The Truth About Chronic Procrastination
What's the point of doing today when I can put offâŚforever?
It may seem like an irrational question - after all, who wants to live with unfinished tasks constantly hanging over them? But the truth is that most of us have fallen prey to the quick-fix mindset that procrastination seems to offer at some point in our lives.
According to Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago and author of Still Procrastinating: The No Regret Guide to Getting It Done, around 20% of U.S. adults are chronic procrastinators.
But here's the catch â ď¸
Procrastination is far from a harmless habit. It manifests as a vicious cycle, constantly sabotaging your best intentions and hindering your progress. Researchers define chronic procrastination as a "form of self-regulation failure characterized by the irrational delay of tasks despite potentially negative consequences."
Chronic procrastination is not just a preference for delayed action: It's a pattern that can harm us both personally and professionally.
My Perspective on Chronic Procrastination
For most of my life, I was a chronic procrastinator. As early as sixth grade, I remember waiting until the last minute to start a project and pulling a near-all-nighter to get it done, setting myself up for years of frantic, stressful work around deadlines throughout college and law school.
I was driven and ambitious - so why in the world couldnât I kick this habit?
The problem may have been that I always performed well on whatever project or paper I had to complete, so I began to tell myself that I performed better under pressure.
Heart racing, mind razor-focused as if held at gunpoint by merciless 8:00 am submission deadlines, I came to believe that this was how I accomplished my best work. It seemed, at the time, that any effect this way of working might have on my mental or physical health was worth it.
But that belief, which now seems so obviously flawed, was not sustainable. Yes, these beliefs had gotten me all the way on the treadmill, from Ivy League university to top 5 law school, to a prestigious law firm in Manhattan.
However, despite the fact that I had achieved the "prize" in many ways, my life as a chronic procrastinator was far from rewarding; sleepless nights, skyrocketing cortisol, constant anxiety, waking up in the morning with dread and panic, and fuelling late night work sessions with sugar and coffee.
I was caught in a cycle of toxic productivity and felt there was no way out.
I was fortunate, however, to have been exposed to another way of life through my travels and early exposure to spirituality, despite living in a world that valued and encouraged these unhealthy habits. It just felt wrong in my body and soul to accept that after all the work and ascension, what would follow was just more of the same. Those 10 years my senior did not seem happy or content, and it seemed absurd to work towards that at the expense of my health and happiness.
It became clear that if I didnât do some serious work to change these old unhealthy patterns, there would be no end. It was the summer of 2008 when I had a major turning point after being assigned a massive caseload that required a summer of struggle in a Baltimore basement. Cue flying papers, tears, and a dramatic quitting of my job to shocked bosses (stay tuned for that story in another article).
It wasnât just the idea of the work or the hours that brought everything to an end. The real issue lay in the fact that this system rewarded my do-it-till-you-drop approach.
When I tried to approach my work with more balance and from a foundation, I was chastised for not grinding hard enough, not posturing enough ambition, and not signalling that I would do whatever it took to get the job done.
Nonetheless, all of that messaging pushed me into habitual burnout and chronic procrastination, because when I was burnt out, all I could do was put things off. As long as I was still billing hours, that would count as opposed to taking time off to rest and approach with a fresh perspective. In the end, a turning point for me was realizing that if I wanted to build a more sustainable, honest, and solid foundation, I needed to fundamentally change my approach to work.
So Why Do We Put Off Things We Really Want to Do?
The first step to overcoming chronic procrastination is to figure out why you do it. The trouble is, getting on top of your shi*t is not just a matter of building time management skills or self-control. Instead of asking ourselves tough questions to discover why we chronically procrastinate, we berate ourselves for not having more discipline, self-control, or focus. Talk about a depressing self-pep talk!
Pouring energy into negative self-talk not only wastes time. It damages self-confidence, drains energy, sows self-doubt, and closes down the reflection process on the various reasons we might not be getting things in a more timely, stress-free way.
