prevent homework procrastination

Daniel Wong

30 Tips to Stop Procrastinating and Find Motivation to Do Homework

Updated on June 6, 2023 By Daniel Wong 44 Comments

To stop procrastinating on homework, you need to find motivation to do the homework in the first place.

But first, you have to overcome feeling too overwhelmed to even start.

You know what it feels like when everything hits you at once, right?

You have three tests to study for and a math assignment due tomorrow.

And you’ve got a history report due the day after.

You tell yourself to get down to work. But with so much to do, you feel overwhelmed.

So you procrastinate.

You check your social media feed, watch a few videos, and get yourself a drink. But you know that none of this is bringing you closer to getting the work done.

Does this sound familiar?

Don’t worry – you are not alone. Procrastination is a problem that everyone faces, but there are ways around it.

By following the tips in this article, you’ll be able to overcome procrastination and consistently find the motivation to do the homework .

So read on to discover 30 powerful tips to help you stop procrastinating on your homework.

Enter your email below to download a PDF summary of this article. The PDF contains all the tips found here, plus  3 exclusive bonus tips that you’ll only find in the PDF.

How to stop procrastinating and motivate yourself to do your homework.

Procrastination when it comes to homework isn’t just an issue of laziness or a lack of motivation .

The following tips will help you to first address the root cause of your procrastination and then implement strategies to keep your motivation levels high.

1. Take a quiz to see how much you procrastinate.

The first step to changing your behavior is to become more self-aware.

How often do you procrastinate? What kinds of tasks do you tend to put off? Is procrastination a small or big problem for you?

To answer these questions, I suggest that you take this online quiz designed by Psychology Today .

2. Figure out why you’re procrastinating.

Procrastination is a complex issue that involves multiple factors.

Stop thinking of excuses for not doing your homework , and figure out what’s keeping you from getting started.

Are you procrastinating because:

• You’re not sure you’ll be able to solve all the homework problems?
• You’re subconsciously rebelling against your teachers or parents?
• You’re not interested in the subject or topic?
• You’re physically or mentally tired?
• You’re waiting for the perfect time to start?
• You don’t know where to start?

Once you’ve identified exactly why you’re procrastinating, you can pick out the tips in this article that will get to the root of the problem.

3. Write down what you’re procrastinating on.

Students tend to procrastinate when they’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

But you might be surprised to discover that simply by writing down the specific tasks you’re putting off, the situation will feel more manageable.

It’s a quick solution, and it makes a real difference.

Give it a try and you’ll be less likely to procrastinate.

4. Put your homework on your desk.

Here’s an even simpler idea.

Many times, the hardest part of getting your homework done is getting started.

It doesn’t require a lot of willpower to take out your homework and put it on your desk.

But once it’s sitting there in front of you, you’ll be much closer to actually getting down to work.

5. Break down the task into smaller steps.

This one trick will make any task seem more manageable.

For example, if you have a history report to write, you could break it down into the following steps:

• Read the history textbook
• Do online research
• Organize the information
• Create an outline
• Write the introduction
• Write the body paragraphs
• Write the conclusion
• Edit and proofread the report

Focus on just one step at a time. This way, you won’t need to motivate yourself to write the whole report at one go.

This is an important technique to use if you want to study smart and get more done .

6. Create a detailed timeline with specific deadlines.

As a follow-up to Point #5, you can further combat procrastination by creating a timeline with specific deadlines.

Using the same example above, I’ve added deadlines to each of the steps:

• Jan 30 th : Read the history textbook
• Feb 2 nd : Do online research
• Feb 3 rd : Organize the information
• Feb 5 th : Create an outline
• Feb 8 th : Write the introduction
• Feb 12 th : Write the body paragraphs
• Feb 14 th : Write the conclusion
• Feb 16 th : Edit and proofread the report

Assigning specific dates creates a sense of urgency, which makes it more likely that you’ll keep to the deadlines.

7. Spend time with people who are focused and hardworking.

Jim Rohn famously said that you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

If you hang out with people who are motivated and hardworking, you’ll become more like them.

