Like There's No Tomorrow

Like There's No Tomorrow

two failures of self-control—the inclinations to procrastinate and to indulge—turn out to be rooted in the same problem: We tend to put too much weight on the here and now when evaluating the costs and benefits of action (or inaction). Behavioral economists refer to such misguided decisions as "time-inconsistent preferences." You've got a report to deliver by first thing tomorrow, but the moment you sit down to start writing, surfing the Web just seems like more fun; you know that you'll be sorry if you eat that last scoop of Haagen Daz, but you just can't resist. Both bad decisions are the result of privileging the present you over the you of tomorrow morning. (It's worth noting that most economists would say that there is only an "inconsistency" if the procrastination or impulsiveness actually leads to later regret. If Homer Simpson parks himself in front of the TV with a box of doughnuts rather than mowing the lawn, that's a rational choice, since if you ask him tomorrow, he'll feel the time was well-spent.)