Overcoming Procrastination to achieve change and reform

WHAT IS PROCRASTINATION

Procrastination makes easy things hard, hard things harder. (Mason Cooley)

I have previously written about Procrastination in a blog “Procrastination is like a credit card: it's a lot of fun until you get the bill.” (See link below) so I was very interested when I found this formula for Procrastination.

PROCRASTINATION FORMULA

Procrastination is a function of our self-confidence (do we feel we can do this) and value of completing (the pay-off). If both are high we are less likely to procrastinate.

However on the down-side procrastination is a function of our distractibility (oh look at that other shiny thing) and the time to completing. These are likely to drag us toward quick-wins (often low impact and short-term) and distract us from what is big, challenging and important, and more demanding of our time.

Furthermore the delay in gratification is also likely to create procrastination.

So if you are confident and likely to get big thanks, soon after you have done the task you are likely to do it. If the opposite is true you are unlikely to progress. Additionally if there are other tasks, priorities and demands to distract you, your short on time, and you’re not likely to be thanked any time soon your are likely to procrastinate.

PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM

I note Reform to make States more efficient is “painfully slow” (See link below)

I wonder if some of what neuroscience tells us about procrastination can be applied to help organisational change?

Procrastination = ([time to complete task] x [distractibility] x [delay]) / ([self-confidence] x [task value] )

WHAT MUST WE DO

Improve people’s competence, capacity, capability to do the task(s).
Make the rewards fit the challenge, sufficient that the pay-off motivates action.
Remove the clutter of other tasks or demands that distract from what is truly important.
Make the thanks and recognition significant enough for commitment and self esteem.
Phase the challenge so that milestones are not a marathon distance away in terms of time or effort.

REFERENCES

Procrastination is like a credit card: it's a lot of fun until you get the bill
http://projectspeoplechange.blogspot.com/2015/09/procrastination-is-like-credit-card-its.html


Reform to make States more efficient is “painfully slow” - report
http://www.bailiwickexpress.com/jsy/news/reform-make-states-more-efficient-painfully-slow-report/


I am currently reading, and strongly recommend The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload Hardcover – 19 Aug 2014 by Daniel J Levitin
http://www.amazon.es/The-Organized-Mind-Thinking-Information/dp/052595418X


THE AUTHOR

Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader. He is founder of ciChange.org and curator for TEDxStHelier.Com . Roles have included Programme Manager for the incorporation of Ports and Jersey, and Jersey Post, as well as Operations Change and Sales Support for RBSI/NatWest. He is also Commonwealth Triathlete and World Championships Rower . He has a passion for learning and has been a Tutor/Mentor for the Chartered Management Institute. He is a Chartered Member of the British Computer Society, has an MBA (Management Consultancy) and is both a PRINCE2 and Change Management Practitioner.

Tim HJ Rogers
PRINCE2 - MBA (Consultancy) - APMG Change Practitioner
Http://www.timhjrogers.com | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype @timhjrogers | Mobile: 07797762051 Curator TEDxStHelier (http://www. TEDxStHelier.com)
Founder ciChange (http://www. ciChange.org)