I AM indebted to Piers Steel of the University of Calgary who has been carrying out a study to find out why we put off things.
Indeed, so complete is his work into procrastination (a touch ironic in itself) that he has come up with an equation: To discover your Desire to Complete a Task (U) you have to work out your Expectation of Success (E), which is then multiplied by the Value of Completion (V), divided by the Immediacy of Task (I) times the Personal Sensitivity of Delay (D), so U = ExV/IxD. I’m still deciding whether to work this out, but suspect that the longer I take will cause an increase in D, which will reduce V, and the consequent decreasing E and U will mean no more Jobfiles.
But there are lessons here for job-hunters, too. According to some studies, more than 60% of us would take another job if we could, although never more than 5% of us are actively doing anything about it. Using Professor Steel’s procrastination index might help explain why.
First, our Expectations of Success may not be that high in finding a new career. That’s because job-hunting can be so dispiriting – whether it’s a simple rejection or failing the last interview, rejection hurts. Good recruiters know this and treat candidates with dignity and respect – as one once told me “recruitment is about the management of disappointment”. However, the Jobfile inbox over the years has borne witness that most candidates don’t get treated that well.
The Value of Completion may then be called into question, too. Sure, most people hope to end their job hunt with more money, but the thought of leaving colleagues they enjoy working with or the apprehension of moving to a new working environment can diminish the value of moving.
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Sadly, the Immediacy of Task is only ever high for negative reasons – either through being out of work or really hating the current job, which leaves the Personal Sensitivity of Delay, which you can only judge for yourself.
Any more procrastination will mean no Jobfile, but for those keen to know more, you may (in your own good time) like to visit www.procastinus.com. Helpfully, the website also contains an online test to “measure my procrastination”, which I’m still thinking about taking.