Likewise, if you hang out with people who continually procrastinate, you’ll become more like them too.

Motivation to do homework naturally increases when you surround yourself with the right people.

So choose your friends wisely. Find homework buddies who will influence you positively to become a straight-A student who leads a balanced life.

That doesn’t mean you can’t have any fun! It just means that you and your friends know when it’s time to get down to work and when it’s time to enjoy yourselves.

8. Tell at least two or three people about the tasks you plan to complete.

When you tell others about the tasks you intend to finish, you’ll be more likely to follow through with your plans.

This is called “accountability,” and it kicks in because you want to be seen as someone who keeps your word.

So if you know about this principle, why not use it to your advantage?

You could even ask a friend to be your accountability buddy. At the beginning of each day, you could text each other what you plan to work on that day.

Then at the end of the day, you could check in with each other to see if things went according to plan.

9. Change your environment .

Maybe it’s your environment that’s making you feel sluggish.

When you’re doing your homework, is your super-comfortable bed just two steps away? Or is your distracting computer within easy reach?

If your environment is part of your procrastination problem, then change it.

Sometimes all you need is a simple change of scenery. Bring your work to the dining room table and get it done there. Or head to a nearby café to complete your report.

10. Talk to people who have overcome their procrastination problem.

If you have friends who consistently win the battle with procrastination, learn from their experience.

What was the turning point for them? What tips and strategies do they use? What keeps them motivated?

Find all this out, and then apply the information to your own situation.

11. Decide on a reward to give yourself after you complete your task.

“Planned” rewards are a great way to motivate yourself to do your homework.

The reward doesn’t have to be something huge.

For instance, you might decide that after you finish 10 questions of your math homework, you get to watch your favorite TV show.

Or you might decide that after reading one chapter of your history textbook, you get to spend 10 minutes on Facebook.

By giving yourself a reward, you’ll feel more motivated to get through the task at hand.

12. Decide on a consequence you’ll impose on yourself if you don’t meet the deadline.

It’s important that you decide on what the consequence will be before you start working toward your goal.

As an example, you could tell your younger brother that you’ll give him $1 for every deadline you don’t meet (see Point #6).

Or you could decide that you’ll delete one game from your phone for every late homework submission.

Those consequences would probably be painful enough to help you get down to work, right?

13. Visualize success.

Take 30 seconds and imagine how you’ll feel when you finish your work.

What positive emotions will you experience?

Will you feel a sense of satisfaction from getting all your work done?

Will you relish the extra time on your hands when you get your homework done fast and ahead of time?

This simple exercise of visualizing success may be enough to inspire you to start doing your assignment.

14. Visualize the process it will take to achieve that success.

Even more important than visualizing the outcome is visualizing the process it will take to achieve that outcome.

Research shows that focusing on the process is critical to success. If you’re procrastinating on a task, take a few moments to think about what you’ll need to do to complete it.

Visualize the following:

• What resources you’ll need
• Who you can turn to for help
• How long the task will take
• Where you’ll work on the task
• The joy you’ll experience as you make progress

This kind of visualization is like practice for your mind.

Once you understand what’s necessary to achieve your goal, you’ll find that it’s much easier to get down to work with real focus. This is key to doing well in school .

15. Write down why you want to complete the task.

You’ll be more motivated when you’re clear about why you want to accomplish something.

To motivate yourself to do your homework, think about all the ways in which it’s a meaningful task.

So take a couple of minutes to write down the reasons. Here are some possible ones:

• Learn useful information
• Master the topic
• Enjoy a sense of accomplishment when you’ve completed the task
• Become a more focused student
• Learn to embrace challenges
• Fulfill your responsibility as a student
• Get a good grade on the assignment

16. Write down the negative feelings you’ll have if you don’t complete the task.

If you don’t complete the assignment, you might feel disappointed or discouraged. You might even feel as if you’ve let your parents or your teacher – or even yourself – down.

It isn’t wise to dwell on these negative emotions for too long. But by imagining how you’ll feel if you don’t finish the task, you’ll realize how important it is that you get to work.

