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EP. 34: THE MOTIVATION EQUATION: PIERS STEEL ON HOW TO STOP PUTTING THINGS OFF

February 21, 2020 by Larry Weeks Leave a Comment

There is always a good side to the research I present, within the causes we can also find the cures – Piers Steel

This podcast is about every promise you made to yourself but broke.

Depending on the research, there are anywhere from 40% – 60% percent of us admitting we make New Year’s resolutions. A study from the University of Scranton found that 23% of people quit their resolution after one week, and only 19% of individuals stick to the goals long term.

We put off starting a project we planned, or once started, we never finish. We swear to eat healthily, lose weight, or you name it, only to see ourselves defeated by what seems to be a lack of will.

If we really want to do these things, why don’t we do them?

Let me introduce you to the Pope of Procrastination, who forgives you of all that.

My guest is Piers Steel, Ph.D.

Piers is a Distinguished Research Chair at the University of Calgary, where he teaches human resources and organizational dynamics at the Haskayne School of Business and is one of the world’s leading researchers on the science of motivation and procrastination.

He’s also the inventor of the procrastination equation – an equation that encapsulates pretty much every scientific finding on procrastination out there to date and published in his oft-cited book The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done.

That’s what procrastination robs us the most…when we’re done with work when we come back and we’ve earned the time to actually kind of shut our brains off, but we can’t do it because we’re obsessing about what we were avoiding – Piers Steel

You’re about to find out not only why you procrastinate, but the science on what works to overcome it, i.e., how to increase motivation.

Learn the equation, and you’ll be able to diagnose the origins of your lack of motivation. And from there, increase it nearly on-command.

Piers lays it out for us.

Some of the talking points we cover on the show include …

  • The origin of the research
  • Long-held myths on why people procrastinate
  • Why we really procrastinate
  • The number one reason people procrastinate
  • The dualistic theory of the mind
  • Breaking down the variables that make up motivation and how to work with each
  • The power of context
  • When on a timeline motivation increases – and how to work with it
  • Why it’s very difficult to be motivated sufficiently by money alone
  • The real problem with impulsiveness (some tricks to thwart temptation)
  • Sort ranking the motivation variables by impact, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.
  • The impact of fatigue
  • The problem with smart goals

I had a lot of fun talking with Piers, and our conversation, due to my meandering really, ran for almost two hours. Not to worry, this is the edited version.

It should be obvious how critical motivation is in achieving anything.  So it is well worth the time spent on learning how it works and how to increase it in yourself and in others. I think you will not only find this podcast interesting but that path it leads to absolutely invaluable.

Give it a listen.

Resources / Links 

  • The Procrastination Equation (Book)
  • Procrastinus.com (Piers’s website, tons of resources here)
  • Impulsivity survey
  • Learned Optimism (Learned helplessness was mentioned)

Filed Under: Personal Growth

About Larry Weeks

Larry is a technologist, consultant and host of the Bounce podcast.

Previous Post: « EP. 33: LIVING THE LIVES WE WANT: NIR EYAL ON BEING INDISTRACTABLE
Next Post: EP. 35: STRESS INOCULATION: STEVEN SOUTHWICK ON THE SCIENCE OF RESILIENCE AND COPING WITH EXTREMES »

