Are you tired of procrastination and unable to make disciples in your life? Darius Foroux’s book Do It Today will help you overcome your laziness and fear.
It is a comprehensive guide to achieving meaningful, successful life outcomes.
He encourages readers to break free from the cycle of procrastination and seize the moment.
This summary provides an overview of the central themes and strategies behind the Do It Today philosophy, as well as practical tips and tactics for reaching your goals.
- About Author Darius Foroux
- What Is Procrastination?
- Chapter 1 # About This Book
- Chapter 2 Summary # Part I: Overcoming Procrastination
- How can you improve your effectiveness?
- Chapter 3 Summary # Part II: Improving Productivity
- Chapter 4 Summary # Part III: Achieving More
- 20 things that will help you be more productive than ever.
- The Benefits of Doing It Today
- Don’t Miss Out On The Magic Of Do It Today: Get Your Copy Now
About Author Darius Foroux
Darius Foroux is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and productivity expert. He writes about being productive, running a business, Stoicism, and making money.
He runs a popular blog and podcast and has written several books on these topics, including:
- Do It Today: Overcome Procrastination
- THINK STRAIGHT: Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life
- Win Your Inner Battles
- The Road to Better Habits
His work stresses the importance of doing things and making progress instead of being too focused on being perfect.
He encourages people to focus on what is important and take small, consistent steps towards their goals.
He also believes that productivity and personal development are not about working harder or longer but about working smarter.
What Is Procrastination?
Procrastination is putting off tasks or decisions that must be made until the last minute. It’s a common issue that affects everyone, regardless of age or background.
But why do we procrastinate? According to the book, there are several reasons why we put things off:
- Fear of failure: Sometimes, you procrastinate because you’re afraid you won’t be able to do something well or that you’ll fail.
- Lack of motivation: When you are not motivated to accomplish a task, it can be common to delay it.
- Distraction: There are so many distractions in our lives these days, from social media to email to TV, that it can be hard to focus on the task at hand.
- Perfectionism: You may delay starting a task because you want to ensure that everything is correct.
Chapter 1 # About This Book
Foroux says that life is limited and how we spend our time affects our future.
He encourages readers to think about what is essential in their lives and not let society define them by their job or financial status.
Instead, he suggests that our actions and how we spend our time define us.
Life is already hard enough. Don’t make it harder. Make it easy to live.
The book’s core message is embodied in the title, “Do It Today,” which urges readers to take immediate action rather than wait.
Foroux thinks that investing time in meaningful activities today impacts the quality of life tomorrow.
He prioritizes essential actions such as reading, exercising, and spending time with loved ones as priorities to focus on daily.
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Chapter 2 Summary # Part I: Overcoming Procrastination
“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”
Abraham Lincoln
Part I discusses changing one’s perspective on life towards proactive engagement, overcoming procrastination, and embracing responsibility for time management.
The chapter emphasises the importance of taking immediate action instead of putting tasks off for the future.
Procrastination is a common issue that affects productivity and overall happiness.
Sometimes, procrastination stems from inner resistance, which can be influenced by distractions and discomfort avoidance.
To focus better, increase your serotonin activity. Research shows that exercise can accomplish that. Mind exercise is also important; You can increase it by journaling and reading books.
Remembering your past positive memories will increase your serotonin level. When serotonin goes up, your focus goes up.
For example, when Darius started his semester in college, he was like a cool dude. He relaxed, went out, and enjoyed himself.
But before the exams, he took lots of energy drinks and locked up in his room, freaking out while he was studying. Research shows that when you procrastinate, you might feel better in the short term but suffer in the long term.
It doesn’t really matter why you procrastinate. Some love the pressure of deadlines.
But, Procrastinate creates problems like :
- Depression
- Irrational beliefs
- Low self-esteem
- Anxiety
- Stress
It is a sign of poor self-esteem. Now, let’s talk about how to get rid of procrastination.
How can you overcome the procrastination?
Everybody fears stepping outside their comfort zone, which is why we call them comfort zones. It takes courage to make a bold move.
Some things that research has proven to be effective in overcoming procrastination include:
- Self-imposed deadlines. (Inform your friend or family member about your deadline.)
- Accountability systems (commitment with friends or a coach).
- Working/studying in intervals. (Take small intervals after 30–40 minutes)
- Exercising 30 minutes a day. (Morning or evening)
- A healthy diet (Fruits, vegetables, nuts & Seeds)
- Advocates for a purposeful disconnect from the internet to improve focus and productivity.
- Internal motivation is most important. Distractions, both internal and external, make it difficult to concentrate.
- Discusses the importance of reviewing daily goals.
Acting immediately, you can make progress towards their goals faster and with more focus.
It also helps you eliminate the stress and anxiety that comes with procrastinating, leading to a more positive and productive mindset. A productive life equals a happy life.
How can you improve your effectiveness?
Peter Drucker is the first and best thinker regarding effectiveness for knowledge workers.
You can apply an exercise from The Effective Executive to become more effective yourself.
- Step 1: Know Thy Time
- Step 3: Eliminate The Time-Wasters
- Step 2: Identify The Non-Productive Work
Don’t copy the Habits Of unproductive People. Write down the plan and get ready for a productive day. However, the 30-Minute Evening Ritual Will Help You Kick Life In The Ass. Which is given below.
