Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics QUIZ: How much do you know about procrastination? Learn a few surprising facts about procrastination — and helpful tools to overcome it — with this quiz. It's based on social scientist Itamar Shatz's new book, Solving Procrastination. Life Kit Tools To Help You Get It Together Health Money Parenting Dear Life Kit Life Skills Podcast Newsletter Twitter QUIZ: Ugh, I'll do it later. How much do you know about procrastination? September 6, 20265:01 AM ET By
Malaka Gharib
,
Marielle Segarra
,
Sylvie Douglis
Working on trivial things instead of what you're supposed to be doing? That's a sign of procrastination, writes Itamar Shatz in his new book, Solving Procrastination. It's also a hint to one of our quiz questions below. La Cassette Bleue/Getty Images/iStockphoto hide caption
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Procrastination is often misunderstood. Many of us chalk it up to laziness, see it as a modern phenomenon and think it simply can't be overcome.
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But those things aren't true, says Itamar Shatz, author of a book published in August, Solving Procrastination: The Science of Why We Put Things Off and How to (Finally!) Stop. People have been struggling with getting things done throughout history (Mozart was a serial procrastinator). We also tend to push things off for a variety of reasons, like being a perfectionist.
And procrastination is certainly something you can conquer, Shatz argues in his book. The key, he says, is to stop thinking you simply have to work harder. Instead, change your approach. "The really important thing is to figure out what is going to motivate you."
Take this quiz, based on Life Kit's interview with Shatz, a social science lecturer at Cambridge University, and his book, Solving Procrastination, to see how much you know. You may learn a tool or two on how to overcome procrastination along the way.
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Quiz text written by Malaka Gharib. Quiz design and development by Alyson Hurt. This digital story was edited by Sylvie Douglis. The visual editor is CJ Riculan. We'd love to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Listen to Life Kit on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or sign up for our newsletter.
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