How To Stop Procrastinating: 4 Secrets From Research

Procrastination. The bane of productivity, the thief of time, the reason why you’re currently reading this instead of doing that thing we both know you need to do.

In the world of procrastination, time ceases to exist in its linear form. Hours stretch like taffy in a carnival booth, and you find yourself doing things you never knew you had an interest in. Suddenly, you develop an intense interest in organizing your spice rack. Did you know paprika comes in four different varieties? You do now.

And before you know it, that deadline is breathing down your neck like a creepy guy on the bus.

If it makes you feel any better, you’re not alone. Studies estimate that 15% to 25% of adults habitually procrastinate. And according to some very serious researchers who actually did their jobs on time, the average person wastes four hours a day procrastinating at work. Four. That’s not even procrastination anymore; that’s a part-time job.

And I’m no exception either. If procrastination were an Olympic sport, I’d be standing on the podium, wearing the gold medal, humming the national anthem of Avoidistan.

One of the most common excuses we make is, “I work better under pressure.” Uh, nope. The research says the exact opposite. And procrastination doesn’t lead to good things. According to a survey of 22,000 people, chronic procrastinators have lower incomes and are more likely to be unemployed.

So how do we exorcise this demon? People treat procrastination like it’s some mythical force of nature, like gravity or Nicolas Cage’s acting career — inescapable, relentless, and just keeps getting worse. But there are scientific answers that can help us…

Fuschia Sirois is a professor of psychology at Durham University and her book is “Procrastination: What It Is, Why It’s a Problem, and What You Can Do About It.”

Let’s get to it…

 

Why Do We Procrastinate?

The research shows procrastination is not about time management. Procrastination is about mood management.

You’re not avoiding a task — you’re avoiding how that task makes you feel, which is usually a mix of dread, failure, and the haunting suspicion that you’ve been playing a long con on adulthood and are about to be found out.

“Procrastination is a form of self-regulation failure that involves prioritizing short-term mood repair over the long-term pursuit of intended actions.”

Simply put, when a task makes us feel bad, we put it off thinking we’ll feel better in the future. We know this because when researchers do studies where people don’t think there is any way to improve their mood, guess what? They don’t procrastinate.

(To learn the nuclear answer to ending procrastination, click here.)

Okay, nice to know. But what can we do about it?

 

Set The Stage And Break It Down

First thing you need to do is clear the decks. No distractions. Put your phone in the other room. One minute you’re checking a single notification, and the next, you’re three years deep into your ex’s Instagram feed, contemplating how they could possibly afford that new home.

Next you want to reduce ambiguity. Procrastination is allergic to clarity. It thrives in the murky waters of undefined goals. Your brain sees a massive mountain of doom, and immediately, it’s like, “You know what sounds good? Nothing. Let’s do that instead.” When the task is as vague as a horoscope prediction it seems scary. If we just make the steps clear, if we de-ambiguify (totally a word) the whole thing, the procrastination demons will retreat. Make the required actions concrete. Specific. Tackleable (again, totally a word).

Now break the task into chunks. Turn this huge, scary thing into a series of stupid little actions that are so easy, you’d be embarrassed to procrastinate on them. The real genius of chunking is that it tricks your brain into getting started, which is the hardest part.

And don’t focus on the outcome; focus on the process. Research shows this reduces procrastination. Keep thinking about what’s next, not the end goal. One exercise study showed that on days when people focused on the process of their workouts, they actually found the whole thing less difficult and more pleasant. They enjoyed the workout more because they weren’t obsessing about whether or not they’d be able to squeeze into skinny jeans by Christmas. They were just doing it.

(To learn the 6 secrets from neuroscience that will increase your attention span, click here.)

This advice is all pretty straightforward — but a little mechanical. You still might not be feeling it. And, as we saw, procrastination is all about feelings. So we gotta go deeper. We’re gonna talk to someone. Don’t worry, you know them well. Because that person is you…

 

Have A Chat With “Future You”

This is the vicious cycle of procrastination: Present You screwing over Future You, who then becomes Present You, and the wheel of misery keeps spinning. Meanwhile, Future You, with dark circles under their eyes and a noticeable twitch, is stuck in a time loop, screaming, “WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!?”

You’re well aware of this on some level but we all have trouble relating to our future selves. And that’s what neuroscience researchers found: when you ask people to think about their future self, their brains reacted like they were thinking about a stranger. There’s an emotional gap between Present You and Future You that’s so wide you’d think they were two people who broke up years ago and now avoid eye contact at parties.

The more you see your future self as some alien life form, the more likely you are to procrastinate. If your mental image of Future You is as distant and unfamiliar as your high school gym teacher, guess what? You’re going to leave all the hard work to that stranger.

But if you start seeing Future You as the same poor soul who has to live with the consequences of your inability to do anything beyond comparing the Wikipedia pages of various serial killers, you might actually get something done.

