repeating my daily prayer. But sitting there and turning your thumbs is also not very helpful, for your subconscious mind needs you to move forward, then it will connect to any other activity that is *not* demotivating you.

This is why I recommend to always do several things at the same time, because when motivation vanishes off for finalizing one, you may finalize any of the other instead. It is important that the activities are not too similar, like writing one book on science, another being a poetic work, another still an audiobook, and other works involving cooking, cleaning or making order in one’s library. Our intelligence is differently structured when different kinds of activities are involved. At the end of the day, if all this is still not motivating me, I can as well drink a good bottle of wine, play Mahjong, do a drawing or painting, or vacuum-clean the apartment …

You will realize when you follow my advice that times of demotivation become as rare in your life as accidents: for after all to be demotivated is an accident and not a natural occurrence.

This author however is not as spontaneity-minded as I myself, but for most people his method probably works better. It is left-brain, orderly and well-argued. Mine is improvised, right-brain and not argued at all:)

Book very intelligent, as mix of pure psychology and application to the real problems. The author has a good knowledge of Freudian method: in fact in the first part he explicates why the important questions should be between the consciouness and the unintentional acts. In second part he entries in the concreteness of the questions, but the help should be more clear, but probably the attention of lector so decreases. However an useful method for a young, who would consider his possibilities in the world of the job.

Very simply put, the book speaks to you personally yet professionally. I wish the book had more visuals and more bullet -points. The author is super knowledgeable and did a great job exploring the subject and psychological nature of these things.

This book is exactly what it says. The largest part of the text explains the psychological concepts behind the mostly harmless addictions many people suffer with, while the last 25% explains tactics to beat these problems and has a lengthy amount of sources and footnotes. Overall, it was an interesting read.

I downloaded this book for free and am voluntarily leaving a review. I haven’t read the full book yet however I have found this book to be informative so far. If you’re a procrastinator it offers different approaches on how to deal with procrastination. So far so good. I’m going with three stars as I have not completed the full book.

Thanks so much for writing the book.I enjoyed reading it and will recommend it to others.It was helpful to m

It was good and I am glad that I read it.I will recommend this book to others. Thanks for writing it.

I love it. Or I am sure that I will. When I get around to reading it. I intended on reading it right away, but I got hooked on this great sci-fi series. I'd tell you who, but I don't want you to suffer through missed work while riveted to your kindle in the lobby as the boss bellows something about calling the cops because the store closed and I still have 10 pages left. Anyway, I will read the book tomorrow. Or maybe the day after. If I find the motivation. I'm going to go take a nap. I'll finish the review lat