Darius tells what he’s done, learned, and anything else that’s worth remembering.
- Within 10 minutes, review your progress and see whether you are doing everything you should be doing (like reading, working out, spending time with your family, writing, and talking to people you work with).
- From minute 10 to minute 20: Review Tomorrow’s Calendar
- From minute 20 to minute 25: Prepare your outfit for the next day.
- From minute 25 until minute 30: Visualize
- There are always distractions. So you better train yourself to manage your attention.
- We believe that we can manage time, but time can’t be managed. You can only control your attention. Start managing your attention.
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Chapter 3 Summary # Part II: Improving Productivity
“It’s like a lot of things, said the smith. Do the least part of it wrong and ye’d just as well to do it all wrong.”
Cormac McCarthy
Part II provides practical advice and personal stories on improving productivity through actionable steps and developing meaningful habits.
Smartphones have a greater impact on your productivity than you think.
Research shows that 37.4% of the participants said their phone is more important than their close friends, and 29.4% said their smartphone is as important to them as their parents.
- Stop notifications and watch your phone repeatedly.
Do you know how Perfectionism Is Destroying Your Productivity?
“Perfectionists are their own devils.” —Jack Kirby
Perfectionism is linked to depression and low self-esteem. You always worry about making mistakes; doubt creeps into your mind. And that causes indecision. There are two types of perfectionists:
- The one that never starts.
- The one that starts but has too high standards.
Learning to be resourceful is the ability to use self-control, both regressive and reformative.
This repertoire includes problem-solving skills and waiting for more meaningful rewards in the future. You need to learn resourcefulness to stop sabotaging yourself.
Reading is the best way to increase your knowledge. Darius, tell us how you can read 100 books in a year.
Darius gives a practical way to read a hundred books a year.
- Rule#1 Buy in Bulk
- Rule#2 A (always) B(e) R (reading)
- Rule#3 Read Relevant Books Only
- Rule#4 Read Multiple Books Simultaneously
- Rule#5 Retain The Knowledge
You can read books and enjoy the power of wisdom. It has been a great journey in my life. After leaving my job as a banker, I began to read books again. It really makes my life more meaningful.
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Chapter 4 Summary # Part III: Achieving More
“A man who chases two rabbits catches neither.”
Chinese proverb
- Always Cut To The Chase
- Record All Your Thoughts And Ideas
- Saying ‘no’ to tasks that are not urgent or significant.
- Take A 5-minute Break Every 30 To 45 Minutes
- Eliminate Everything That Distracts You
- Keep Away Clutter
- Try to avoid multitasking and focus on one task at a time.
- Stop Consuming So Much Information
- Create Routines
- Don’t Multitask
- Check Email Twice A Day
- No Smartphone During The First Hour Of Your Day
- Plan The Next Day
- Keep ‘Thinking’ To A Minimum
- Exercise
- Laugh A Little
- Don’t Go To Meetings (This is a tough one for people who work for corporations. Some companies have a ‘Meeting’ culture.)
- Is That Really Necessary? (Ask yourself that question as often as you can)
- If You’re Having A Shitty Day, Press Reset (Take some time alone, meditate, listen to music, or go for a walk. Then try to get back on track — don’t let your day go to waste.)
- Do The Work
Discipline is important for balancing life and work. But between continuous work, take a break from routine work. Take A Holiday, It Increases Your Productivity And Reduces Stress.
20 things that will help you be more productive than ever.
You have to improve some universal skills for a better life. These skills will help you in every field of life.
- Self-Discipline
- Personal Effectiveness
- Communication
- Negotiation
- Persuasion
- Physical Strength & Stamina
- Flexibility
know of the importance of consistency. In other words, we can say that inconsistency is the enemy of results. The batter improves by 0.1% every day for consistency. These small steps will help you to become successful.
Leave The Office On Time and Don’t Take Your Work Home; working too long is unproductive. Make strong your belief system.
“Belief will help create the fact.”
Belief is a practical instrument that you can use to shape reality. Strongly believe in your positive thoughts. Still, they become a part of your life.
- When you have strong faith, nobody can stop you. Give positive affirmations to your brain.
- Think big, keep learning, and be consistent in completing your dream.
- Adopt the perspective of having plenty of time to build a meaningful life without immediate pressure.
- Evaluate life based on energy levels, learning opportunities, and quality relationships.
- Focus on incremental progress. Consistent efforts lead to big results over time.
- When you believe in yourself, there is no goal that you can’t reach.
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The Benefits of Doing It Today
The book discusses several benefits of overcoming procrastination, such as:
- It can lead to increased productivity and a sense of accomplishment.
- It has a positive impact on mental and emotional well-being.
- Taking action immediately can break the cycle of procrastination and avoid the negative effects that it can have on productivity.
- You can make progress towards their goals with greater focus and speed.
Don’t Miss Out On The Magic Of Do It Today: Get Your Copy Now
Looking for your next page-turner? Our book summaries blog post is just the beginning of an incredible journey.
Get your copy today and dive deeper into the fascinating world of Do It Today.