So here’s the trick: write a letter to Future You.

Yeah, I know. It sounds like one of those self-care things people suggest when they’ve run out of actual ideas. You might be thinking, “Why would I write a letter to Future Me? I barely write thank-you notes to relatives, and they give me actual gifts.”

But science backs this crazy strategy up, so we have to take it seriously. (Thanks, science. You’ve once again come along to ruin our excuses for doing absolutely nothing.)

Here’s the secret sauce: Future You is going to write back. And they’re not going to be nice. Future You has some strong opinions about Present You’s inability to get things done on time.

Basically, you’re creating a dialogue with yourself. Present You is confronted with the reality that Future You is not a miracle worker. Future You is tired, over-caffeinated, and filled with the kind of seething rage that only comes from having to fix problems someone else (also you) created.

And this is the point where you start feeling bad for Future You. They didn’t ask for this. You dump all your garbage on them. You’re shocked they haven’t filed a restraining order yet.

And these feelings can get you motivated. Studies show this exercise was very helpful in not only getting students to complete academic work but also to engage in long term career planning.

(To learn the best way to get big projects done, click here.)

Not up for a conversation with Future You? Fair enough. Then we’re going to need to dig really deep…

 

Find Meaning

Imagine being handed a task that makes your inner child want to crawl into a corner and rock back and forth. This project doesn’t just fail to light your fire; it actively extinguishes any sparks of enthusiasm you might have had. Studies show when we don’t find tasks meaningful, we’re a lot more likely to put them off.

So we need to create some meaning. Ask yourself, “Why is this task important to complete? What will achieving this goal will mean to me?” When we’re already humming along, focusing on process is key. But when you’re trying to start a cold engine, a little bit of thinking on outcome can get us going…

Aaaaaaand finding meaning might be an utter waste of time.

Let’s not kid ourselves. We all have tasks that aren’t the least bit meaningful and we need to do them anyway. In that case, you want to “tether.”

Next time you’re faced with a task so awful that you’d rather set fire to your to-do list than actually complete it, remember: you can bribe yourself out of this mess. Find something else that you do enjoy doing and tether it to your goal.

Love listening to audiobooks but hate exercise? Okay, you only get to listen to audiobooks at the gym. It’s like tricking a dog into taking its medicine by hiding it in peanut butter.

Or get a fun workout buddy. That person who, when they say “We need to talk,” you drop everything because you know the conversation’s going to be juicier than a Real Housewives reunion. You see, now your workout isn’t a workout; it’s a live podcast about the tragic demise of Sandra’s third marriage and how Ted from accounting probably has a second family. Suddenly, you’re an exercise machine, powered by pure, unadulterated schadenfreude.

(To learn the six things the most productive people do every day, click here.)

Okay, time to round it all up – and we’ll learn what to do after you procrastinate and need to get back on the wagon…

 

Sum Up

Here’s how to stop procrastinating…

• Why Do We Procrastinate?: Why, instead of doing that important assignment, do you end up taking an online quiz to figure out which Golden Girl you are? Procrastination is not about time management; it’s about mood management.
• Set The Stage And Break It Down: When the task is vague and overwhelming, that dark, brooding shadow in the corner of your brain starts whispering, “You know what would be fun? Literally anything else.” So clear the distractions, reduce ambiguity and break the work down into manageable chunks.
• Have A Chat With Future You: Present You is a time-traveling jerk who keeps dumping your problems on Future You. So have a conversation with Future You. Realize you’re the same person. And stop treating yourself so badly.
• Find Meaning: Ask yourself why what you’re doing is important. Watching “10 Times Pigeons Did Something Hilarious” really doesn’t beat the long-term satisfaction of not living in a cardboard box because you missed every deadline ever. Sound too hard? Okay, bribe yourself by tethering something fun to the awful task.

You know the drill: you procrastinate, feel like a total failure, mentally beat yourself up for not being the productivity guru you swore you’d become this week, and then… guess what?

You procrastinate even more. Because nothing says “motivation” like turning your brain into a hostile work environment.

Next time you procrastinate, forgive yourself. Procrastination is about mood management, right? Well, research shows those who practiced self-forgiveness reduced their negative mood and that reduced procrastination.

Shift from a retribution mindset to a restitution mindset. Because when you stop beating yourself up, your brain chills out. It’s like, “Oh, cool, we’re not going to spend three hours hating ourselves? Guess I’ll get back to work.” It’s like hitting the emotional reset button.

Now, let’s not kid ourselves. It won’t be perfect. You will absolutely have days where you fall off the wagon and find yourself Googling “What happened to the guy from that show I watched 15 years ago?” instead of doing your taxes. And that’s fine. This is where self-forgiveness comes in. No guilt spiral. You just try again. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was your ability to stop pretending that “later” is a viable strategy.

Do something nice for you today.

Future You, that is.