The air conditioner hasn't been serviced in months. The washing machine has started making a strange noise. The refrigerator probably needs maintenance, and that water purifier filter was supposed to be replaced weeks ago. The owner knows all of this. They may even repeatedly think, “I need to call someone this weekend.” Yet nothing happens until the appliance stops working properly. It is tempting to call this laziness or forgetfulness, but psychology offers a more interesting explanation.
Research on procrastination, Temporal Motivation Theory, task aversiveness, status quo bias and implementation intentions helps explain why preventive maintenance can be surprisingly easy to postpone. The problem is often simple: servicing creates an immediate inconvenience, while most of its benefits exist in an uncertain future.