17. Do the hardest task first.

Most students will choose to do the easiest task first, rather than the hardest one. But this approach isn’t effective because it leaves the worst for last.

It’s more difficult to find motivation to do homework in less enjoyable subjects.

As Brian Tracy says , “Eat that frog!” By this, he means that you should always get your most difficult task out of the way at the beginning of the day.

If math is your least favorite subject, force yourself to complete your math homework first.

After doing so, you’ll feel a surge of motivation from knowing it’s finished. And you won’t procrastinate on your other homework because it will seem easier in comparison.

(On a separate note, check out these tips on how to get better at math if you’re struggling.)

18. Set a timer when doing your homework.

I recommend that you use a stopwatch for every homework session. (If you prefer, you could also use this online stopwatch or the Tomato Timer .)

Start the timer at the beginning of the session, and work in 30- to 45-minute blocks.

Using a timer creates a sense of urgency, which will help you fight off your urge to procrastinate.

When you know you only have to work for a short session, it will be easier to find motivation to complete your homework.

Tell yourself that you need to work hard until the timer goes off, and then you can take a break. (And then be sure to take that break!)

19. Eliminate distractions.

Here are some suggestions on how you can do this:

• Delete all the games and social media apps on your phone
• Turn off all notifications on your phone
• Mute your group chats
• Archive your inactive chats
• Turn off your phone, or put it on airplane mode
• Put your phone at least 10 feet away from you
• Turn off the Internet access on your computer
• Use an app like Freedom to restrict your Internet usage
• Put any other distractions (like food, magazines and books unrelated to your homework) at the other end of the room
• Unplug the TV
• Use earplugs if your surroundings are noisy

20. At the start of each day, write down the two to three Most Important Tasks (MITs) you want to accomplish.

This will enable you to prioritize your tasks. As Josh Kaufman explains , a Most Important Task (MIT) is a critical task that will help you to get significant results down the road.

Not all tasks are equally important. That’s why it’s vital that you identify your MITs, so that you can complete those as early in the day as possible.

What do you most need to get done today? That’s an MIT.

Get to work on it, then feel the satisfaction that comes from knowing it’s out of the way.

21. Focus on progress instead of perfection.

Perfectionism can destroy your motivation to do homework and keep you from starting important assignments.

Some students procrastinate because they’re waiting for the perfect time to start.

Others do so because they want to get their homework done perfectly. But they know this isn’t really possible – so they put off even getting started.

What’s the solution?

To focus on progress instead of perfection.

There’s never a perfect time for anything. Nor will you ever be able to complete your homework perfectly. But you can do your best, and that’s enough.

So concentrate on learning and improving, and turn this into a habit that you implement whenever you study .

22. Get organized.

Procrastination is common among students who are disorganized.

When you can’t remember which assignment is due when or which tests you have coming up, you’ll naturally feel confused. You’ll experience school- and test-related stress .

This, in turn, will lead to procrastination.

That’s why it’s crucial that you get organized. Here are some tips for doing this:

• Don’t rely on your memory ; write everything down
• Keep a to-do list
• Use a student planner
• Use a calendar and take note of important dates like exams, project due dates, school holidays , birthdays, and family events
• At the end of each day, plan for the following day
• Use one binder or folder for each subject or course
• Do weekly filing of your loose papers, notes, and old homework
• Throw away all the papers and notes you no longer need

23. Stop saying “I have to” and start saying “I choose to.”

When you say things like “I have to write my essay” or “I have to finish my science assignment,” you’ll probably feel annoyed. You might be tempted to complain about your teachers or your school .

What’s the alternative?

To use the phrase “I choose to.”

The truth is, you don’t “have” to do anything.

You can choose not to write your essay; you’ll just run the risk of failing the class.

You can choose not to do your science assignment; you’ll just need to deal with your angry teacher.

When you say “I choose to do my homework,” you’ll feel empowered. This means you’ll be more motivated to study and to do what you ought to.

