5 Reasons You Procrastinate And How to Change It

 

Let’s face it: Almost everyone falls prey to procrastination at some point. For some of us, it’s a regular habit. For others, it’s a pesky behavior that shows up when we’re tired, unmotivated, or burned out.

Procrastination can take many forms, and it can stem from all sorts of underlying causes. In my experience, the best way to overcome procrastination is to confront its source.

Here are a few reasons you might be procrastinating.

#1. Perfectionism

You’ve probably heard this one before. It’s one of the most common causes of procrastination.

Seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? If you want something done perfectly, why wait to start it? Why put it off until the last second, when you no longer have time to ensure that it turns out the way you want?

Well, it makes more sense than you might think. If you have this grand idea of what a project should be, you might be a little nervous to start it. What if it doesn’t turn out the way you imagined? What if you make a mistake and have to start over? What if you try your best and it still isn’t what you want it to be? What if you start at the wrong time, in the wrong head-space, and it screws everything up?

Being a perfectionist doesn’t necessarily mean that you do everything perfectly. It just means that you have a “perfect” ideal of how you want something to go, and if that ideal is intimidating, it might deter you from even starting.

So how do you overcome it? You have to accept that it might not be perfect. There are a couple ways to do this.

If the project is something like a book, remember that the first draft is meant to be bad. The first draft is where you spit out everything you have in your head, accept where it lands, and plan to organize it in the next draft. You aren’t going to reach perfection if you don’t start somewhere.

If the project is an intimidating assignment for a class, I like to get out of my head by reminding myself that bad is better than nothing. If I turn in a project and get 50%, that’s still infinitely better than the 0% I’d get for not turning it in. Will I still fail the assignment? Sure. But my cumulative grade will fare much better in the long run.

This doesn’t mean that I try to do a bad job. It just means that when I’m overwhelmed by the standards I’ve set for myself, it can be helpful to embrace imperfection.

Trying is better than not trying. Anything worth doing is worth being bad at, even if only for a little bit.

#2. You’re Struggling to Find Motivation

This is another reason you might be putting that task off. You just don’t feel motivated to do it. There’s not enough dopamine associated with the idea of having it done, so you prioritize other things.

The problem with this, of course, is that motivation is hardly ever consistent. Having motivation is a great feeling, sure. It can be energizing. It can get you excited to do something. It can carry you through a project.

But if you rely solely on motivation, you’re bound to get stuck. Sooner or later, your motivation will reach a low, and you’ll be left wondering where to go.

This is where discipline comes in. Discipline is the thing that keeps you going even when your motivation is running out. It’s what keeps you driving even when the road looks the same for miles on end. It outlasts spur-of-the-moment inspiration.

But it doesn’t come naturally. I’ve had to work a lot to develop self-discipline, and there are still many places I know I can grow. It doesn’t happen overnight.

The best way (in my experience) to foster discipline is to remember where your motivation comes from. Why are you doing something? Is it because of the reward at the end of the road? Is it because of the skills you’ll gain from the process? Are you doing it for something or someone?

That way, even when you don’t feel motivated, you can remember why you’re doing something. You can tell yourself to keep going, even when you don’t feel like it. Does it feel pointless sometimes? Maybe. But remember how determined you were when it didn’t feel pointless? Remember how set you were on achieving your goals?

Don’t come to a stop just because you don’t feel like moving forward right now. It’s easier said than done, I know.

But it will get easier.

#3. Temporal Discounting

This is another big one. You’ve heard of immediate and delayed gratification. Temporal discounting is kind of like the bridge that connects those two.

When gratification (say, a reward) is delayed, our minds tend to discount it. Sure, getting handed a twenty dollar bill sometime next month sounds nice, but not nearly as nice as getting that money right now. In fact, we might even choose twenty dollars now over forty dollars later.

A reward seems to lose its value when you know you have to wait for it.

Of course, different people have different levels of discounting. Higher levels are associated with impulsivity and impatience. Lower levels are associated with an ability to set and maintain long-term goals.

Unfortunately, just like the previous reason, this isn’t something that goes away overnight. It’s something that definitely can be improved, but it takes time and intention.

For a shorter-term solution to this, I like to give myself little “checkpoints” throughout a project. Once I reach one, I get a small reward. This might mean a short break to watch an episode of my favorite show, or it might mean a physical reward, like a little toy or snack.

Yes, sometimes you have to treat your brain like a child who needs to know that their work is appreciated. Sometimes you have to set smaller goals with rewards along the way.

For a longer-term (yes, I see the irony) solution, start working on your impulsive decision-making. Allow yourself to slow down. Consider the possible pros and cons of a certain decision, and catch yourself when you notice that you’re discounting a delayed reward/consequence.

#4. Executive Dysfunction

This one goes hand-in-hand with perfectionism all too often.

Executive functioning refers to a variety of personal skills, such as planning, goal-setting, self-control, and maintaining focus. Executive dysfunction refers to a deficit in one or more of these skills, whether temporary or ongoing.

Executive dysfunction is a characteristic trait of many common neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ADHD, ASD, and ID. This does not mean that everyone who experiences executive dysfunction is neurodivergent, but there is certainly some correlation.

Again, this isn’t something that goes away overnight, and it often stems from an even deeper underlying cause (such as perfectionism). Still, there are ways to mitigate its effects.

My favorite strategy is the two-minute rule. On days when my attention is all over the place, sitting down to work on a project feels far too demanding. This especially applies if I don’t know how long a project will take, and therefore don’t know how much time I’ll have to dedicate to it.

The two minute rule is simple: Just work on something for two minutes. If you find yourself wanting to work longer, then keep going. But you only have to work on it for two minutes. Once the time is up, you can go back to whatever you were doing before.

For me, the hardest part is getting started. Even taking two minutes to orient myself and figure out what I need to do can be extremely helpful.

Take it two minutes at a time. Some progress is better than no progress.

#5. Perceived Lack of Control

This is the other big one. If you feel like you’re not in control of the outcome, it can feel pointless to even try. What happens if you pour your heart and soul into something and it still doesn’t pan out?

The key to overcoming this is something I’ve talked about before. My therapist calls it radical acceptance. We have to acknowledge the things that are out of our control and focus on the things that we do have some control over. We have to accept what we cannot change in order to discover the things we can.

There is always something you can control, even if it’s small.

One of the most common causes of a perceived lack of control is being unsure where to even start. If the steps aren’t laid out in front of you, how do you know your hard work even means anything? The road ahead can be blurry.

So what can you control?

You can ask for help. If it’s an assignment, ask your teacher for clarification. If it’s a book, read about the writing process of different authors. If it’s a goal centered around personal development, listen to the people who have been where you are now.

There are always things to learn.

Find something you have control over, and embrace the possibility of the outcome not going exactly as you want it to.

Concluding Thoughts

If you’re struggling with procrastination, I hope this article was of some help to you. I’d love to hear your own strategies for overcoming procrastination in the comments.

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