Understanding the Psychology of Procrastination

"This is going to be hard.” “This is going to be complicated.” “This is going to be a lot of work.” These used to be some of my go-to thoughts about anything new, especially anything new at work. Notice the future tense. My brain decided things were going to be hard before I even tried them, started them, or began to plan for them. So what? Why was that a problem for me that something might be hard? Because if things were hard, I might not be good at them. I might be less than perfect. (THE. HORROR.) Plus, let’s get real. Your brain’s job isn’t to make you happy and feel good. Its job is to keep you alive. A huge part of that involves trying to conserve energy - i.e., not doing anything at all that doesn’t contribute to your survival, much less anything that is hard or challenging. For me, those thoughts - “this is going to be hard” and its variants - lead to feelings like dread, overwhelm, and anxiety. And you know what those feelings lead to? Avoidance. Procrastination. Spinning my wheels. Over-thinking. Failing to plan. Catastrophizing. Finding additional evidence of how hard it is going to be or how much work it is going to be so that I didn’t have to do the thing. In a nutshell, because of that thought, I MADE THINGS HARDER ON MYSELF. And I set myself up for inevitable failure (or at least for not doing my best work) - the one thing I was trying to avoid. If this sounds familiar for you, give these questions a try: “How could this be easy?” “How could this be easier?” “What if this were simple?” “What is easy about this?” “What do I already know?” “What information am I missing that would make this easier?” “What’s one step I know I need to take?” Don’t allow yourself to say “I don’t know.” Once you present your brain with one or more of these questions and require it to come up with an answer, things will start to shift. Even if just a little bit. Instead of looking for evidence proving why the thing is hard, your brain will start to look for evidence of how it could be less hard - maybe even easy. It will start coming up with a plan. And “This is going to be hard” starts to become “this is manageable.” “This is manageable” might even start to become “This is easy.” At least in part. Maybe there are still parts that aren’t easy. But the whole thing doesn’t have to feel so hard. Think about that thing you are dreading doing. That you are avoiding. What if it were easy? How could it be easy? 

“I’ll workout after I clean the garage… and check my email… and maybe scroll LinkedIn for inspiration (ahem).” We laugh, but here’s the truth: Procrastination isn’t laziness. It’s a self-protection mechanism. You feel overwhelmed, under-motivated, or anxious about the outcome… so your brain (low on dopamine) whispers, “Let’s do something easier.” That’s how you end up doing laundry instead of lifting, researching fonts instead of writing, or shopping online instead of starting that course you swore you’d finish. It’s called temporal discounting ... choosing a short-term mood boost (like snacks, scrolling, or cleaning) over long-term progress (like submitting the proposal or hitting the gym). And it’s supercharged when stress, perfectionism, and unhelpful beliefs collide. Let’s break this down: 🔹 Low dopamine = low motivation Chronic stress depletes dopamine. And the lower your dopamine, the harder it is to do things that don’t offer instant reward (like writing that book or prepping for a meeting). 🔹 Negative thoughts trigger avoidance Thoughts like “I’ll mess this up,” “I’m not ready,” or “It needs to be perfect” don’t just discourage you, they drain you. Your brain goes: threat detected → avoid to protect. 🔹 Quick fixes become habits Every time you bail on the hard thing for the quick thing, your brain gets a little dopamine hit. The cycle reinforces itself: discomfort → distraction → relief → guilt → repeat. So what can you do? 🟢 Recognize the pattern. It’s not just about willpower. It’s about emotional regulation. You’re not avoiding the task, you’re avoiding the FEELING you associate with the task. 🟢 Challenge the thoughts. Instead of “I need to be in the right headspace,” try “I’ll just do 5 minutes.” Instead of “I can’t ask for help,” try “I’m not meant to do this alone.” 🟢 Start before you’re ready. You don’t need motivation to begin. Action CREATES motivation. (Not the other way around!) Progress... not perfection... is the antidote. Because here’s the thing most people miss: You’re not procrastinating because you don’t care. You’re procrastinating because you DO… and you’re scared you won’t get it right. Let that land. ------ Follow me (Jon Macaskill) for leadership insights, wellness tools, and strategies to rewire the way you think, work, and live. And yeah… if you know someone stuck in the “I’ll do it later” loop — send this their way or repost. 📩 Subscribe to my newsletter here → https://lnkd.in/g9ZFxDJG You’ll get FREE access to my 21-Day Mindfulness & Meditation Course — full of tools to help you break the cycle and lead with clarity and calm.

