You can now predict your propensity to procrastinate just by
looking at the task that you have to do. It's nothing new, really.
Why We
Procrastinate
Researcher Creates Formula to Predict
Procrastination
By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Medical NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDJan. 12, 2007 -- The
reason we procrastinate may be more about confidence than
perfectionism, a new study says.
Contrary to popular belief, procrastinators generally aren't
perfectionists; instead, they're more likely to delay tasks they're
not confident about, says researcher Piers Steel, PhD.
Steel is an assistant professor in the human resources and
organizational dynamics department of Canada's University of
Calgary.
"Essentially, procrastinators have less confidence in themselves,
less expectancy that they can actually complete a task," Steel says
in a University of Calgary news release.
"Perfectionism is not the culprit," he continues. "In fact,
perfectionists procrastinate less, but they worry about it
more."
Steel reviewed procrastination research from scholarly books,
conferences, journals, and other sources.
His review appears in the January edition of the American
Psychological Association's Psychological Bulletin.
Procrastination has been around ever since civilization began and
"does not appear to be disappearing anytime soon," writes
Steel.
So he boiled procrastination down to a mathematical formula.
The formula predicts procrastination based on a person's
expectation of finishing a task, the task's importance, the
person's desire to complete the task, and how soon the task needs
to be done.
The formula suggests people are less likely to procrastinate if the
task has to be done ASAP and they feel confident they are up to the
task.
It suggests people are more likely to procrastinate if the task is
less urgent, less appealing, or daunting to the person facing the
task.
Other factors may also be involved, Steel notes.
For example, he points out that rebellious people may tend to
procrastinate tasks given by authority figures; and depressed
people may procrastinate due to low energy.
More research is needed on procrastination, and the sooner, the
better, Steel concludes.
