The procrastination Equation

The Procrastination Equation – Piers Steel.

The idea of doing all the works only for fondness, seems to be a fantasy. We do so many works that we aren’t attracted towards, but we prefer doing just because we are told to do, or there are some monetary returns to those works. Living such a lifestyle often demands prioritization and we end up procrastinating certain tasks.

Low expectancy is the major cause of Procrastination. We end up doubting our ability and that leads to procrastination. The three major reasons for procrastination are:

i. Low expectancy.
ii. Assigning low value to the Task on hand.
iii. Our impulsiveness.

This leaves us with the procrastination equation
 Motivation = (Expectancy x value) / (Impulsiveness x Delay)

A small case:
Take a case of a college student who has to write an assignment. Along with the task of writing an assignment she gets an array of procrastination components.
Writing the assignment is exhaustive. Whether she writes the assignment on her own or she copy pastes it from her friend, does not matter much. The reaction of the teacher in either cases is the same. The reward is hardly any and so it is of low value.
The task of writing an assignment can’t compete with the distractions in the form of spending time at the hang out places. These potent distractions amplify the negative effects of the delay in the tasks reward and the negative effect of the student’s level of impulsiveness.

So the simple way to overcome procrastination is to increase the Numerators and decrease the denominators.
[1]. Increase the expectancy of success.
      If I feel I won’t succeed, I will have very little motivation to do the work. So how do I stay                  positive?
      Uplift the value of the task by making it more pleasant and rewarding.
Researchers have identified three major ways. (a) Success spirals (b) Vicarious Victory and (c) Mental Contrasting.

(a) Success Spirals: Achieve one goal after the other. The brain will reward with increased expectancy for success, and therefore a better ability to avoid procrastination. I can set simple and achievable goals to start with. Learn a new skill, volunteer for more responsibilities at work. Push the hobby to the next level.

(b) Vicarious Victory: Pessimism and optimism are both contagious. The community around us is great for fostering positivity. Rotary clubs, the friends in the Kitty parties make a difference in the attitude. Reading inspirational stories, or watching inspirational movies also makes a difference.

(c) Mental contrasting: Many best seller books encourage creative visualization, the practice of regularly and vividly imagining what we want to achieve: a car, a career, an achievement. Surprisingly, research shows this method can actually drain your motivation. There is nothing wrong in dreaming. All piers steel suggest is to immediately see a contrast to the fantasy. Visualize your old car and your small paycheck. This presents your current situation as an obstacle to overcome in order to achieve the dreams and jumpstart planning and effort.

[2]. Increase the Task value
       Flow
Myrtle young made her boring job at the potato chip factory more interesting and challenging by looking for chips that resembled celebrities and pulling them off the conveyor belt. Another example is where we can ask a kid if she is ready to take a challenge of writing mathematics table of 17 within 10 secs.

    Meaning
Students read the books to clear the exams or get good scores and then get the kind of jobs they want. Breaking the chain makes the Task meaningless. Keep the end result in mind.

    Energy
Most people have highest energy in the morning. Important works can be planned for the first four hours in the morning.

   Rewards.
Rewards inject more value into a task. Plan for a treat like Coffee, Gulab Jamun etc. after getting the task done within planned time.


[3]. Decrease Impulsiveness
Commit Now: Keep the electronic gadgets away till the task gets done. Another way is to make failure painful. The website http://www.Stickk.com/ lets you set aside money, that you will lose if you don’t meet your goal and ensures that there is an outside referee to decide whether you meet the goal or not. Set things up so that your money will go to an organization you hate if you fail. And your chosen referee will post the details of your donation to Facebook if you don’t meet your goal.

    Set Goals
While setting the goals remember that Attainable is redundant with realistic and specific is redundant with measurable and time-Anchored.
The author has emphasized the importance of the goals that are challenging (and thus leads to ‘flow’) and meaningful (connected to things that you desire)
It is wise to break up goals into lots of smaller goals which by themselves are easier to achieve and have immediate deadlines.

Also: Are my goals measuring inputs or the outputs? Is my goal to spend 30 mins on ‘X’? Or is it to produce final product ‘x’? Try it different ways for different tasks to see what exactly works. Because we are creatures of habit, it helps to get into a routine. Eg. Exercise at the same time every day.
A warning: Don’t try to be perfect. Don’t try to completely overcome procrastination. Be real. Overregulation makes one unhappy.

--

Vinay Wagh
Bulls Eye, Nasik
Disclaimer: The review of this book by Piers steel, is just an attempt to preserve the important points mentioned in the book. In this review I have conveniently used my views, observations and knowledge.