The "yes...damn!" effect is one I have found myself caught in many a time. Most vivid are all those conference presentations for which I submit proposals in November and then find myself scrambling to give in April or May! But I just recently really got myself into a pickle over a guest presentation we had in our department that I agreed to facilitate...yes, several months ago, when it seemed so easy to do because the semester had just gotten rolling along and things were in a lull. It seemed like such a great idea at the time; but when the time came, I was sooooooo stressed for time by advising and assignments that I told all my colleagues to stop me the next time I committed to something more than two weeks into the future!
I'm going to open that bottle of wine I've been saving for a special occasion. I think it's tonight ;) Annette Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110 619-260-4006 tay...@sandiego.edu ---- Original message ---- >Date: Sat, 2 Jan 2010 02:29:48 -0500 >From: "Mike Palij" <m...@nyu.edu> >Subject: [tips] Don't Procrastinate! Party Tonight! >To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <tips@acsun.frostburg.edu> >Cc: "Mike Palij" <m...@nyu.edu> > >We are all familiar with different forms of procrastination, ranging >from students handing in work done at the minute or past a deadline >to our own last minute attempts or missed deadlines for handing in >departmental forms, reviews, and other academic and professional >work. But it may come as a surprise to some that a similar form >of procrastination occurs for activities that one might consider >pleasurable or desirable, a form of "deferred reinforcement" is you >will (though some folks from Florida might not suffer from this difficulty). >The NY Times has an interesting article on this point titled >"Carpe Diem? Maybe Tomorrow"; see: >http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/29/science/29tier.html > >The key point is that, in general, when it comes to the perception of >time and its management, people think that they will have more free >time in the far future than in the near future. With the pressing demands >of today, tomorrow, and the next day, it appears easier to put off >"discretionary" or "optional" or "non-deadline" activities until next >week or later when it is assumed that there will be more time to >engage in them. Of course, if one has a stable busy schedule, then >unless the schedule changes to reduce the number of obligations one >has to meet, one is unlikely to have that expected free time. Quoting >the article: > >|We’re trying to do a cost-benefit analysis of the time lost versus >|the pleasure or money to be gained, but we’re not accurate in our >|estimates of “resource slack,” as it is termed by Gal Zauberman and >|John G. Lynch. These behavioral economists found that when people >|were asked to anticipate how much extra money and time they would >|have in the future, they realistically assumed that money would be tight, >|but they expected free time to magically materialize. >| >|Hence you’re more likely to agree to a commitment next year, like >|giving a speech, that you would turn down if asked to find time for it >|in the next month. This produces what researchers call the “Yes ... Damn!” >|effect: when the speech comes due next year, you bitterly discover you’re >|still as busy as ever. > >For fans of the movie "Sideways", there is a suggested means for dealing >with this problem: > >|Another tactic is to give yourself deadlines. Cash in the miles by summer, >|even if you can’t get a round-the-world trip out of them. Instead of waiting >|for a special occasion to indulge yourself, create one. Dr. Shu approvingly >|cites the pioneering therapeutic work of Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, >| who for the past decade used their Wall Street Journal column on wine to >|proclaim the last Saturday of February to be “Open That Bottle Night.” >| >|But you don’t even have to wait until Feb. 27. Remember the advice >|offered in the movie “Sideways” to Miles, who has been holding on >|to a ’61 Cheval Blanc so long that it is in danger of going bad. When >|Miles says he is waiting for a special occasion, his friend Maya puts >|matters in perspective: >| >|“The day you open a ’61 Cheval Blanc, that’s the special occasion.” > >-Mike Palij >New York University >m...@nyu.edu > > > > >--- >To make changes to your subscription contact: > >Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