For this reason, it is absolutely critical to view the various reasons we might self-sabotage through a lens of self-compassion. Healthy habits rarely thrive on negative feedback in the long run, even if your inner critic is just trying to help you stop procrastinating.
Procrastination can be caused by a variety of reasons, including resistance to setting deadlines or black-and-white thinking about success. The only way to overcome chronic procrastination is to dig deeper and understand the root cause.
So letâs dive in.
Causes of Chronic Procrastination
1. Discomfort with Uncertainty
It is probably the most obvious reason why we procrastinate - but knowing or admitting it won't make the uncertainty any less daunting. After all, putting something out there without worrying about the outcome in this world of judgment, comments, and social media is hard.
The fear of how our actions will be received can paralyze us, leading to delayed action and a perpetuation of our procrastination habits. When developing a project, we fear the possibility of negative judgment, criticism, or rejection. The anticipation of potential failure or the unknown outcomes can create a sense of anxiety and hesitation. It's hard to get started or finish tasks when you're afraid of the unknown.
When we canât deal with uncertainty, procrastination becomes a self-protective mechanism to prevent disappointment. However, by succumbing to this fear, we inadvertently reinforce our procrastination tendencies, further hindering our progress and growth.
2. Setting Unreasonable Expectations
Before you complete a task or product, you can still imagine all the possibilities of what it could be ⨠And that feeling can be intoxicating! Think of it as the honeymoon phase of your relationship with this new goal. Itâs the feeling that you get in early January after setting your New Years resolutions, but before getting down to work on them.
And if you find yourself struggling to actually, you know, start? It might be that you the real limits of what you can accomplish in a single day have become a barrier between you and just getting started. For some, itâs more attractive to stay in the âanything is possibleâ space than confront the reality that you canât usually do it all at once.
Rather than focusing on the process and taking the steps to move forward, we become fixated on the end result. This fixation can paralyze us, preventing us from putting our ideas into action. Over time, this pattern of setting unrealistic expectations and hesitating to begin can reinforce our procrastination habits, making it even harder to break free from the cycle.
By recognizing the importance of embracing imperfection and embracing the iterative nature of progress, we can overcome the barrier of unreasonable expectations.
Overcome procrastination triggered by high expectations by taking small steps, allowing for gradual improvement, and acknowledging that first drafts are rarely perfect.
3. Overlooking the Importance of Personal Motivation
In other words: Do you really want to do this?
This might be the most low-hanging fruit in terms of battling chronic procrastination. Why do you force yourself to do things you actually donât want to do when they donât return greater value than the effort invested? This may sound obvious, but itâs surprising how often we blame our bad habits for preventing us from doing something without taking some time to ask - is this even something I want to do?
Take your behavior as a cue: Sometimes, we donât do the damn thing because we just donât want to!
And maybe the issue is that we want to want to do it and spend precious energy struggling to convince ourselves rather than listening. If weâre honest with ourselves, the task may not be truly motivating or inspiring to us.
For example, maybe youâre supposed to follow up with someone you met at a networking event, or maybe you are supposed to finish the outline of an ebook that you know would be good to write for your business. While those are both good goals, sometimes the issue isnât just that we are scared to start or worried about what will happen.
I confronted this when I was 75% done with an e-book I had written about preschools while going through the hilarious and sometimes ridiculous process of submitting preschool applications for my oldest daughter. Though it was nearly finished, the last leg would require a lot of work that my heart was no longer in. I love putting systems and processes in place and enjoyed documenting the research and educational component of it.
I had to confront the fact that despite having already been fully committed to the project, it actually made more sense to walk away and focus on something I wanted to actually complete rather than consistently putting off finishing something I was no longer interested in pursuing.
There are times when we want to make ourselves do things that aren't really in line with what we want, and it's okay to admit that - and walk away. By saying yes to commitments that align with our purpose and desire and declining those that don't, we are less likely to procrastinate. In any case, asking yourself the question and being honest about your answers is an important practice.
