Deadlines and procrastination

Stephen Knowles; Maroš Servátka

doi:10.4337/9781802207736.00047

Deadlines and procrastination

Department of Economics

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry for encyclopedia/dictionary/reference book › peer-review

Abstract

Deadlines are a powerful tool against procrastination and can influence whether tasks get completed or not. Their effect on task completion is not monotonic. A short deadline or no deadline can lead to early completion, while a long deadline may lead to delays. The key is to allow enough time to complete the task, but not too much time; otherwise people procrastinate and forget.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Elgar encyclopedia of behavioural and experimental economics
Editors	Swee-Hoon Chuah, Robert Hoffmann, Ananta Neelim
Place of Publication	Cheltenham
Publisher	Edward Elgar Publishing
Chapter	41
Pages	134-135
Number of pages	2
ISBN (Electronic)	9781802207736
ISBN (Print)	9781802207729
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802207736.00047
Publication status	Published - 2025

Keywords

Deadlines
Task Completion
Inattention
Procrastination
Forgetting

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10.4337/9781802207736.00047

Cite this

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title = "Deadlines and procrastination",

abstract = "Deadlines are a powerful tool against procrastination and can influence whether tasks get completed or not. Their effect on task completion is not monotonic. A short deadline or no deadline can lead to early completion, while a long deadline may lead to delays. The key is to allow enough time to complete the task, but not too much time; otherwise people procrastinate and forget.",

keywords = "Deadlines, Task Completion, Inattention, Procrastination, Forgetting",

author = "Stephen Knowles and Maro{\v s} Serv{\'a}tka",

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language = "English",

isbn = "9781802207729",

pages = "134--135",

editor = "Swee-Hoon Chuah and Robert Hoffmann and Ananta Neelim",

booktitle = "Elgar encyclopedia of behavioural and experimental economics",

publisher = "Edward Elgar Publishing",

address = "United Kingdom",

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Deadlines and procrastination. / Knowles, Stephen; Servátka, Maroš.
Elgar encyclopedia of behavioural and experimental economics. ed. / Swee-Hoon Chuah; Robert Hoffmann; Ananta Neelim. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2025. p. 134-135.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry for encyclopedia/dictionary/reference book › peer-review

TY - CHAP

T1 - Deadlines and procrastination

AU - Knowles, Stephen

AU - Servátka, Maroš

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - Deadlines are a powerful tool against procrastination and can influence whether tasks get completed or not. Their effect on task completion is not monotonic. A short deadline or no deadline can lead to early completion, while a long deadline may lead to delays. The key is to allow enough time to complete the task, but not too much time; otherwise people procrastinate and forget.

AB - Deadlines are a powerful tool against procrastination and can influence whether tasks get completed or not. Their effect on task completion is not monotonic. A short deadline or no deadline can lead to early completion, while a long deadline may lead to delays. The key is to allow enough time to complete the task, but not too much time; otherwise people procrastinate and forget.

KW - Deadlines

KW - Task Completion

KW - Inattention

KW - Procrastination

KW - Forgetting

UR - https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802207736

U2 - 10.4337/9781802207736.00047

DO - 10.4337/9781802207736.00047

M3 - Entry for encyclopedia/dictionary/reference book

AN - SCOPUS:105008858073

SN - 9781802207729

SP - 134

EP - 135

BT - Elgar encyclopedia of behavioural and experimental economics

A2 - Chuah, Swee-Hoon

A2 - Hoffmann, Robert

A2 - Neelim, Ananta

PB - Edward Elgar Publishing

CY - Cheltenham

ER -

Deadlines and procrastination

Abstract

Keywords

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