Getting to the bottom of Procrastination
I’ve been thinking about procrastination lately. Why do I do it? I know it doesn’t serve me, yet I still fall into it — sometimes without even noticing, and then I find I’m backed into a corner.
Have you ever paused to observe how your procrastination sits in your mind? What’s its presence like for you? What feelings are attached to it? What are the stories that spiral in your mind — both the justification for why the procrastination activity is a useful thing to do right now, and why it’s also a really good idea not to do the thing you know you ought to? What’s the damage of the messages you tell yourself when you give in to procrastination?
When we look at the reasons we’re kicking the can down the road on a particular task, there are often plenty of legitimate ones: I don’t feel confident to do it; I don’t want to look silly, awkward, or stupid; I might get hurt; I don’t want to hurt the other person; the weather isn’t great.
A lot of the time, our actions are a result of how much we feel like doing something. And when we look a little deeper, we notice that the feelings around that thing we’re pushing back on are pretty uncomfortable — while the alternative is more appealing, or at least known. Let’s use a simple example: the couch is more comfortable, so I’ll empty the trash later.
Our minds are wired for comfort.
It’s normal to choose the procrastination option because it often involves a quick dopamine hit — a little burst of pleasure in the moment. This is preferable to the discomfort of what’s ahead, even if that task would have a greater long-term impact.
For me, it’s cleaning and tidying — a hit of neuro-chemicals that feel great in the moment, even though it means avoiding what really matters. Other common procrastination activities include food, screens, exercise, or playing with the dog — all connected with feel-good hormones. But what long-term benefit is being missed by avoiding the more important task?
It’s not until the discomfort of avoidance becomes so great that it outweighs the short-term pleasure of procrastination: the trash is smelly, so I have to empty it now. We know that once it’s done, the room will be more pleasant — the effort becomes worth it. Beneath this is a deeper truth: we prefer a clean, fresh home (a value), so the action aligns with that value.
There are philosophies that highlight this idea:
Act irrespective of how you feel about it.
Motivation springs from action.
Don’t wait to act — act in accordance with your values.
(Drawn from Japanese concepts like Gaman and Shokunin Kishitsu, and Stoic thinkers such as Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus.)
So what does this mean for those real and difficult tasks we keep stalling on — the ones that affect our health and wellbeing, like addressing damaging eating patterns, having a difficult conversation, or starting an exercise habit?
I invite you to try a different approach to your procrastination:
Notice you’re procrastinating. Identify the temporary feel-good of the activity. Take a few breaths to separate yourself from the dopamine drive.
Check in with what’s really important. What big impact will this difficult task have on your life? What are your values that mean this thing actually matters?
Remember: action precedes motivation. Make a start by breaking the task into smaller parts and crossing them off a list. Your brain registers a “job done” and sends a small dopamine reward, which builds motivation — you start to feel like doing more.
For the really big and scary tasks, call on 20 seconds of courage. You don’t have to be brave all the time — just for 20 seconds, long enough to get started. By then, you’ll often find it’s not as bad as you thought. Fear drops, focus rises, and momentum takes over.
And that’s okay — procrastination is part of being human. When action really matters, act despite how you feel about it.
Taking action, despite resistance, tells your brain “I’ve got this.” It begins a neural feedback loop that builds motivation and momentum.