Research into psychology of people in US and UK suggests it is better to submit work on time rather than perfecting it through procrastination
Is there a job you’re putting off finishing so you can read this story? Well, if new research into procrastination is anything to go by, you’d better get back to it.
Scientists studying the psychology of people who leave things to the last minute have found that work that is submitted late tends to be judged more harshly than when a deadline is met.
The findings suggest that, while you might be tempted to take the maximum allotted time to put the finishing touches to a report, submission or piece of work, the extra effort might not be appreciated by colleagues if it comes at the expense of punctual delivery.
“All the research that we could find looked at how deadlines impact the minds and actions of workers. We wanted to know how a deadline impacts the minds and actions of others when they look at those workers,” said Prof Sam Maglio, who researches at the University of Toronto Scarborough and the Rotman School of Management.