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PODCAST ARCHIVE

  • EP: 47: CHATTER: ETHAN KROSS ON UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING THE VOICE IN OUR HEAD
  • EP.46: HIGH ON LIFE: TOMMY CHONG ON PRISON, POT AND KARMA
  • EP. 45: SURVIVING SURVIVAL: LAURENCE GONZALES ON TRAUMA AND NEW NORMALS
  • Ep. 44: FREEDOM FROM RESULTS : MASSIMO PIGLIUCCI ON REDEFINING SUCCESS
  • EP. 43: MAKING BETTER DECISIONS: ANNIE DUKE ON CREATING YOUR OWN CRYSTAL BALL.
  • EP. 42: HOW TO FEEL GREAT: DR. DAVID BURNS ON WHAT NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ARE TRYING TO TELL US
  • EP. 41: MISTAKES WERE MADE: CAROL TAVRIS AND ELLIOT ARONSON ON COGNITIVE BIAS AND LEARNING FROM THE ERROR OF OUR WAYS
  • EP. 40: HOW WILL WE BEHAVE? RORY SUTHERLAND ON THE NEW WORLD OF WORK AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR POST COVID-19
  • EP.39: CORONAVIRUS UPDATES: JAMES ALTUCHER AND BOUNCE BACK PREDICTIONS
  • EP.38: HOW STOICS KEEP CALM, WILLIAM B. IRVINE ON PHILOSOPHICAL FRAMING
  • EP. 37: THE WEDGE, SCOTT CARNEY ON STRESS AND HACKING THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
  • EP. 36: CORONAVIRUS QA WITH DR. ALEX LICKERMAN, M.D.
  • EP. 35: STRESS INOCULATION: STEVEN SOUTHWICK ON THE SCIENCE OF RESILIENCE AND COPING WITH EXTREMES
  • EP. 34: THE MOTIVATION EQUATION: PIERS STEEL ON HOW TO STOP PUTTING THINGS OFF
  • EP. 33: LIVING THE LIVES WE WANT: NIR EYAL ON BEING INDISTRACTABLE
  • A FRAMEWORK FOR HUMAN EFFORT
  • THE TECH FALLACY:
  • Learning To Live With Learning Machines:
  • WORKING WITH A.I. :
  • MAKING CHANGE HAPPEN:
  • THE WISDOM ASSET:
  • EP. 26: SECOND CHANCES: CATHERINE HOKE ON REDEMPTIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • EP.25: MELTDOWNS: CHRIS CLEARFIELD ON PREVENTING SYSTEM FAILURES
  • EP.24: MEANING AND WORK: FRED KOFMAN ON THE ROI OF PURPOSE
  • EP 23: MOTIVATION MYTHS: JEFF HADEN ON PROCESS VS. PASSION
  • EP.22: HOW TO THINK IN BETS: ANNIE DUKE ON POKER, PROBABILITIES AND BETTER DECISIONS
  • EP.21: MEDITATION FOR FIDGETY SKEPTICS: JEFF WARREN ON A DIFFERENT WAY OF BEING
  • EP. 20: CHOICE ARCHITECTURE: RORY SUTHERLAND ON THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ADVERTISING
  • NOT IMPOSSIBLE: SUSANNAH MEADOWS ON MEDICINE, MINDSET AND MOTIVATION
  • EP. 18: HOW TO TALK TO YOURSELF: MARISA PEER ON RAPID TRANSFORMATION
  • SURVIVING ASSHOLES: ROBERT SUTTON ON OUTWITTING JERKS IN YOUR LIFE
  • HOW TO GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY: TASHA EURICH ON SELF AWARENESS
  • EP. 15: ON THE IMPORTANCE OF HARD THINGS: CAROLINE MILLER
  • EP. 14: ON FAILURE PART 2, FAILING WELL: ASHLEY GOOD
  • EP 13: FAILURE PART 1 : FAIL FAST, FAIL OFTEN: RYAN BABINEAUX
  • EP. 12: HOW TO BOUNCE BACK OVER AND OVER AGAIN: A TALK WITH JAMES ALTUCHER
  • EP.11: HAPPINESS AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE DIGITAL ERA: AMY BLANKSON
  • EP.10: AFTER CANCER: DR. WENDY HARPHAM, HAPPY IN A STORM
  • EP. 9: A PHILOSOPHY FOR HARD TIMES: MASSIMO PIGLIUCCI
  • Ep. 8: SUCCESS, FACTS & FICTIONS: ERIC BARKER
  • EP.7: RESILIENT GRIEVING: DR. LUCY HONE TALKS ABOUT LIVING WITH LOSS
  • EP. 6: WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU: A TALK WITH SCOTT CARNEY
  • EP. 5: FEELING GOOD, OVERCOMING DEPRESSION AND DISTORTED THINKING: DR DAVID BURNS
  • EP. 4: HOW GOING BLIND HELPED ME SEE: ISAAC LIDSKY
  • EP.3: WHY THINGS BOUNCE BACK: ANDREW ZOLLI
  • EP. 2: ON CREATING AN UNDEFEATABLE MIND: DR. ALEX LICKERMAN
  • EP. 1: NO ARMS, NO LEGS, NO EXCUSES: KYLE MAYNARD
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