Section 1.1: Investigating Pigeon Procrastination

To assess procrastination in pigeons, Mazur designed an experiment involving key presses, which in this case meant the pigeons using their beaks to peck at keys. Previous research indicated that pigeons generally prefer not to engage in such tasks, making this an ideal measure of their work ethic.

Rather than simply rewarding the pigeons for pressing the key, which would encourage incessant pecking, the rewards—delicious seeds—were dispensed at the end of the task, regardless of when the pigeons chose to act.

To illustrate the choice between immediate action and procrastination, Mazur introduced a penalty. If pigeons waited to peck the key, they had to complete more pecks to receive their reward.

The experiment unfolded as follows: The pigeon entered the testing area and was presented with two keys—one green and one red. If the pigeon pressed the green key, it had to press it five times after a 6-second wait, followed by a 34-second wait for food. However, if the red key was pressed, the pigeon could delay for 20 seconds but would then need to perform more than five pecks to earn its reward.

This design allowed researchers to determine if pigeons exhibited procrastination: if the number of pecks required after pressing the red key exceeded five, it indicated that the bird opted for immediate laziness at the cost of extra work down the line.

Over multiple trials, the pigeons learned that choosing the red key meant increased effort later, but also more downtime before they had to engage in that effort—all for the same reward as the green key.

Subsection 1.1.1: Do Pigeons Really Procrastinate?

What did Mazur discover in his research? He found that pigeons indeed procrastinate, often opting to delay tasks even when doing so resulted in more work. For example, they showed no preference between two scenarios: either performing five key presses two seconds into the trial or completing thirty-three key presses after a 20-second delay.

Even when faced with the prospect of extra work, pigeons frequently chose to wait longer rather than engage immediately. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Section 1.2: Lessons for Humans

Fortunately, unlike pigeons, we possess the ability to reflect on our actions, analyze them, and seek ways to enhance our productivity.

How can we combat procrastination? Many resources are available on this subject, and you could easily spend time browsing them—time that could be better spent completing your pending tasks.

Most individuals develop their own strategies, with varying success. Here are a few effective approaches that I have found useful:

• Set goals or rewards that hinge on task completion. For instance, don’t allow yourself to try that new video game until your homework is finished.
• Structure tasks in a way that requires completing one before accessing the next. Research shows that college students performed better when study materials were unlocked sequentially after quizzes.
• Enlist someone to hold you accountable. Sharing your goals with others can create social pressure that encourages you to achieve them.
• Address the most challenging tasks first. Instead of spending time checking emails, prioritize completing vital reports to ensure you are procrastinating on less critical tasks.
• Focus on time-based goals rather than completion. Instead of committing to write an entire article in one day, aim to write for twenty-five minutes. Time management tools like the Pomodoro timer can be particularly helpful.

In conclusion, knowing that procrastination is not exclusive to humans, but can also affect pigeons, can be somewhat reassuring. While pigeons don’t have to juggle emails, texts, and requests from colleagues as we do, we must learn to develop effective strategies to manage and overcome our own procrastination.