Just Let the “New me” do it: How Anticipated Temporal Landmarks Cause Procrastination

Moments that elicit feelings of a “fresh start” have been shown to spur goal initiation. However, successful goal pursuit requires not only goal initiation but also persistent effort investment to an existing goal. While prior work has focused on the motivating effects of temporal landmarks as a type of fresh start on the initiation of a goal, the current research draws attention to a dark side of temporal landmarks by examining the effect of anticipated temporal landmarks on motivation to persist in an ongoing goal. We find that when an upcoming temporal landmark becomes salient, individuals perceive their current and future selves as two separate agents, delegate responsibility to their future self (i.e., “intrapersonal loafing”), and thus exert less effort to pursue their ongoing goals. For example, for people who have been pursuing a dieting goal, a focus on the upcoming New Year will ironically lead them to feel less motivated to continue on their diet, because they expect their new, future self can pick up the slack.