The Procrastination Equation
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and relevancy factor, 144
agriculture
invention, 57
sustainability, 112
Akerlof, George, 29
al-Ashqar, Umar Sulaiman, 249n26
alcohol, 46-47, 49, 93, 132, 134, 136, 149
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), 134, 136
Almost Perfect Scale, 12-13
Ambient Orb, 181
America Online, 101
American Dental Association, 248n22
American Economic Association, 29
American Physical Therapy Association, 77
Amusing Ourselves to Death (Postman), 78
Ancient Egypt, 57
Ancient Greece, 57-59
anger, 46, 93, 165, 213
Animal Farm (Orwell), 33
animals
and impulsiveness, 54, 55
limbic system, 50
optimal foraging, 54
planning ability, 51
procrastination in, 51-52
anxiety, 8, 13, 38, 123, 135, 142
AOL Video, 103
AP-Advanced procrastination (group), 73
Apple Inc., 77
Apprentice, The (TV), 12
approach goals, 144-45, 200, 271-72n16
Arden, Andrea, 52
Aristotle, 58
Armstrong, Neil, 131-32
arousal
biological origin, 44
power of, 165.
See also temptation
Art of War, The (Sun Tzu), 166
associative cues, 178-82
astrology, 4, 222n1
attentional control, 173-74
Atwood, Margaret, 11
automatic enrollment plans, 108, 109, 115
Automaticity in Cognition, Motivation and Emotion (ACME), 179
avoidance cycle, 7
avoidance goals, 144-45, 200
Ayduk, Ozlem, 212n
Ayres, Ian, 171
Bacon, Sir Francis, 151
Baden-Powell Award, 122
Bagley, William, 67, 68
bank accounts, separate, 182
Bargh, John, 179
Basex (co.), 105
beauty pageant contestants, 223n6
beauty, perception of, 54
Bebo (social networking site), 71
Becker, Gary, 101
behavioral economics, 29, 108-9, 230n3
behaviorism, 29, 151
beliefs, 117
Bell, Alexander Graham, 177
Benartzi, Schlomo, 109
Benchley, Robert, 105
Bhagavad Gita, 95
bicameralism, 113-14
bill paying, 24, 84, 89, 98, 117, 146, 181, 182, 196
bills, congressional, 110-11, 111
birds, 55
BlackBerry, 77, 182
Bondage of Opium, A (Lefebure), 82
Book of Five Rings (Musashi), 175
books, inspirational, 127
boredom, 24, 140-43, 144, 162
“Boss Key,” 104
brain
damage, 46
science, advances, 43-44
structure, xii, 43. See also limbic system; prefrontal cortex
tumors, 46
Brave New World Revisited (Huxley), 78
break and run pattern, 66n
Broken Lizard (comedy group), 143
Brothen, Thomas, 37
Buddhism, 59, 267n33
burnout, 147
Bush, George W., 104
Byrne, Rhonda, 131
cable TV, 69
Calgon Carbon, 87
Cameron, David, 114
Campbell, Gil, 239-40n44
“Can’t You See I'm Busy” (website), 104
career domain, 83
career success, 87-88
Career Vision, 159n
Carlisle Trust Company, 170
Carver, Charles, 117
Catherine the Great, 126
Cautela, Joseph, 283n36
cell phones, 77, 134, 177, 183
CEOs, 102
Challenge of Affluence, The (Offer), 78
Cham, Jorge, 87
Chaplin, Charlie, 67
Chapman, Graham, 156
check-cashing shops, 107
children
delayed gratification experiment, 173, 174-75, 177
neurological evolution, 47-49
success spirals, 122-23.