Today, a few words on procrastination. It’s not what most people think. It doesn’t boil down to lying on a couch and watching YouTube. It is much more sneaky, mischievous, and hard to notice. I guess you know these people who seem always busy with work and yet, never really achieve anything, professionally. Procrastination likes to disguise itself as self-development. It happens when you persuade yourself that you are acting on behalf of your professional development while in fact, you are just avoiding acting, for instance by: 💡 1. Discussing your career decisions with your friends and family members over and over again even though you already took the final decision. 💡2. Taking dozens of (online) courses “to focus on education” or "just in case" instead of finally applying for a job and learning on the job. 💡3. Going to tons of conferences and professional events without any plan and just hoping that your “abundance mindset” will trigger the universe and something constructive will happen. 💡4. Completing the unimportant tasks (e.g., answering non-urgent emails) before the important tasks to avoid the responsibility and the associated stress. 💡5. Choosing group tasks or making favours for others before completing your individual tasks — as working alone is simply harder and requires more self-discipline. 💡6. Choosing small tasks before big tasks so that you can cross more items from your toi-do list and feel more accomplished. 💡7. Grinding in your current career while it is obvious that it won’t ever lead you to your dream job, instead of taking risks and trying something else. 💡8. Spending time in the same group of friends despite the fact that over the years you grew and they didn’t. 💡9*. If you have your own business: working on perfectioning your product forever, without ever trying to sell it. How do I know all that? Because I used to be a master procrastinator myself. Only after I became a bootstrapper, I learned how to spot and combat procrastination. Otherwise, I would simply not survive. Yes, we are all procrastinators to some extent. That’s how our brains are made. But hey, don’t cheat on yourself! 🔥 Do you know other misleading ways to procrastinate? Share with me! 👉 Do you have a problem with procrastination? Please also take a look at my article dedicated to this problem — please find the link in the comments below #Procrastination #ProfessionalDevelopment #Productivity

❓When was the last time you had a big important deadline and were surprisingly unmotivated to start working on it? 🥱Instead you find yourself scrolling social media or playing video games for so long you have to pull an all-nighter go get your big important thing completed on time. 🤨Then you convince yourself that you “work better under pressure”. Maybe. ❌Did you have time to error-proof your work? ❌Did you cascade an emergency to your team and cause 1, 5, or 25 people to drop what they were doing to come to your rescue? 💡Behind procrastination is often a fear of failure or a fear of the perceived discomfort of completing the task. Here are 5 strategies to help you handle the fears that are holding you back. 1️⃣Think about the fearful activity and simply breathe. Your body is unable to maintain a fear reaction in the long term. Think about the activity that makes you uncomfortable and focus on taking long, deep breaths. Notice how you start to feel better. 2️⃣Make a list of the ways that fear is holding you back. If some part of your life is in complete turmoil, it’s likely that you made poor decisions in the past. How did fear affect your decision-making abilities at that time? 3️⃣Remember the times you were fearful and still made a good choice. You’ve likely had times where you felt fear but managed to take the appropriate course of action anyway. Remind yourself of those times and remember how strong you can be. 4️⃣Practice dealing with discomfort. Take a situation that you find mildly uncomfortable. Force yourself to deal with small doses of the discomfort, and increase the level of exposure over time. 5️⃣Realize that discomfort and fear are frequently good things. If you’re not doing anything that makes you uncomfortable, your life is likely to stay the same. It’s only when you push your comfort level that new things can begin to happen. ⏩Fear is the most common cause of procrastination. Learn to work through fear and gain the ability to make positive choices. You’ll boost your self-esteem and enjoy a happier life. Learn to embrace discomfort as a positive sign that your life is about to change for the better. #innovation #entrepreneurship #engineering #leadership #management

