Are you a procrastinator of pleasure?
Don't be scared, you're not sick.
Psychologists and behavioral economists have analyzed the strange impulse to put off until tomorrow what could be enjoyed today.
According to a study conducted by professors of marketing at the universities of California in Los Angeles, and San Diego, American people had visited more landmarks in other cities than in their own. The only time they rushed to see the local landmarks was just before they were about to move to another city.
When there is no immediate deadline, we often put off going to the zoo this weekend because we think that we will be less busy next weekend — or the weekend after that, or next summer. This is the same sort of thinking that causes us to put the gift certificate in the drawer because we expect to have more time for shopping in the future.
It sounds odd, but just ask the airlines and other marketers who save billions of dollars annually from gift certificates that expire unredeemed. The researchers gave a number of people gift certificates good for movie tickets and French pastries. Some got certificates that expired within two to three weeks; others got certificates good for six to eight weeks.
The people who received the long-term certificates were more confident than the others that they would redeem the gifts — a logical enough assumption, given all the extra time they had. But they just kept putting it off, and ultimately they were more likely to let the gift go unredeemed than the people who had received the short-term certificates.
The same may happen when you receive a prize bottle of wine - people wait until they find the most special occasions, and when they open it, the wine has gone bad. . .
But what can we do to avoid this?
One immediate strategy is to cash in quickly any gift certificate you received this holiday season. The biggest danger is that it will be forgotten and expire. One of the best presents you can give back to the giver is to use it quickly and then tell them how much you enjoyed it.
Another tactic is to give yourself deadlines. instead of waiting for a special occasion.
Just say to yourself: “Today is the special occasion.”