A computational neuroscientist uses a mathematical approach to dissect procrastination, identifying its various patterns and causes like time misjudgment and ego protection. The research focuses on crafting personalized strategies to mitigate this widespread and detrimental behavior, enhancing both productivity and mental well-being.Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics
“Why did I not do this when I still had the time?” – Whether it is filing taxes, meeting a deadline at work, or cleaning the apartment before a family visit, most of us have already wondered why we tend to put off certain tasks, even in the face of unpleasant consequences. Why do we make decisions that are harmful to us – against our better knowledge? This is precisely the conundrum of procrastination.
But does the fun of a movie night outweigh the dismay at a hefty failure-to-file penalty? There is one important detail: consequences in the distant future are weighted less by the brain in its summation of positive and negative outcomes. To a certain degree, this is normal and even useful; after all, the more distant future is necessarily fraught with uncertainties.
Chebolu is confident that understanding procrastination as a series of temporal decisions and detecting where and why we usually take a wrong turn can inform interventions: If you discover, for instance, that your brain is a bit too biased towards instant gratification, giving yourself short-term rewards might help. Those who tend to underestimate the time needed for their grunt work could try setting themselves time-bound goals.