Hence, before you dive into any new project, take that extra step of reflection to ensure that you are saying yes out of genuine interest.
Are you saying yes to a social event because you actually believe it will be fun, fulfilling, and add value, or because you are afraid of upsetting someone?
Are you saying yes to a project because you think it will be rude to say no?
Are you actually interested in pursuing it?
Is the time required worth the reward?
4. Waiting (and WaitingâŚand Waiting) for Personal Motivation
Often, we find ourselves waiting for personal motivation before engaging in activities that are objectively good for us but may not always be appealing in the moment. However, it's important to recognize that for these types of activities, we shouldn't rely solely on our feelings of motivation before following through. In fact, the positive feelings often come after we have taken action and experienced the benefits đ
Think about eating healthy, whole foods, exercising daily, drinking plenty of water, or asking for help when you need it. Regardless of whether we feel motivated or not, these are actions we know are good for us. Waiting for the perfect mood to strike may result in continuous procrastination and hinder our progress towards a healthier lifestyle.
Whenever I find myself putting off these definitely-good-for-me activities "because I just don't feel like it," I usually try reflecting on why I value them. Focusing on the positive aspects about activities like working out or eating healthy reinforces my commitment to them. This way, I can approach how to tackle the tasks with more clarity and intentionality by moving around my other commitments or prioritizing self-care.
5. Clinging to Perfectionism as a Coping Mechanism
One of my favorite authors and social science researchers, Brene Brown, says that people think of perfectionism as a shield that will protect them against failure:
So the next time you feel bogged down by procrastination and unable to start something, think about this 20-ton shield. With that visual, it becomes much clearer why perfectionism makes it so hard to begin.
Pursuing perfectionism and procrastination can often be two sides of the same coin. Because we are so worried about the final outcome being perfect, we are even more compelled to run away from starting a task, an outline, an article, or a difficult phone call.
One of the core beliefs Iâve worked hard at implementing is that done is better than perfect. This is a lifelong practice! No matter how successful, we all fall prey to the lure of perfection every time we put ourselves or our work out there. Giving yourself grace and compassion in this pursuit is critical because it is difficult and requires consistent effort.
This brings us to the next, and possibly most important, component of procrastination and productivity that few people talk about when espousing all those attractive tricks and hacks to boost it: your feelings.
6. Consistently Avoiding Difficult Emotions
Dr. Tim Pychyl is a professor of psychology and member of the Procrastination Research Group at Carleton University in Ottawa.
I thought this was a brilliant way of recharacterizing procrastination, which most people believe is an issue of poorly managing our time. And when we only focus on the time aspect of it, we think itâs simply that we donât allocate enough time to do the things we want, and thatâs why we stay up until the last minute to get things done. Despite the prevalence of productivity hacks that focus on how to get more work done, they wonât help if we donât address the root cause of procrastination.
Dr. Fuschia Sirois, professor of psychology at the University of Sheffield, said: âPeople engage in this irrational cycle of chronic procrastination because of an inability to manage negative moods around a task.â
When we talk about productivity devoid of our feelings, emotions, and stories, we take away the humanness of what it is we are doing - and why weâre doing it in the first place.
We arenât robots, so our value or productivity should never be measured exclusively by charts, spreadsheets, and Kanban flows. What ultimately makes us able to tackle difficult tasks and avoid chronic procrastination is how well we can manage our feelings daily.
Productivity+ is first and foremost informed by how inspired, motivated, happy, clear, and energized you feel. So to truly combat chronic procrastination, we need to become better at managing our mood.
So before we tell ourselves to practice more self-control or be more focused, we need to reconnect with where our fears are coming from and address underlying mental health concerns, not just our habits.
Many anxiety disorders and mental health conditions can hide under the guise of the more harmless issue of putting things off until the last minute. I wrote this article to help anyone who struggles with completing tasks in a stress-free way, but if you're feeling overwhelmed, you should seek professional help from a licensed mental health counselor.
