Unexpectedly Intriguing!
14 August 2007
Should You Start or Stop Procrastinating?

We've been meaning to do this for a while, but we figured we couldn't put it off any longer. If you've been following Political Calculations this year, you've likely noted by now that we're huge fans of Garth Sundem's book Geek Logik.

Garth's book combines many of the elements we've incorporated into Political Calculations from its inception: math that can be put to solving the problems of daily life, an economic way of thinking, and a strong sense of humor. Or should that be a "warped" sense of humor? We're not exactly sure where the line between the two is drawn!

In any case, the book would make an excellent gift for anyone you know who values any two of those three things.

Why are we telling you this now? Well, we realize that you might not get around to buying the book for a while, and our tool below, drawn from math Garth developed within the book, can help you determine when you should get around to buying it as a gift for that warped someone you know! Or for that matter, whatever task you might be considering doing that you haven't yet gotten around to doing yet:

Factors to Consider When Procrastinating
Input Data Values
Likelihood that if left alone long enough, the job will be done by someone else
(1-10 with 1 being "10% chance" and 10 being "100% chance)
How pissed at you will this "someone else" be after doing the job?
(1-10 with 10 being "horse head in bed.")
By sitting, does this task get easier or harder?
- If easier (for example, in a month's time the dog poop in your backyard might no longer be frozen to the ground), select a negative number from -1 to -5 (easiest).
- If harder (for example, you now have to vacuum pine needles as well as dispose of the Christmas tree), select a positive number from +1 to +5 (hardest).
How unpleasant is the task?
(1-10 with 10 being "reconnecting dryer exhaust pipe in rat-infested crawl space")
In days, how long can you put off this task until it becomes essential?
Level of disaster possible if the task is left past time T
(1-10 with 10 being "fire, flood, famine")
Your historic level of procrastination
(1-10 with 10 being "thesis due Monday, so have carved out time on Sunday night")


Should You Put Off Today What You Could Put Off Until Tomorrow?
Calculated Results Values
Procrastination Index Score
The Bottom Line

We've provided the Procrastination Index Score above to help you determine what precise combination of factors it takes to either keep procrastinating or to compel yourself into action. Here, a score greater than one is what it takes to shake off the cobwebs of procrastination!

So, what are you waiting for?!

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- posted by Ironman at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Home |

About Political Calculations

Welcome to the blogosphere's toolchest! Here, unlike other blogs dedicated to analyzing current events, we create easy-to-use, simple tools to do the math related to them so you can get in on the action too! If you would like to learn more about these tools, or if you would like to contribute ideas to develop for this blog, please e-mail us at:

ironman at politicalcalculations

Thanks in advance!

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