24. Clear your desk once a week.

Clutter can be demotivating. It also causes stress , which is often at the root of procrastination.

Hard to believe? Give it a try and see for yourself.

By clearing your desk, you’ll reduce stress and make your workspace more organized.

So set a recurring appointment to organize your workspace once a week for just 10 minutes. You’ll receive huge benefits in the long run!

25. If a task takes two minutes or less to complete, do it now.

This is a principle from David Allen’s bestselling book, Getting Things Done .

You may notice that you tend to procrastinate when many tasks pile up. The way to prevent this from happening is to take care of the small but important tasks as soon as you have time.

Here are some examples of small two-minute tasks that you should do once you have a chance:

• Replying to your project group member’s email
• Picking up anything on the floor that doesn’t belong there
• Asking your parents to sign a consent form
• Filing a graded assignment
• Making a quick phone call
• Writing a checklist
• Sending a text to schedule a meeting
• Making an online purchase that doesn’t require further research

26. Finish one task before starting on the next.

You aren’t being productive when you switch between working on your literature essay, social studies report, and physics problem set – while also intermittently checking your phone.

Research shows that multitasking is less effective than doing one thing at a time. Multitasking may even damage your brain !

When it comes to overcoming procrastination, it’s better to stick with one task all the way through before starting on the next one.

You’ll get a sense of accomplishment when you finish the first assignment, which will give you a boost of inspiration as you move on to the next one.

27. Build your focus gradually.

You can’t win the battle against procrastination overnight; it takes time. This means that you need to build your focus progressively.

If you can only focus for 10 minutes at once, that’s fine. Start with three sessions of 10 minutes a day. After a week, increase it to three sessions of 15 minutes a day, and so on.

As the weeks go by, you’ll become far more focused than when you first started. And you’ll soon see how great that makes you feel.

28. Before you start work, write down three things you’re thankful for.

Gratitude improves your psychological health and increases your mental strength .

These factors are linked to motivation. The more you practice gratitude, the easier it will be to find motivation to do your homework. As such, it’s less likely that you’ll be a serial procrastinator.

Before you get down to work for the day, write down three things you’re thankful for. These could be simple things like good health, fine weather, or a loving family.

You could even do this in a “gratitude journal,” which you can then look back on whenever you need a shot of fresh appreciation for the good things in your life.

Either way, this short exercise will get you in the right mindset to be productive.

29. Get enough sleep.

For most people, this means getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. And teenagers need 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night to function optimally.

What does sleep have to do with procrastination?

More than you might realize.

It’s almost impossible to feel motivated when you’re tired. And when you’re low on energy, your willpower is depleted too.

That’s why you give in to the temptation of Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube videos more easily when you’re sleep-deprived.

Here are ways to get more sleep , and sleep better too:

• Create a bedtime routine
• Go to sleep at around the same time every night
• Set a daily alarm as a reminder to go to bed
• Exercise regularly (but not within a few hours of bedtime)
• Make your bedroom as dark as possible
• Remove or switch off all electronic devices before bedtime
• Avoid caffeine at least six hours before bedtime
• Use an eye mask and earplugs

30. Schedule appointments with yourself to complete your homework.

These appointments are specific blocks of time reserved for working on a report, assignment, or project. Scheduling appointments is effective because it makes the task more “official,” so you’re more likely to keep the appointment.

For example, you could schedule appointments such as:

• Jan 25 th , 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm: Math assignment
• Jan 27 th , 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm: Online research for social studies project
• Jan 28 th , 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm: Write introduction for English essay

Transform homework procrastination into homework motivation

Procrastination is a problem we all face.

But given that you’ve read all the way to here, I know you’re committed to overcoming this problem.

And now that you’re armed with these tips, you have all the tools you need to become more disciplined and focused .

By the way, please don’t feel as if you need to implement all the tips at once, because that would be too overwhelming.

Instead, I recommend that you focus on just a couple of tips a week, and make gradual progress. No rush!

Over time, you’ll realize that your habit of procrastination has been replaced by the habit of getting things done.

