Review the list to prevent permanent deferral

Structured procrastination works only if the top item eventually gets done — build in periodic forcing.

Why it works

The structural vulnerability in Perry’s method is that a task placed at the top "to be avoided" can remain there indefinitely, converting a motivational trick into a permanent deferral. The procrastination equation suggests this happens when the task has no real deadline — low temporal pressure means motivation stays low regardless of position on the list. Periodic forcing functions (reviews, check-ins with someone) ensure the method produces completion rather than indefinite avoidance of the genuinely important.

How to do it

1. Set a monthly review of your "top item" to ask: is it still appropriately placed, or has it become genuinely urgent?
2. When a formerly deferrable task becomes time-sensitive, remove it from the decoy position and make it an actual priority.
3. Track how long each top item has been sitting there — if over 60 days, force a decision.
4. Share the top item with a trusted person who will ask about it periodically.

Evidence

This is a safeguard derived from the limitations Perry himself acknowledges. No direct evidence; mechanistically necessary to prevent the method from enabling chronic deferral. Steel’s (2007) meta-analysis shows delay is greatest when temporal pressure is low, which is precisely why a deadline-free top item can stall indefinitely without a periodic forcing function. (mechanistic)

Perry’s original essay is largely humorous; the practice here extends it into territory he did not fully address. The safeguard is sensible but untested as a technique.

Sources

• Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 65–94.

Common mistake

Leaving genuinely important tasks at the top of the list for months without a forcing function, treating the technique as permission to defer rather than as a productivity structure.