The Procrastination Equation accounts for every major finding for procrastination. As the deadline for any task gets pushed further into the future, Delay increases and our motivation to tackle the tasks decreases. Impulsiveness multiplies the effects of Delay, and so impulsive people feel the effects of time far less acutely, at least at first.
The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today. You are arranging what lies in Fortune’s control, and abandoning what lies in yours.
by Meredithe · 6 things on Twos
- The procrastination equation
- I described our strategy to first focus on getting ONE member. There was a lot of work to do just to set everything up to accept our first payment and welcome our first member. Getting to that first member was ALL we cared about. (Think: Knocking over the first domino/getting to the island we could see.)
- How can you break your big goal down into smaller micro goals and build your confidence/expectancy muscles?
- Creative visualization—in which we merely imagine our ideal outcome—is NOT EFFECTIVE. Period.
- We need to add another component. We need to mentally contrast our ideal scene with our current reality. We need to get real about the gap between them and be willing to look at the inevitable obstacles we will face in pursuit of making that ideal a reality.
- Organize your goals into routines that occur regularly at the same time and place. Predictability is your pal, so open your schedule and pencil in recurring tasks. Better yet, use an indelible pen.”