“My own behaviour baffles me. I find myself doing what I hate and not doing what I really want to do”
- Saint Paul (Romans 7:15)
Human beings have been procrastinating from time immemorial. Procrastination comes from the Latin pro, which means ‘forward, forth, or in favour of’, and crastinus, which means ‘of tomorrow’. Procrastination is basically postponing or delaying a task. According to modern psychology, our brain gives more value to actions that give immediate rewards than future rewards.
If we want a healthy life free from diabetes and cholesterol, we should eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly. But the temptation of eating sugary items and junk food prevents us from worrying about the health hazards that may be many years away.
This is also why we are not thinking much about getting a high score in an examination which we will have to write at the end of this year or probably next year; Our brains are programmed so that we value immediate gratification rather than long term benefits. This is short term gain but long term pain.
In one of the most interesting Ted talks that I have watched , blogger and writer Tim Urban talks about the two types of procrastinators. The first group is the one who works on a deadline ( like students who know that they will have to write an examination at the end of every year). The second group of procrastinators has no deadline ( starting an exercise schedule, writing a novel). The effect of procrastination is more severe on the second group. According to Tim the panic monster saves the first group. A panick monster is the feeling we all experience when a deadline approaches. In his blog post, writer James Clear mentions something similar, which he calls the action line. Once the procrastinator crosses the action line, life becomes easy.
Dr Pierce Steel, who works at the University of Calgary, has done a lot of research in the field of procrastination. In his best selling book, ‘ The procrastination equation, steel has written down an equation which is known as the procrastination equation.
In this equation, the left-hand side is either low procrastination or high motivation. We see that four factors control procrastination.
Expectancy A low expectancy will result in procrastination or low motivation. Suppose we studied a subject well for an examination but didn’t write as we expected, then we are low on motivation while preparing for the next examination for the same subject. Generally, we procrastinate when we expect bad things to happen,
Value A low value is often associated with anything that is less enjoyable. While studying, we find some subjects more difficult to understand than some others. So we procrastinate the preparation of those subjects and spend more time on the subjects we like or find easier to grasp. The way we can increase value to our actions is to make them more enjoyable and rewarding.
Impulsiveness This is something we discussed at the beginning. If the rewards of action are delayed, it leads to procrastination or less motivation. This is why we don’t start our preparation for an examination once our school opens because the reward for early preparation will come after one year. So mostly, instead of starting our preparation, we go for instant gratifying actions like browsing social media or hanging out with friends. Similarly, If one observes his muscles grow every day, exercising would have been an enjoyable task.
Delay This is one factor upon which we don’t have great control. Every action we perform will have its outcome only after a certain time. A student in class 11 preparing for JEE or NEET is aware that he can write those examinations only after two years. This knowledge may lead to procrastination and less motivation in studies. One way to hack this time delay is by concentrating on small but immediate successes. That is why practise tests are so important. When one performs well in a practice test, that boosts his confidence, and each such small success leads to more motivation or less procrastination. Remember, success leads to motivation and not the other way.
How to apply the procrastination equation
Anyone who has studied basic mathematics knows that its numerator must be increased to increase the value of a function, and the denominator decreased. To stop procrastinating or for better motivation, one must increase the expectation and value. At the same time, impulsiveness should be decreased.
Very interesting and informative. Surprised to know the science behind these things.