There's no excuse for procrastinating anymore...just an equation
I've just discovered this interesting information from a University of Calgary press release dated 10 Jan 2007. I haven't posted it until I realised that I was procrastinating, wanting to test the information first! Dr. Piers Steel, a University of Calgary professor in the Haskayne School of Business has recently published an paper titled “The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure” in a recent edition of American Psychological Association’s Psychological Bulletin. In it he has formulated an equation that he beliefs can predict your tendency to procrastinate: (procrastination) :
Utility = E x V / ΓD
The equation reads as follows: The desirability of completing the task (U) is equal to the expectancy a person has of succeeding with a given task (E) multiplied by the value of completing the task (V). I read this as the total gain involved in completing the task (ExV). This is divided by the its immediacy or availability (Γ = GAMMA) and the person’s sensitivity to delay (D). Steel has dubbed his research Temporal Motivational Theory. His research has highlighted the following:- Most people’s New Year’s resolutions are doomed to failure
- Most self-help books have it completely wrong when they say perfectionism is at the root of procrastination, and
- Procrastination can be explained by a single mathematical equation
“Essentially, procrastinators have less confidence in themselves, less expectancy that they can actually complete a task,” Steel says. “Perfectionism is not the culprit. In fact, perfectionists actually procrastinate less, but they worry about it more.” Other predictors of procrastination include: task aversiveness, impulsiveness, distractibility, and how much a person is motivated to achieve. Not all delays can be considered procrastination; the key is that a person must believe it would be better to start working on given tasks immediately, but still not start. Steel says motivational failures such as difficulty in sticking to diets and exercise regimes – frequently the focus of New Year’s resolutions – are related to procrastination because impulsiveness is often at the root of the failure. “Temptations that are close at hand are difficult to resist. Addicts often relapse after returning from treatment facilities because drugs and alcohol become easily available and daily habits reassert themselves. Or we load up on bread in the restaurant before the meal is served. Or we check our email 10 times an hour instead of completing a project.” The good news is that willpower has an unusual capacity. “The old saying is true: ‘Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you’re probably right’,” Steel says. “And as you get better at self control, your expectancy about whether you can resist goes up and thus improves your ability to resist.”As someone who is involved in personal development, and Life Coaching, I am particularly interested in the role of procrastination in (not) achieving our goals, whatever they may be. I am going to experiment and see how I can apply this equation to help me understand how, and why I procrastinate, and also to aid my clients. in gaining greater understanding. But being a busy person, what is the actual likelihood of me doing this? Well, Utility = E x V / ΓD of course!
Utility = E x V / ΓD
The equation reads as follows: The desirability of completing the task (U) is equal to the expectancy a person has of succeeding with a given task (E) multiplied by the value of completing the task (V). I read this as the total gain involved in completing the task (ExV). This is divided by the its immediacy or availability (Γ = GAMMA) and the person’s sensitivity to delay (D). Steel has dubbed his research Temporal Motivational Theory. His research has highlighted the following:- Most people’s New Year’s resolutions are doomed to failure
- Most self-help books have it completely wrong when they say perfectionism is at the root of procrastination, and
- Procrastination can be explained by a single mathematical equation
“Essentially, procrastinators have less confidence in themselves, less expectancy that they can actually complete a task,” Steel says. “Perfectionism is not the culprit. In fact, perfectionists actually procrastinate less, but they worry about it more.” Other predictors of procrastination include: task aversiveness, impulsiveness, distractibility, and how much a person is motivated to achieve. Not all delays can be considered procrastination; the key is that a person must believe it would be better to start working on given tasks immediately, but still not start. Steel says motivational failures such as difficulty in sticking to diets and exercise regimes – frequently the focus of New Year’s resolutions – are related to procrastination because impulsiveness is often at the root of the failure. “Temptations that are close at hand are difficult to resist. Addicts often relapse after returning from treatment facilities because drugs and alcohol become easily available and daily habits reassert themselves. Or we load up on bread in the restaurant before the meal is served. Or we check our email 10 times an hour instead of completing a project.” The good news is that willpower has an unusual capacity. “The old saying is true: ‘Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you’re probably right’,” Steel says. “And as you get better at self control, your expectancy about whether you can resist goes up and thus improves your ability to resist.”As someone who is involved in personal development, and Life Coaching, I am particularly interested in the role of procrastination in (not) achieving our goals, whatever they may be. I am going to experiment and see how I can apply this equation to help me understand how, and why I procrastinate, and also to aid my clients. in gaining greater understanding. But being a busy person, what is the actual likelihood of me doing this? Well, Utility = E x V / ΓD of course!