See also parenting; teenagers
chimpanzees, 51, 52, 175, 175n
Choice Over Time (Loewenstein), 29
Christabel (Coleridge), 80
Christianity, 94, 95, 95n
Christie, Agatha, 11
Christmas Clubs, 170, 171, 288n54
Christmas shopping, 23, 118
Chronager (software), 168-69
Churchill, Winston, 112
Cicero, Marcus Tullius, 58-59
circadian rhythm, 148-49
clarity, 1, 9
Cleese, John, 156
Cleopatra, 59
climate change, 112-13
Clinton, Bill, 105
Clocky, 167, 168, 171
clutter, 23, 180, 285n46. See also de-cluttering; dedicated work space
Cold War, 112, 256n7
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 80-82, 84, 168
colonoscopy, 91-92
colorectal cancer, 92
commercials, 79
community domain, 83
companies
associative cues, 179
crisis management, 132
employee-employer relationship, 203-10
overconfident, 130
retirement plans, 106, 106n. See also automatic enrollment plans
comparison shopping, 74
compound interest, 88, 89, 106
compulsiveness, 3
comScore, 77-78
concentrative strategies, 180-81
confessional procrastination, 97-98
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (Quincey), 81
confidence, 20, 22, 117, 121, 122-24, 123n, 162, 204
congressional procrastination, 110-11, 111
congruence, 155
Conquer Club (board game), 63-64, 65
Constitution (U.S.), 110, 114
consumerism, 74-77
Cortés, Hernán, 166
cotton-top tamarins, 54
counselling psychologists, 156
Couric, Katie, 92
Covenant Eyes (website), 171
covert sensitization, 177, 283n36
“CrackBerry,” 77
Craftsmanship of Teaching, The (Bagley), 67
cravings
aspect of procrastination, 25
biological basis, 45, 165
and cues, 180
precommitment strategy, 170.
See also temptation
creative visualization, 128-29
creativity, 85, 155
credit card revolvers, 89
crime, 49, 162
cues. See associative cues
cyberslacking, 103, 159
Dalai Lama, 35, 249-50n30
Davies, W. H., 212
daydreaming, 8
de-cluttering, 180, 190, 196
Deacon, Terence, 175, 175n
deadlines
avoidance cycle, 7
and brain, 45
and career success, 195, 203
dividing into short-term goals, 208-9
eleventh hour, 4, 9, 45, 53, 85-87
excuses for missing. See excuses and planning, 39
registration, 169-70
and stress, 2, 82
students (graph), 228-29n17.
See also essay writing; students; writers
death, 95-96, 98-99
debt, 78n, 82, 107, 215. See also government procrastination and debt
decision making. See limbic system
dedicated work space, 181-82, 200, 202
Defined Contribution plans, 106-7, 106n
DeHass, Ronald, 171
DeMille, Cecil B., 67
dental health, 92
-93, 248n22
depression, 22, 226n4
descent with modification, 52
desk photos, 183, 199-200
diet, 21, 76-77, 83, 213
diets, 138, 149. See also fats; sugar
digital video recorders (DVRs), 70, 216-17
disaster recovery plan, 134
disciplinary integration, 214-18
displacement, 151
divided self, 42-43
Dobell, Byron, 10-11
doctors' appointments. See medical procrastination
Dog-Friendly Dog Training (Arden), 52
Dog Whisperer, 52, 237n32
domestic tasks, 7, 23, 24, 146, 147, 151, 180, 187, 189, 201
driving
efficiency, 286-87n49
reckless, 49, 77, 93
dropouts, 38, 86, 122
drug dependence, 46-47, 81, 82, 93, 122, 132, 179, 281n23
Dyson, Freeman, 112
e-breaking, 103
e-mail, 105, 167, 178, 199
ecological rationality, 53
education domain, 83
Edwards, Jonathan, 95n
effort-reward cycle, 152-53
Einstein, Albert, 88
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 112, 255-56n36
Ellis, Albert, 239n44, 261n15, 264n27
emergencies, 4
Emmett, Rita, 96-97
Emmett’s Law, 97
emotions, respect for, 212
employees
electronic monitoring of, 104
and flextime, 207-8
and illicit Internet use, 103-4, 250n3
and online games, 104-5
recognition. See praise; success, celebrating
retirement accounts, 107-9, 107n
and work pace, 102-3, 103.
