Soon

In the tradition of writers like Sarah Vowell and Bill Bryson comes a sparkling 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 seeks an explanation for his lifelong procrastination habit by examining the lives of great procrastinators, from Leonardo da Vinci and Frank Lloyd Wright to Charles Darwin and Johnny Cash and even Old Testament prophets. He also challenges the modern-day “cult of efficiency”—its gurus, principles, and promises. Santella searches for answers to questions like: 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. Soon is a book for anyone who has ever put off a task, and a droll reminder that time is indeed our most precious resource, but that the “wasting” of it might just be the thing that helps us to see what truly matters.