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Weekly Theme #7: Procrastination

  • Jan 18
  • 3 min read

Procrastination: What is it?


Procrastination is the act of voluntarily putting off tasks even when knowing the negative consequences. It’s behavior that prioritizes short-term comfort over long-term goals. Procrastination would categorize as a maladaptive coping mechanism.


Procrastination often feels good from the immediate gratification releasing dopamine and giving a short-term reward. However, this temporary fix ends up making the problem larger, leading to more stress, guilt, and anxiety.


  • Passive Procrastinators delay the task from lack of decision and action

  • Active Procrastinators delay the task purposefully to motivate and challenge themselves by working under pressure


Causes

  • Perfectionism

  • Lack of passion for a task

  • Feeling overwhelmed

  • Disconnected from future self and consequences

  • Fear of change

  • Desire to work under pressure

  • Lack of motivation

  • Instant gratification

  • Pessimism and bias

  • Disorders such as OCD, ADHD, or depression


Impact

Procrastination, especially when it becomes habitual, becomes deteriorating to one’s mental, social, professional, and physical health. Some examples include:


  • Increased stress, anxiety, and shame

  • Delayed care and poor habits

  • Missed opportunities and lower academic performance

  • Fostered resentment and reduces trust with others


Habitual procrastination strengthens neural pathways associated with avoidance and weakens pathways for discipline, making it easier and easier to fall into.



Psychological Theories of Procrastination


The Emotion-regulation Theory states that people procrastinate to cope with negative feelings. By avoidance, they get a temporary perception of relief and postpone the negative emotion. The theory sees procrastination as an act of short-term mood over long-term achievement and well-being.


The Temporal Motivation Theory states that people procrastinate due to low motivation. Here, your brain makes the rational calculation that motivation increases the more someone values the outcome and more they expect to achieve it while it decreases when the delay between effort and outcome is larger and the person is more sensitive to that delay.



Neuroscience of Procrastination


Procrastination is not just lack of productivity. It involves complex parts of your brain such as emotions, habits, and cognitive processes. Here, it is a clash between the limbic system and prefrontal cortex.


The limbic system drives emotions while the prefrontal cortex processes them. When the limbic system is faced with an unpleasant task, it uses fear signals from the amygdala and neurotransmitters like dopamine to avoid the discomfort and fuel it with instant gratification.

The prefrontal cortex helps make decisions, planning, and controls impulses. This part prioritizes long-term goals over temporary pleasure. When you procrastinate, the PCF struggles to override the emotional pushes of the limbic system. This would lead to something called temporal discounting; the human tendency to value immediate rewards over future benefits.



5 Small Steps to Stop Procrastinating


  • Recognize and stop the spiral when it occurs: It’s important to be aware of your behavior when you procrastinate, so you can identify when it starts

  • 2-minute rule: If a task takes 2 minutes or less, do it right away. This way, you can gain the momentum to break out of the cycle.

  • Practice self-compassion: Stop yourself when you start to label yourself a procrastinator. Let yourself be consistent, not perfect.

  • Work before you feel ready: Don’t wait for motivation, act first and the motivation will start once you do.

  • Understand the ‘why’: Have a strong reason for why you do the task. Make sure you have a vision of how it’ll affect you in the future, and the benefits you gain from it. Remember what you are doing this for.




References

Cherry, K. (2024, July 7). What is procrastination? Verywell Mind; Kendra Cherry. https://www.verywellmind.com/the-psychology-of-procrastination-2795944

Shatz, I. (2025). Procrastination Theories: The Psychological Frameworks for Explaining Procrastination – Solving Procrastination. Solving Procrastination. https://solvingprocrastination.com/procrastination-theories/

insightspsychology. (2024, November 29). The Brain Science Behind Procrastination. Insights Psychology. https://insightspsychology.org/the-neuroscience-of-procrastination/

Shatz, I. (2019). Why people procrastinate: The psychology and causes of procrastination – Solving Procrastination. Solving Procrastination. https://solvingprocrastination.com/why-people-procrastinate/

Forbes Coaches Council. (2018, March 22). Council Post: 10 Ways To Beat Procrastination And Get Things Done. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/03/22/10-ways-to-beat-procrastination-and-get-things-done/

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