I'll Stop Procrastinating... Tomorrow.

Duke University - The Fuqua School of Business

30 Jul 200803:58

Summary

TLDRIn this insightful script, Duke University Professor addresses the common struggle of students with procrastination. Despite starting semesters with enthusiasm, students often face a surge of real-life issues leading to delays in academic commitments. The professor introduces a novel solution: allowing students to self-select deadlines for submitting papers, with penalties for late submissions. This approach empowers students to manage their time effectively, illustrating how providing the right tools can help overcome human fallibilities like procrastination.

Takeaways

📚 At the start of the semester, students are enthusiastic and prepared, with clean notebooks and sharp pencils, intending to read and study beyond the syllabus.
📉 As the semester progresses, students face various personal issues, leading to a significant increase in procrastination and a decline in academic performance.
🔍 The professor observes a systemic problem of procrastination, which is not limited to students but is a common human behavior affecting long-term goals.
🌐 The issue of procrastination is likened to other areas of life, such as healthcare and lifestyle choices, where immediate desires often override long-term benefits.
📈 The professor introduces a solution to combat procrastination by allowing students to set their own deadlines for submitting papers.
✅ Students are given the flexibility to choose when to submit their papers, but they must commit to a specific date, making the deadline binding.
📅 Missing the self-set deadline results in a penalty of losing a percentage of the grade per day, which incentivizes students to meet their commitments.
🛠 The strategy provides students with a tool to manage their procrastination by aligning their immediate actions with their long-term academic goals.
🤔 It highlights the human tendency to understand and address our own fallibilities when given the right tools and incentives.
🎓 The approach encourages personal responsibility and self-regulation among students, potentially leading to better time management and academic success.
🎵 The transcript is interspersed with musical interludes, suggesting a casual or motivational tone to the message being conveyed.

Q & A

What is the common phenomenon observed by Duke University professors at the beginning of each semester?
-The professors observe that students start the semester with high enthusiasm, clean notebooks, sharpened pencils, and a determination to read all the material and expand their horizons.
What happens to the students' initial enthusiasm as the semester progresses?
-As the semester goes on, students face various life events such as weddings and family emergencies, leading to a decline in their initial enthusiasm and an increase in procrastination.
What is the systemic problem that students face according to the transcript?
-The systemic problem is procrastination, which is a result of emotions taking over and creating a heightened sensitivity to short-term issues, causing students to forget about long-term goals.
How does the problem of procrastination relate to other areas of life mentioned in the script?
-The problem of procrastination is similar to issues in healthcare, eating well, and exercising, where people have good intentions for the long term but struggle with immediate actions.
What unconventional approach did the professor take to address the issue of procrastination?
-The professor allowed students to submit three papers at any time during the semester but required them to commit to a specific submission date, with penalties for late submissions.
What was the consequence for students who missed their self-imposed deadlines?
-If a student missed their self-imposed deadline, they would lose a percentage of their grade per day that they were late.
How does the professor's approach empower students to manage their procrastination?
-The approach provides students with a tool to set binding deadlines, which can potentially be costly if missed, thus motivating them to manage their time and avoid procrastination.
What does the professor believe about human fallibility and the ability to overcome it?
-The professor believes that while human beings have fallibilities like procrastination, they can overcome or at least mitigate them if given the right tools and understanding of their own weaknesses.
How does the professor's method differ from traditional semester assignment structures?
-The method differs by giving students flexibility in choosing when to submit their papers, but with the condition that they must commit to a deadline and face penalties for lateness.
What is the significance of the music mentioned in the transcript?
-The mention of music in the transcript serves as a placeholder for audio cues in the video, indicating transitions or emphasis in the narrative.
How does the professor's strategy align with the concept of self-regulation in learning?
-The strategy aligns with self-regulation by allowing students to take control of their own learning process, set personal goals, and manage their time effectively to meet those goals.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Semester Start Enthusiasm and Procrastination

The speaker, a Duke University professor, discusses the common pattern observed at the start of each semester where students are highly motivated, with fresh notebooks and sharpened pencils, promising to read extensively and prepare thoroughly. However, as the semester progresses, students often face various personal challenges like weddings and family emergencies, leading to a decline in their initial enthusiasm and an increase in procrastination. The professor highlights that this procrastination is a widespread issue, not just among students but also in broader aspects of life such as healthcare and fitness, where immediate desires often override long-term goals. The professor introduces a solution to combat this problem by allowing students to set their own deadlines for submitting papers, with the condition that they commit to a specific date and face penalties for late submissions. This approach empowers students to take control of their time management and encourages them to overcome their procrastination tendencies.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Procrastination

Procrastination refers to the act of delaying or postponing tasks to a later time, often resulting in reduced quality of work or missed deadlines. In the video, it is highlighted as a systematic problem among students who start the semester with high intentions but end up delaying their work, leading to stress and poor performance. The professor's strategy of setting binding deadlines helps students combat procrastination by making them commit to specific submission dates for their papers.