Now’s the time to get started on that process of transformation. 🙂

Like this article? Please share it with your friends.

Images: Student and books , Homework , Group of students , Consequences , Why , Writing a list , Organized desk , Gratitude

January 19, 2016 at 11:53 am

Ur tips are rlly helpful. Thnkyou ! 🙂

January 19, 2016 at 1:43 pm

You’re welcome 🙂

August 29, 2018 at 11:21 am

Thanks very much

February 19, 2019 at 1:38 pm

The funny thing is while I was reading the first few steps of this article I was procrastinating on my homework….

November 12, 2019 at 12:44 pm

same here! but now I actually want to get my stuff done… huh

December 4, 2022 at 11:35 pm

May 30, 2023 at 6:26 am

October 25, 2023 at 11:35 am

fr tho i totally was but now I’m actually going to get started haha

June 6, 2020 at 6:04 am

I love your articles

January 21, 2016 at 7:07 pm

Thanks soo much. It’s almost like you could read my mind- when I felt so overwhelmed with the workload heap I had created for myself by procrastination, I know feel very motivated to tackle it out completely and replace that bad habit with the wonderful tips mentioned here! 🙂

January 21, 2016 at 8:04 pm

I’m glad to help 🙂

January 25, 2016 at 3:09 pm

You have shared great tips here. I especially like the point “Write down why you want to complete the task” because it is helpful to make us more motivated when we are clear about our goals

January 25, 2016 at 4:51 pm

Glad that you found the tips useful, John!

January 29, 2016 at 1:22 am

Thank you very much for your wonderful tips!!! ☺☺☺

January 29, 2016 at 10:41 am

It’s my joy to help, Kabir 🙂

February 3, 2016 at 12:57 pm

Always love your articles. Keep them up 🙂

February 3, 2016 at 1:21 pm

Thanks, Matthew 🙂

February 4, 2016 at 1:40 pm

There are quite a lot of things that you need to do in order to come out with flying colors while studying in a university away from your homeland. Procrastinating on homework is one of the major mistakes committed by students and these tips will help you to avoid them all and make yourself more efficient during your student life.

February 4, 2016 at 1:58 pm

Completely agreed, Leong Siew.

October 5, 2018 at 12:52 am

Wow! thank you very much, I love it .

November 2, 2018 at 10:45 am

You are helping me a lot.. thank you very much….😊

November 6, 2018 at 5:19 pm

I’m procrastinating by reading this

November 29, 2018 at 10:21 am

January 8, 2021 at 3:38 am

March 3, 2019 at 9:12 am

Daniel, your amazing information and advice, has been very useful! Please keep up your excellent work!

April 12, 2019 at 11:12 am

We should stop procrastinating.

September 28, 2019 at 5:19 pm

Thank you so much for the tips:) i’ve been procrastinating since i started high schools and my grades were really bad “F” but the tips have made me a straight A student again.

January 23, 2020 at 7:43 pm

Thanks for the tips, Daniel! They’re really useful! 😁

April 10, 2020 at 2:15 pm

I have always stood first in my class. But procrastination has always been a very bad habit of mine which is why I lost marks for late submission .As an excuse for finding motivation for studying I would spend hours on the phone and I would eventually procrastinate. So I tried your tips and tricks today and they really worked.i am so glad and thankful for your help. 🇮🇳Love from India🇮🇳

April 15, 2020 at 11:16 am

Well I’m gonna give this a shot it looks and sounds very helpful thank you guys I really needed this

April 16, 2020 at 9:48 pm

Daniel, your amazing information and advice, has been very useful! keep up your excellent work! May you give more useful content to us.

May 6, 2020 at 5:03 pm

nice article thanks for your sharing.

May 20, 2020 at 4:49 am

Thank you so much this helped me so much but I was wondering about like what if you just like being lazy and stuff and don’t feel like doing anything and you don’t want to tell anyone because you might annoy them and you just don’t want to add your problems and put another burden on theirs

July 12, 2020 at 1:55 am

I’ve read many short procrastination tip articles and always thought they were stupid or overlooking the actual problem. ‘do this and this’ or that and that, and I sit there thinking I CAN’T. This article had some nice original tips that I actually followed and really did make me feel a bit better. Cheers, diving into what will probably be a 3 hour case study.

