The Psychology Behind Procrastination: Why We Do It And How To Stop

"Oh, I'll do it later."

"I'll do it first thing tomorrow morning."

"I'll start working out on Monday."

Yeah, right. Lol. Sounds a lot like procrastination to me. Unnecessarily delaying or postponing something is procrastination by definition. To a certain degree, we all do it. Unfortunately, all it does is take your power away from you. It keeps you idle at the cost of the life you could be living or the goals you could be achieving. 

Firstly, you need to understand that procrastination goes way beyond laziness. It is deeply rooted in psychology. The biggest factor that causes procrastination is fear of failure. But what if you don't succeed, right? What if you fail? This fear leads you to avoid tasks that you perceive as potentially leading to negative outcomes. Another contributor is anxiety. I notice that this is a major driver of procrastination in my life. Procrastination can be or feel like a coping mechanism for people who suffer from anxiety. This is because delaying tasks can help avoid the perceived stress or discomfort associated with them. 

Furthermore, self-doubt, or a lack of belief in your abilities, can contribute to procrastination as you may fear negative judgement or failure. A lot of people struggle with decision fatigue. This means that when you are faced with a seemingly overwhelming number of decisions to make, your cognitive resources are gradually drained, resulting in procrastination.

External factors that lead to procrastination include poor time management where you misjudge the time required to complete a task or you simply fail to prioritize tasks effectively. Distractions can be a major cause as well. A cluttered or distracting environment can make it difficult to focus and complete tasks. This is why you should regularly declutter your living spaces, and day-to-day gadgets like your laptop and cellphone.

So, why does it feel so good to do nothing then? Scientifically, procrastination is a complex behavior rooted in a "battle" between your brain's limbic system (emotional and instructional) and the prefrontal cortex (planning and decision-making). The limbic system craves immediate gratification and pleasure, while the prefrontal cortex is responsible for long-term planning and goal-oriented actions. When you avoid a challenging task, your brain releases dopamine (your feel-good hormone) which then creates a sense of relief and pleasure while reinforcing the behavior of procrastination. 

Scientifically, procrastination is a complex behavior rooted in a "battle" between your brain's limbic system (emotional and instructional) and the prefrontal cortex (planning and decision-making). 

Here's more on the relationship between dopamine and procrastination.

Now you know what procrastination is and why we do it. Here are some practical steps you can start implementing today to overcome procrastination and achieve your goals:

• Break Down Tasks: If your main root of procrastination is decision fatigue or anxiety, I'd advise you to divide your tasks into smaller, more manageable steps. For example, if you're organizing a girls' night in for the winter, start by selecting the venue. Once that's done, create cute invitations and send them, then you can plan the activities for that night. See? Simple.
• Set Realistic Deadlines: Establish clear yet achievable deadlines to create a sense of urgency and accountability. Especially for university students, this will save you from studying for tests the night before.
• Delayed Gratification: Since your limbic systems craves instant gratification, you should work in the opposite direction. You can do so by introducing a reward system to your tasks. Say, for instance, if you complete a 4 hour study session before 3PM (a realistic deadline), you can binge watch your favorite series. This will allow you to push through the task because you want to watch that series.
• Prioritize tasks: Identify your most important tasks and focus on those ones first. Having To-Do list can also greatly allow you to focus on what is most important. I use the Todoist App on my phone and laptop and it allows me to not only plan my day, but organize and color code my tasks by priority, which then allows me to focus better.
• Set SMART Goals: In order to build momentum, you need to set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound goals. This will help you be consistent and focused.

Finally, it is important to take consistent action by focusing on daily or weekly actions that'll bring you closer to your goals. Consistency is key in overcoming procrastination. Don't forget to regularly track your progress and celebrate successes. It is exceedingly essential to acknowledge and celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small they may seem! You are not in the same place you were last year and that in itself is a success to be celebrated. 

What’s one task you’ve been putting off? Drop it in the comments, and let’s tackle procrastination together!