I’ve taken several classes with Gregg Krech at the ToDo Institute, and I think you might enjoy this piece by him.
Dealing with Deadlines
by Gregg Krech
“I don’t need time. I need a deadline.’
– Duke Ellington
Dan Ariely is a Duke University professor who conducted an interesting experiment about ten years ago. He set up three classes, and each had three weeks to finish three papers.
Class A had to turn in all three papers on the last day of class; Class B had to pick three different deadlines and stick to them; and Class C had to turn in one paper a week. If the papers were late, there were severe penalties for the final grade.
Which class had the best grades? Class C, the one with three specific deadlines did the best. Class B, which had to pick deadlines ahead of time but had complete freedom, did the second best, and the group whose only deadline was the last day, Class A, did the worst.
What can we learn about procrastination from this experiment? …