7. Planning Around Time Instead of Energy
Another blind spot in evaluating our tendency towards procrastination is coming at it from a strategic time management perspective instead of an energy management issue. While it is widely believed that time is our most valuable resource, the truth is that personal energy is even more limited than time, and plays a significant role in our ability to take action in a given day.
While we all have the same 24 hours in a day, within that timeframe, the average person only has around 8-10 hours of active "doing" time. These are the hours where we are most productive and engaged in tasks. However, the quality and effectiveness of this active time can vary greatly depending on several factors, including our thoughts and feelings, stress levels, the items on our to-do list, and our overall well-being on any given day.
Recognizing that our energy levels fluctuate throughout the day allows us to optimize our productivity. We may find that certain tasks require more mental focus and clarity, which are best tackled during periods of high energy and concentration. On the other hand, tasks that require less mental effort or are more repetitive can be scheduled during periods of lower energy.
Ways to Overcome Chronic Procrastination
1. Create a Positive Feedback Loop
If you find yourself in a chronic procrastination spiral, take the first step by giving your brain a few quick dopamine hits to kickstart your productivity. There are tons of easy tasks you can do that don't require a lot of effort to complete.
It may seem like taking an easy way out. Still, when trying to tackle more difficult tasks, there is absolutely nothing wrong with giving yourself a boost to help you get down to work. I find it helpful in signaling that even when I am feeling down or low, I got these simple tasks done, and I should feel proud of myself. It helps me get out of the negative loop where I am criticizing myself for not doing more.
Another way is to create a shallow barrier to enter the task at hand. This might be committing to sit with something for just 5 minutes rather than setting a completion goal as your first point of contact with the task.
And a new method I have been trying recently - because, yes, even someone who created an organizational and productivity system can fall prey to procrastination! - is the 5-second rule. The quote comes from personal growth author and speaker Mel Robbins, and it has nothing to do with stray snacks. But it costs nothing to see if you can use it to short-circuit some of that wiring keeping you from getting things moving. Every little bit counts.
2. Remember That We Donât Rise to our Habits; We Fall to the Level of Our Systems
One of my favorite books on creating new habits that you can actually stick to is Atomic Habits by James Clear. It provides judgment-free guidelines for creating new habits. The most important guideline from Atomic Habits is that white-knuckling your way into willpower is NOT the way to make long-lasting, positive changes. Instead, create systems that will help support the new type of person you want to be with doable, bite-sized action steps. Some ideas for how to create a system that is actually manageable:
Time blocking: set 15-minute increments to do the work.
Accountability: create a support system and environment/network by telling people what new goals or habits you are trying to accomplish.
Daily Prioritization: Be extremely clear about the most important thing you must do daily. And stop overestimating or overdoing what you think you can or should get done in a single day.
3. First Thing, Worst Thing
In a podcast I listen to weekly, Glennon Doyleâs We Can Do Hard Things, she relayed this as a family strategy to tackle âhardâ things you need to do each day. I thought it was great, and Iâve been trying to implement it into my daily practice.
As she describes it, the âworstâ thing you donât want to get done or confront on your list just sits there staring at you menacingly and becomes a larger and larger monster as the day goes on.
Rather than pushing it off, try getting started on it early so that it doesn't create a larger roadblock to the rest of your day.
Struggling with Chronic Procrastination? Donât Worry -Help is Here
It is scary to put yourself out there. Itâs natural and normal to have fear when sending your work out into the world. In perspective though, it's even scarier to let that fear stop you from creating the future you want.
In creating Simplish, my husband Anish and I designed a tool to support our own approach to getting things done stress-free. Our mission with Simplish is to support anyone who struggles to overcome procrastination and address the fear-based thinking behind it that holds us back from the life we want.
We have learned over the years that nothing is more valuable than time. Why waste it worrying about the elusive goal of perfection and putting things off that actually matter?