August 22, 2020 at 10:14 pm

Nicely explain each tips and those are practical thanks for sharing. Dr.Achyut More

November 11, 2020 at 12:34 pm

Thanks a lot! It was very helpful!

November 15, 2020 at 9:11 am

I keep catching myself procrastinating today. I started reading this yesterday, but then I realized I was procrastinating, so I stopped to finish it today. Thank you for all the great tips.

November 30, 2020 at 5:15 pm

Woow this is so great. Thanks so much Daniel

December 3, 2020 at 3:13 am

These tips were very helpful!

December 18, 2020 at 11:54 am

Procrastination is a major problem of mine, and this, this is very helpful. It is very motivational, now I think I can complete my work.

December 28, 2020 at 2:44 pm

Daniel Wong: When you’re doing your homework, is your super-comfortable bed just two steps away? Me: Nope, my super-comfortable bed is one step away. (But I seriously can’t study anywhere else. If I go to the dining table, my mum would be right in front of me talking loudly on the phone with colleagues and other rooms is an absolute no. My mum doesn’t allow me to go outside. Please give me some suggestions. )

September 19, 2022 at 12:14 pm

I would try and find some noise cancelling headphones to play some classical music or get some earbuds to ignore you mum lol

March 1, 2021 at 5:46 pm

Thank you very much. I highly appreciate it.

May 12, 2023 at 3:38 am

This is great advice. My little niece is now six years old and I like to use those nice cheap child friendly workbooks with her. This is done in order to help her to learn things completely on her own. I however prefer to test her on her own knowledge however. After a rather quick demonstration in the lesson I then tend to give her two simple questions to start off with. And it works a treat. Seriously. I love it. She loves it. The exam questions are for her to answer on her own on a notepad. If she can, she will receive a gold medal and a box of sweets. If not she only gets a plastic toy. We do this all the time to help her understand. Once a week we spend up to thirty minutes in a math lesson on this technique for recalling the basic facts. I have had a lot of great success with this new age technique. So I’m going to carry on with it for now.

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More From Forbes

You're not lazy; you're scared: how to finally stop procrastinating.

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Be honest: Do you struggle in getting things started (or completed)? Do you tell yourself, “I’ll get to it,” yet find yourself binge-watching an entire season of  Bridgeton  instead?

You're not alone.

According to  Psychology Today , procrastination is a common human tendency. For the occasional offender, finding the willpower to buckle down and power through is usually enough to boost productivity and focus on accomplishing the task at hand.

But while everyone may procrastinate, not everyone is a procrastinator, says  Joseph Ferrari , a psychology professor at DePaul University, leading researcher on the subject, and author of  Still Procrastinating: The No Regrets Guide to Getting It Done.  Ferrari says we all put tasks off, but his research has found that 20 percent of U.S. men and women are chronic procrastinators.

“It really has nothing to do with  time management ,” he says. “As I tell people, to tell the chronic procrastinator to 'just do it' would be like saying to a clinically depressed person, ‘cheer up.’”

Psychologists have discovered that procrastination isn’t a time management thing but instead a coping mechanism. When we procrastinate, we’re avoiding an unpleasant task and doing something else that gives us a temporary mood boost.  Timothy Pychyl , a professor who studies procrastination at Carleton University in Ottawa, calls this avoidance behavior “giving in to feel good.”

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But the shame and guilt of not doing what we should be doing can make us procrastinate even further, creating a vicious, self-defeating cycle. And what makes procrastination so harmful is that the tasks don't go away. Eventually, you’re left with the tasks to complete, the negative emotions again, plus the added stress of a time constraint.

Like Ferrari, Pychyl agrees that procrastination isn’t a time management problem. “It’s about really dealing with our feelings. Emotional regulation, to me, is the real story around procrastination because to the extent that I can deal with my emotions, I can stay on task,” says Pychyl.

