Soon: An Overdue History of Procrastination, from Leonardo and Darwin to You and Me

Draws on the stories of history's most notable habitual postponers and on the insights of psychologists, philosophers, and behavioral economists to explain why procrastination happens and how it can help promote healthy priorities. "In the tradition of cultural historians like Sarah Vowell and Jim Holt comes a galvanizing meditation on the perils and pleasures of procrastination. While others are busy leaning in, crushing it, and trying to work smarter, faster, and better, Andrew Santella stops to ask why so many of our greatest inventors, artists, and scientists have led double lives as committed procrastinators. Santella examines great procrastinators from Leonardo da Vinci and Frank Lloyd Wright to Charles Darwin and prophets from the Old Testament. He also explores the modern-day 'cult of efficiency'--its gurus, principles, and promises. Ultimately, Santella seeks to answer the following questions: Can procrastination lead to innovation? Can we draw a connection between delay and brilliance? And why do we often equate procrastination with laziness? A self-proclaimed procrastinator, Santella writes with candor and wit about his own habits, from painting a radiator to listening to sports talk radio just to avoid writing. [This] is a book for anyone who has ever put off a task, convincing the reader that time is our most valuable resource and 'wasting' it just might be the key to a happy life."--Jacket.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.