Un nudge pour vaincre la procrastination

« Resolutions are like eels; they’re easy to make. The devil is in keeping them » — Alexandre Dumas

🟣 Neuroscience regularly explores how procrastination works, and how best to overcome resistance to acting. Researchers have identified certain NUDGES (i.e. behavioral tricks) to facilitate acting.

🟣 A recent article shows the impact of the DELAY “to do” on the action itself. It appears that a SHORT DELAY or the ABSENCE of a DELAY are two situations much more favorable to the PASSAGE to ACT than a long delay. In my view, this result opens up fascinating prospects for concrete MANAGEMENT applications.

▶️  See the article : Knowles, S., Servátka, M., Sullivan, T. & Genç, M. (2022) Procrastination and the non-monotonic effect of deadlines on task completion. Economic Inquiry, 60( 2), 706– 720. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.13042

🟣 Another article shows that CHOOSING the RIGHT DAY to START changing habits is likely to play an important role in the success of your resolutions. Indeed, since motivation and energy fluctuate, it’s very effective to start on a day when you have the maximum of both: MOTIVATION and ENERGY. According to these authors, “A good start gives the initial encouragement needed to get to the second day”.

▶️  See the article : Hamilton, I., & Marlow, S. (2020, January 3). The best way to ditch bad habits: what science can teach us. The Conversation.

🟣  My CONCLUSION

Making resolutions is good. Keeping them is better. So it’s a good idea to use nudges and other cognitive and behavioral science techniques to maximize the chances of celebrating, at the end of the year, the achievement of the goals you set at the beginning. Just think: maybe today is a good day to start implementing a new behavior!

Benefit from « Procrastination Coaching »