Precrastination etymologically means “before tomorrow”. It refers to the fact of accomplishing a task as soon as it is given to us, regardless of the deadline. This notion was theorized for the first time by David Rosenbaum in a study published in 2014 in the journal Psychological Science. This professor of psychology at the University of California designed an experiment which consisted of asking volunteers to carry a bucket of water from point A to point B. They had the choice between several buckets, some further from the finish line than others.
Interestingly, participants opted for the buckets of water located near the starting line, despite the extra effort it required. “This seemingly irrational choice reflected a tendency toward precrastination, a term we introduce to designate the eagerness to accomplish subgoals, even at the cost of additional physical effort,” write David Rosenbaum and his colleagues in his study.
In other words, precrastinators seek to quickly get rid of tasks that fall to them as soon as they arise. He’s the kind of person who responds to emails within a minute, or who writes the agenda for the next meeting weeks in advance. To-do lists? Very little for them. Precrastinators are ultra-reactive, even if it means biting their fingers afterwards.
Learn to appreciate slowness
Because, as the saying goes, speed should not be confused with haste. Sending a document to your number one without having proofread and refined it can have regrettable consequences. The main pitfall of precrastination is immediacy. By wanting to do everything quickly, we risk making mistakes and, above all, losing success in distinguishing the important from the secondary. In 2018, researchers at Princeton University discovered that the nucleus accumbens, a brain area involved in the reward system, becomes strongly activated when you complete a low-effort task.
In other words, our brain naturally favors simplicity. Precrastinators prefer to quickly chain together several small tasks, instead of tackling a complex mission requiring more time and thought. Which can, in the long run, slow down their professional development. But also cause tensions with their colleagues. Indeed, their tendency to act in a hurry annoys those with whom they work, just like their “good student” side. Enough to harm the collective and, therefore, the overall performance of the company.
To avoid getting to this point, precrastinators must learn to appreciate slowness. Instead of flailing around like the white rabbit in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, they need to understand that taking your time doesn’t necessarily mean wasting it. As specialists point out, our brain cannot run at full speed 24 hours a day. It needs quiet moments to regenerate. It would therefore be wise to follow the example of La Fontaine’s hare and tortoise, remembering that “there is no point in running; you have to start in time”.