Procrastination: Matching Law

We’ve been discussing procrastination for the last few days. If you missed the previous posts on the topic, you may want to take a few minutes to catch up (previous Procrastination Insights 12, and 3).

The Procrastination Equation states:

Your tendency to overcome procrastination = (Expectancy x Value) / (Delay x Impulsiveness)

The denominator of the equation veers away from economics into the psychological field of behaviorism.

It relates to what behaviorists call the Matching Law and accounts for the less rational contributors to motivation.

Its relationship to positive motivation is clear—time and distractions are killers.

This is why high performing recruiters and hiring managers break the recruiting process down into small chunks where small wins can be frequently recorded.

For example:

How many proactive outreaches to prospects did you accomplish?

How many live conversations did you have today?

What percentage of my trial closes for an appointment worked?

In essence, you turn recruiting into a fun game so delay and impulsiveness are constantly being minimized.

This keeps motivation high, limits procrastination, and sustains you during the seemingly long periods of time between hires.