So what’s a chronic procrastinator to do? The next time you don’t feel like doing something, try these three tips:

Acknowledge why you’ve been avoiding it

You’re not lazy; you're scared. When we procrastinate, we’re avoiding the unpleasant feelings that accompany the task at hand. Procrastination is rooted in fear—of failure, of success, or of not being perfect—and fear is a powerful emotion. We feel anxiety when we’re pushed to do things that make us uncomfortable, so naturally, we avoid them at all costs. But when we try to get rid of the negative feelings by, say, scrolling our social media feeds, it’s only a temporary fix. By facing your emotions, you can begin to manage them.

Forgive yourself for procrastinating

Pychyl and others found that people prone to procrastination are, overall, less compassionate toward themselves. One of the most effective things that procrastinators can do is to forgive themselves for procrastinating. In a  study , students who reported forgiving themselves for procrastinating on studying for a first exam ended up procrastinating less for a second exam.

Researchers say employing self-compassion works because procrastination is linked to negative feelings. When you forgive yourself, you’ll reduce the guilt you feel about procrastinating, eliminating one of the primary triggers for procrastinating.

Just get started

Pychyl says that most of us mistakenly believe that “our emotional state has to match the task at hand.” But the truth is that you’ll rarely feel like it, nor does it matter.

He recommends ignoring how you feel and focusing instead on what the next action should be. “Rather than telling yourself, ‘just do it,’ which can be overwhelming,” says Pychyl, “say, ‘just get started.’”

Pychyl suggests breaking down tasks into easily accomplished steps. Even completing a relatively small action will help you make progress and feel better about the task. This increases your self-esteem, which in turn reduces the desire to procrastinate to make yourself feel better, he says. Plus, this simple swap shifts your attention from your emotions to action so you can finally finish what you started.

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How to Overcome Procrastination for Improved Mental Health

Procrastination is one of those things that even the most well-organized and punctual fall victim to at some point or another. Think about the last time you found yourself watching television when you really should have been doing homework. While common, procrastination can have a detrimental impact on your life, including your grades.

So what can students and other people do to overcome procrastination and avoid the stress, anxiety and poor performance that stems from completing assignments at the last second?

Researchers suggest that developing a schedule, carefully planning academic tasks, and improving time-management skills are all effective ways to cope with procrastination.

Deal with Your Fear

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Fear is one factor that contributes to procrastination. This can involve a fear of failure, a fear of making mistakes, or even a fear of success.

Psychologist Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Psychology Today contributor and author of The Search for Fulfillment , suggests that challenging your faulty beliefs is important.  

If you are afraid of success because you secretly believe that you don't deserve it, it is important to realize that your self-handicapping might be keeping you from achieving your goals. By addressing the fear that is keeping you from getting started, you can begin to overcome your procrastination habit.

Make a List

Carina König / EyeEm / Getty Images 

Start by creating a to-do list with things that you would like to accomplish. If necessary, put a date next to each item if there is a deadline that you need to meet.

Estimate how long each task will take to complete, and then double that number so that you don't fall into the cognitive trap of underestimating how long each project will take.

Break Projects Down Into More Manageable Segments

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When you are faced with a big project, you might feel daunted, intimidated, or even hopeless when you look at the sheer amount of work involved. At this point, take individual items on your list and break them down into a series of steps.

If you need to write a paper for class, what steps do you need to follow? If you are planning a big family event, what are the things you need to do and what supplies do you need to obtain?

Once you have created a list detailing the process you need to go through in order to accomplish the task, you can start working on individual "baby steps."

Recognize the Onset of Procrastination

As you start to tackle items on your list, pay attention to when thoughts of procrastination start to creep into your mind. If you find yourself thinking "I don't feel like doing this now" or "I'll have time to work on this later," then you need to recognize that you are about to procrastinate.

When you feel tempted to procrastinate, don't give in to the urge. Instead, force yourself to spend at least a few minutes working on the task. In many cases, you might find that it is easier to complete once you get started.

