RESEARCH_FILE
Piers Steel
University of Calgary
Known for:The definitive meta-analysis of procrastination research and the temporal motivation theory of why we delay
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“I should have started studying weeks ago, so why start now”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“The file isn't sealed. One study block today, starting where I actually am, rewrites it.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Open the textbook or homework sheet to the exact problem or section you would study if today were day one. Read the first paragraph or look at the first question for five minutes without solving. Notice what is actually there, not what you should have studied by now.
Key findings
- 2006
Temporal motivation theory integrates expectancy, value, impulsiveness and delay into one account of motivation over time: a task's pull weakens the further away its payoff sits — which is why distant deadlines barely move us until they loom. Integrating Theories of Motivation ↗
- 2007
Across 691 correlations, the strong and consistent predictors of procrastination were task aversiveness, task delay, self-efficacy and impulsiveness — and estimates indicate 80-95% of college students procrastinate, almost 50% consistently and problematically. The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure ↗