Scholars say they have found a way to prevent procrastination.

The trick? Think of the future as now. If you decide you will read this article tomorrow, you are already behind. 

People often do things on deadline. Students cram for tests, employees stay up late to finish a project. There is no choice, the issue is imminent. 

In an initial series of studies, 162 participants were asked to imagine themselves preparing for future events, such as a wedding or a work presentation, and then they were asked when this event would occur. Participants were randomly assigned to think of the event in either days, or months or years. The researchers found participants who thought of the event in terms of days reported that the event would occur on average 29.6 days sooner than those who thought of the event as months away.

A second series of studies explored whether this sense of time affected plans to start long-term saving. More than 1,100 participants were asked when they would start to save money for college or retirement. In the first case, participants were told college would start 18 years or 6,570 days in the future. In the second case, the participants were told retirement would begin 30 or 40 years in the future, or in 10,950 days or in 14,600 days.

Researchers found the participants planned to start saving four times sooner when they thought of the event in days instead of years.

Daphna Oyserman, lead researcher and co-director of the USC Dornsife Mind and Society Center and co-author Neil Lewis Jr. of the University of Michigan say that using a shift in time metrics, people can motivate themselves to accomplish their goals.

"So when I think in a more granular way -- when I use days rather than years -- it makes me feel like the future is closer," Oyserman said. "If you see it as 'today' rather than on your calendar for sometime in the future, you're not going to put it off."

Follow-up studies found that participants felt long-term saving was important, but those who were assigned to think of college or retirement starting in days rather than years felt more connected to their future selves and were more willing to save.

Published in Psychological Science.