💡Emotion

Emotion is a complex psychological state that involves subjective experiences, physiological responses, and behavioral expressions. In the context of the video, emotions are mentioned as a factor that can lead to heightened sensitivity to short-term issues, causing individuals to neglect long-term goals. This emotional bias is compared to procrastination, where the immediate desire to avoid work overrides the rational decision to complete tasks on time.

💡Long-term vs. Short-term

This concept contrasts the planning and execution of activities over extended periods versus immediate, often more pressing concerns. The video discusses how students and individuals in general tend to prioritize short-term relief over long-term benefits, such as studying for future success versus enjoying leisure activities now. The professor's approach to deadlines is aimed at helping students balance their short-term desires with their long-term academic goals.

💡Syllabus

A syllabus is a document provided by instructors that outlines the course content, requirements, and expectations. In the video, students are initially eager to not only follow the syllabus but also to explore beyond it. However, as the semester progresses, their commitment to the syllabus and their initial enthusiasm wane, leading to procrastination and poor time management.

💡Deadlines

Deadlines are fixed dates or times by which a task or project must be completed. The video emphasizes the importance of deadlines in managing procrastination. The professor's strategy involves students setting their own binding deadlines for submitting papers, which forces them to plan and prioritize their work to avoid penalties for late submissions.

💡Commitment

Commitment refers to the state of being dedicated or obliged to a course of action. In the video, students are asked to commit to specific deadlines for their assignments. This commitment is intended to motivate them to follow through on their work and resist the urge to procrastinate, as failing to meet their self-set deadlines results in a loss of grades.

💡Human Fallibility

Human fallibility acknowledges that humans are prone to making mistakes or exhibiting weaknesses. The video script mentions that while humans have tendencies like procrastination, they also possess the ability to understand and address these issues. The professor's approach to deadlines is an example of providing a tool that leverages students' self-awareness to overcome their fallibility.

💡Healthcare

Healthcare is the maintenance or improvement of one's health through the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases. The video uses healthcare as an example of a long-term goal that people often neglect in favor of short-term comfort. The analogy is drawn to show how procrastination in healthcare decisions, such as avoiding a colonoscopy, mirrors the behavior of students who delay academic tasks.

💡Eating Well and Exercising

These are activities that contribute to a healthy lifestyle. In the video, they are used as examples of behaviors that people generally recognize as beneficial but often avoid in the short term due to immediate desires or aversions. This relates to the theme of procrastination, where the immediate gratification of not exercising or eating poorly takes precedence over the long-term benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

💡Misery

Misery is a state of deep unhappiness or distress. The video script describes how the end of the semester is marked by a surge in personal crises and 'misery' among students, which can be a contributing factor to their procrastination. These personal issues may lead to a further decline in academic performance as students struggle to balance their emotional well-being with their academic responsibilities.

💡Tool

In the context of the video, a tool refers to a method or strategy that aids in achieving a goal or solving a problem. The professor introduces the concept of self-set deadlines as a 'tool' for students to manage their procrastination. This tool empowers students to take control of their time management and academic performance by holding them accountable to their own commitments.

Highlights

Students start each semester eager with clean notebooks and sharpened pencils, committed to reading everything on time.

Despite their good intentions, students often procrastinate throughout the semester, leading to significant stress by the end.

Procrastination is described as a systematic, endemic problem influenced by short-term emotional responses.

The issue of procrastination is compared to challenges in healthcare, such as the reluctance to schedule necessary procedures like colonoscopies.

The speaker highlights the struggle to maintain long-term goals, such as healthy eating and exercising, when faced with short-term temptations.

To address procrastination, the speaker introduces a tool where students must commit to binding deadlines for submitting their papers.

If students miss their self-imposed deadlines, they lose a percentage of their grade for each day late.

The tool demonstrates that while humans have fallibilities like procrastination, they can overcome some of them with the right strategies.

The approach allows students to better manage their time and reduces the negative impact of procrastination.

The speaker uses this tool to teach students about the importance of commitment and the consequences of delaying tasks.

This method empowers students by giving them control over their deadlines, while also holding them accountable.

The exercise reflects a broader lesson about how individuals can use self-imposed rules to counteract their natural tendencies.

The speaker emphasizes that understanding and acknowledging human fallibilities is key to creating effective tools for improvement.

The strategy shows that with the right tools, individuals can make significant progress in overcoming procrastination.

This approach can be applied beyond academia, to various aspects of life where procrastination and short-term thinking hinder long-term goals.