Book
Steel P. The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done. New York: Harper Perennial; 2011. 304 p.
Why we cite it
Popularizes temporal motivation theory (TMT), which models motivation as Motivation = (Expectancy × Value) / (Impulsiveness × Delay). The book translates Steel’s APA award-winning meta-analysis of ~800 procrastination studies into accessible form, explaining why we chronically delay goal pursuit and offering strategies for overcoming it. In the theory’s terms, distant rewards (future health) lose to immediate ones (today’s comfort) because delay divides motivation. Not peer-reviewed scientific evidence; a popular science book based on the author’s published research.
About the author
– Piers Steel, PhD: Distinguished Research Chair at the University of Calgary, Haskayne School of Business. PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Minnesota (dissertation: “The Nature and Measurement of Procrastination”). His 2007 meta-analysis “The Nature of Procrastination” in Psychological Bulletin (691 correlations, N=38,000+) won the American Psychological Association’s George A. Miller Award for outstanding contribution to general science. Developer of Temporal Motivation Theory. Co-founder of the metaBUS project for meta-analytical research synthesis. Killam Emerging Research Leader Award recipient. Research covered in Psychology Today, New Scientist, The New Yorker, and Good Housekeeping.
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