8 sneaky reasons you procrastinate and how to beat them: Procrastination isn’t about laziness—it’s about emotions and habits. Here’s why you delay (we’ve all been there) and simple fixes that actually work. 1. The Perfectionist: “If it’s not perfect, why bother?” ↳ Why you procrastinate: Fear of falling short keeps you stuck. ↳ The fix: Allow yourself to create a messy first draft. Progress beats perfection. 2. The Overthinker: “What’s the best way to do this? Let me think about it more…” ↳ Why you procrastinate: You’re stuck analyzing every option, so nothing gets done. ↳ The fix: Set a timer for 20 minutes to decide. Then act. You can always tweak later. 3. The People-Pleaser: “Sure, I’ll do it!” (But now you’re drowning.) ↳ Why you procrastinate: You say yes to others, leaving no time for yourself. ↳ The fix: Practice saying, “I can’t take this on right now.” Protect your priorities. 4. The Avoider: “What if I fail?” ↳ Why you procrastinate: Big tasks feel overwhelming, so you avoid them. ↳ The fix: Break it into micro-tasks. Start with one small, easy step. 5. The Busy Bee: “I’ll get to it… once I finish these 10 small things.” ↳ Why you procrastinate: You fill your day with busywork to avoid the big tasks. ↳ The fix: “Eat the frog” first—tackle the hardest task when your energy is fresh. 6. The Dreamer: “This idea is amazing… I’ll do it eventually.” ↳ Why you procrastinate: You love planning but struggle with execution. ↳ The fix: Turn your dream into actionable steps with deadlines. Big ideas need structure. 7. The Distracted One: “What was I doing again? Oh, right…” ↳ Why you procrastinate: Interruptions and endless scrolling keep pulling you off track. ↳ The fix: Block distractions and work in short, focused sprints with timers. 8. The Burned-Out Procrastinator: “I just can’t deal with this right now.” ↳ Why you procrastinate: You’re exhausted or overwhelmed, so everything feels impossible. ↳ The fix: Rest first. Then pick a small, manageable task to regain momentum. — Procrastination isn’t failure—it’s a signal. Once you know why you procrastinate, you can shift your approach and move forward. — ♻️ Repost it to help others grow. ➕ Follow me, Misha Rubin, for actionable career and life insights.

Ever notice how "productivity hacks" never actually solve procrastination? You try: • $19.99/month app that'll "change everything" • $60 planners with motivational quotes you'll ignore • 5AM routines you'll quit by Wednesday • Pomodoro timers (because working in 25-minute chunks is totally natural) Yet here you are. Still putting things off. I struggled with this for years. Here's the truth - courtesy of Jill Avey: You don't have a time management problem. You have an emotional regulation problem. Think about it: You force yourself to be disciplined (hello burnout) You start strong but fade by afternoon (surprise, surprise) You find "solutions" that only work for a day (as advertised) The real problem? It's deeper than your to-do list. Instead of downloading another productivity app, try the FAD method: F - Fear: "What am I really afraid of?" A - Aid: "What support do I need?" D - Delay: "What's making me hesitate?" Because let's be honest: Sometimes it's fear of failure Sometimes it's perfectionism Sometimes we just need additional support The next time you're procrastinating, stop looking at your calendar. Look inside instead. Because productivity isn't about managing time. It's about understanding yourself. What's your biggest procrastination trigger? Drop it below. ♻️ Repost to help someone stuck in the productivity app loop, and do give my good friend Jill a follow, for daily leadership insights that actually work.

What if the real reason you’re procrastinating isn’t laziness—but emotion? Not all procrastination is bad. In fact, positive procrastination can be useful—like when you schedule a task for a time when you can really focus. But negative procrastination? That’s the silent thief of productivity. It’s when you’ve scheduled the task—or know it needs to happen—but keep pushing it off. Why does this happen? Usually, it’s emotion-driven rather than "being lazy." Fear. Discomfort. Resistance to change. Your brain is trying to protect you, but sometimes, that protection becomes a barrier. Here are three strategies I use to overcome it: 1. Ignore the emotion right before the task. It’s rarely accurate. Just start, even if you don’t feel like it. 2. Commit to just the first minute. Open the file. Draft the email. Start with something so easy it feels silly. It works. 3. Write down your “why.” Remind yourself why this task matters. It gives the effort a sense of purpose. Consistency with these small actions builds momentum—and that momentum beats procrastination every time. What’s one task you’ve been avoiding that you could take the first minute on today? #productivity #focus #success #davecrenshaw

Overcoming procrastination doesn’t require brute force. Know your “why” instead. You've probably heard this phrase in regard to maintaining momentum, but that doesn't help if procrastination has you at a full stop. Let's consider another angle. Why are you procrastinating? As an ophthalmologist, I knew a red eye wasn't just a red eye. There could be dozens of conditions underlying the symptom, so I couldn't make a treatment plan until I knew why my patient's eye was red. This also holds true for procrastination. We don't always procrastinate for the same reason. Are you avoiding a task because… *the required social effort feels exhausting? *you fear failure? *over-analysis and lack of a plan are paralyzing you? *you’re getting easily distracted? *you’re juggling too many priorities? Procrastination might be the symptom, but knowing how to fix it requires digging deeper and identifying the cause. Start by acknowledging what's driving your procrastination, then you can more easily determine what's needed to get the ball rolling. It might be… *devising an escape plan for a social obligation, *finding ways to minimize risk, or *creating a structure for decision-making.  You may be surprised at how taking care of your underlying needs decreases your tendency to procrastinate. Know your "why" to procrastinate less and get more done. Photo Credit: Shubhy/ Unsplash