See also CEOs; e-mail; managers; organ-izational team procrastination
End of Overeating, The (Kessler), 75
energy (physical), 47, 147-50, 190
energy consumption, 181, 286-87n49
environmental cues. See associative cues
environmental degradation
and governmental procrastination, 112-13
and interdisciplinarity concept, 214
projections, 112
Esquire magazine, 10-11
essay writing, 23, 23n, 33-35, 136
estate planning, 90-91, 190-91
evolutionary procrastination, 52, 54-57, 231-32n7
excuses, 9-10, 34, 34n, 81-82, 85, 135, 190
executive function, 44-45, 46, 49
exercise, 21, 23, 83, 149, 150, 187, 189, 190, 200, 213
Expectancy Theories, 27-28
expectancy, low, 20-22, 34, 35, 137, 197
expectancy-value theory, 26-32
expectations, unrealistic, 132-33
Expected Utility Theory, 27-29
experts, hiring, 190-91
4-H clubs, 123n
Facebook, 71-73, 104, 182
factory jobs, 66n, 140-41
failure, expectation of. See self-fulfilling prophecy
faith, 117, 138, 204
Fallingwater (house), 10
False Hope Syndrome, 132
family domain, 83
Famous Five, 126
fantasies, 128-29
fatigue. See energy (physical)
fats, 54, 75, 148, 212
Faust (Goethe), 134
fear(s)
biological origin, 44
and cues, 179
imaginary, 150-51
and medical procrastination, 92
Ferguson, Will, 194, 211
fidelity precommitment, 169
financial procrastination
and career success, 87-88
and credit cards, 89
and education, 86-87
and estate planning, 90-91
and MBAs, 89-90
and savings/spending, 88-89
and taxation, 88
Firefox (browser), 167
fisheries, 113
fixed interval schedule, 65, 66
Flashlight (iPhone), 78
flexibility, 4, 188-89
flextime, 207-8
flow, 142-43, 178
Flynn, Erroll, 67
food
and evolutionary procrastination, 54-55
global supply, 112
and market research, 75-76
Ford, Henry, 141
forgetfulness, 57
Fowler, Gene, 33
Franklin, Benjamin, 127, 131n
free market economy, 66, 74, 78
Freedom (program), 167
Freud, Sigmund, 131
Freudian slip, 174
friendly spam, 105
friends (domain), 83
frontotemporal dementia, 50
functional magnetic resonance imager (fMRI), 44
Furuvik Zoo (Sweden), 51
Gage, Phineas, 46
gambling, 64-65
game playing, and boredom, 143, 144
gaming, 62-64, 98, 188. See also video games
gastric surgery, 169n
Ge Jin, 155
General College, University of Minnesota, 37-38
General Theory of Crime, A (Gottfredson/Hirschi), 162
Gershwin, George, 90
Gilbreth, Frank, 268n2
Gilbreth, Lillian, 268n2
Gintis, Herbert, 215
Global Behavioral Economic Forum, 114
global financial crisis (2008), 106, 108
global food supply, 112
global warming, 112-13
goals
abstract, 25-26, 32, 185, 209, 227-28n12
attainable, 121, 204, 209, 288n57
breaking down, 125, 191, 208
challenging, 184, 202
concrete, 25-26, 32, 185, 192, 197, 198, 202, 227-28n12
daily, 88, 187
easy, 184, 209
inputs/outputs, 187-88
life tasks, 144
mastery, 271-72n16
meaningful, 184-85
motivational chain, 143-44
process/learning, 260n9
structuring, 187-88
too-frequent, 187
top, 11.
See also approach goals; avoidance
goals; mini-goals; S.M.A.R.T.
goals; sub-goals
Going Broke: Why Americans Can’t Hold On to Their Money (Vyse), 78n
gold farming, 154-55
Gollwitzer, Peter, 190
Google, 167
Gottfredson, Michael, 162
government savings programs, 106, 107
governmental procrastination
consequences, 111-12
and debt, 110-11
and environmental issues, 113
and founding fathers (U.S.), 110, 113-14
and passage of bills (U.S.), 110-11, 111
Gracie, Royce, 120
Grand Theft Auto (game), 68
gratification, postponing, 212, 212n. See also instant gratification
Green, Christopher, 215
Greene, Robert, 59
grocery shopping, 74, 168-69, 201
guilt, 96, 98, 135, 226n4
Guitar Hero, 68, 125
gummivores, 54
gyms, 23, 170-71, 196, 197, 198
habit. See routine/habit
Hamilton, Alexander, 110
handwriting, 4
happiness, 85, 97-99, 197, 202
Happiness(tm) (Ferguson), 194, 211
health domain, 83, 84, 85. See also medical procrastination
Hemingway, Ernest, 188
Herman, Peter, 132
Hesiod, 57-58
hierarchy of needs, 169, 280n16
Hill, Napoleon, 73
Hinduism, 95, 96
Hirschi, Travis, 162
History of the Peloponnesian War (Thucydides), 58
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The (Adams), 159n
hobbies, 83, 125, 201
home offices, 182
Homer, 58, 162-64
Hoots, Sara, 222n6
housework. See domestic tasks
“How to Gain an Extra Hour Every Day,” 67
Hughes, Howard, 90
Hughes, Matt, 120
Hugo, Victor, 166
human nature, economic model, 27-29
humanistic psychology, 169
Hume, David, 26, 227-28n12
humour, 11
hunter-gatherers, 53
Huxley, Aldous, 78
I Love Lucy, 67
Idiocracy (film), 56
“If...then” scenarios, 190
Ig Nobel Prize, 77
implementation intentions, 191
impulse spending, 74, 76, 78n, 182
impulsiveness
and age, 33, 162
and animals, 54, 55
biological origin, 45, 46
evolutionary explanation, 53-54
gender comparisons, 56-57
—procrastination connection, 13-14, 25-26, 30, 31, 161-62
teenagers, 49 and time, 30, 36, 37
independent retirement accounts, 107
individualism, 66
indulgences, 152, 154, 212
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists, x, 158n, 268n2
Industrial Revolution, 59-60
insectivores, 54
instant gratification, 13, 48, 49, 55, 74, 93, 98, 161, 162, 173, 177, 192
instinct/reason interplay, 44, 46
“Integrating Theories of Motivation” (Steel), 27n
intention-action gap, 38, 109
intentions, 189-91, 261n17
Internet
blocking access to, 104, 168, 217
and electronic monitoring, 104
online discussion boards, 97-98
online games, 103
rationalizing use, 217-18
time-control software, 167.
See also e-mail; employees; students
interruption and recovery, 105
intestacy, 90-91
intimacy, 83-84, 98, 201
iPhone, 77, 78
Iraq war, 130
Iron, Mary Jean, 99
irrational delay. See procrastination
Irving, Edward, 95n
Islam, 95, 96
James, William, 136n, 230n3
Jefferson, Thomas, 113-14, 257n44
job hunting, 21, 116-17. See also career success
job mobility, 158
jobs
ability to perform, 158, 276n41
assessment, 156, 157
database, 158
factory, 66n, 140-41
finding perfect, 155-59
market, 157-58
office, 140
sales, 15-16, 20, 88
Johnson, Samuel, 59-60, 59n
jokes, 11
Joshua Then and Now (Richler), 172, 177
journalism, deadlines, 88
Judge, Mike, 56
Jupiter, 4
Kabat-Zinn, 284n38
Karlin, Dean, 171
Kaufman, Edgar, 10
Kessler, David, 75
KFC, 76
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 90, 90n
Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind (Marcus), 54
Koppel, Ted, 11
Kubla Khan (Coleridge), 80, 81
L'Amour, Louis, 133