Eliminate Distractions

Sturti/Getty Images 

It's hard to get any real work done when you keep turning your attention to what's on television or you keep checking your friends' Facebook status updates.

Assign yourself a period of time during which you turn off all distractions—such as music, television, and social networking sites—and use that time to focus all of your attention on the task at hand.

Reward Yourself

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Once you have completed a task (or even a small portion of a larger task), it is important to reward yourself for your efforts.

Give yourself the opportunity to indulge in something that you find fun and enjoyable, whether it's attending a sporting event, playing a video game, watching your favorite TV show, or looking at pictures on a social sharing site.

Final Thoughts

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Breaking the procrastination habit isn't easy. After all, if it was simple there wouldn't be an estimated 80% to 95% of students engaging in procrastination on a regular basis.   The urge to put things off can be strong, especially when there are so many things around us to provide fun and entertaining distractions.

While procrastination might not be something you can avoid entirely, becoming cognizant of the reasons why you procrastinate and how to overcome those tendencies can help. By implementing these strategies, you might find that it is easier to put your nose to the grindstone and get started on those important tasks.

Grunschel C, Patrzek J, Klingsieck KB, Fries S. "I'll stop procrastinating now!" Fostering specific processes of self-regulated learning to reduce academic procrastination .  J Prev Interv Community . 2018;46(2):143-157. doi:10.1080/10852352.2016.1198166

Häfner A, Oberst V, Stock A.  Avoiding procrastination through time management: an experimental intervention study . Educ Stud . 2014;40(3):352-360. doi:10.1080/03055698.2014.899487

Psychology Today. The Paradox of Procrastination . 2012.

Steel P. The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure .  Psychol Bull. 2007;133(1):65-94. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.65

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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How to Find Your Procrastination Style—and Then Stop Procrastinating for Good

Psychologists and behavior experts share their top strategies for working through pesky procrastination.

What Is Procrastination?

Why we procrastinate, procrastination types, how to stop procrastinating.

Does this sound familiar? You sit down at your desk, ready to knock out a big project for work, only to check your emails, scroll through social media for 10 minutes, watch a video, and respond to a few unanswered text messages. If so, you might be one of the many people who struggle with procrastination. 

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Defined as the act of delaying or putting off tasks until the last minute, or all together, procrastination is normal and in fact, something everyone does to some extent. And it’s not necessarily unhealthy, says Jeff Temple , PhD, licensed psychologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

“Sometimes we just need to put things off for our sanity or to let ideas marinade before we act,” he says. “And we procrastinate for a variety of reasons—some rather benign like you’d rather just be doing something more exciting, and others more nefarious like perfectionism , or fear of success or failure.”

Research has even shown that people tend to prioritize short-term mood over long-term goals, meaning in the moment, you’ll likely put off tasks if it’s easier or more pleasant not to do them, and if they don’t have a quick or satisfying reward. Other research suggests that there are triggers that can make you more adverse to tasks, and the more triggers attached to a task, the more likely you are to procrastinate. The characteristics that make a task procrastination-worthy are: frustrating, difficult, boring, unstructured, ambiguous, not intrinsically rewarding , and lacking in personal meaning. 

Interestingly, not all procrastinators are the same, says Alyssa Mairanz, LMHC, CDBT, founder and executive director of Empower Your Mind Therapy . There are six different types of procrastinators, and figuring out which category (or categories) you fall into can help you overcome your specific challenges.

“Someone can be a mix of them all really, so it’s important to understand not only the types of procrastinators, but how you identify with the underlying reasons of your specific procrastinating,” Mairanz says. 

Procrastinators tend to fall into one or a few of the following categories:

• Perfectionist: has a fear of not doing the task perfectly. They would rather hold off completely if they feel (or fear) they aren’t able to accomplish your work perfectly.
• Dreamer: thinks “big picture” on ideas, but when it comes to actual tasks or work at hand, they have a hard time completing it and focusing on the steps to get there.
• Worrier: has a fear of failure and negative emotions around being successful at the task ahead. Better not to do it at all than do it and fail, or have something go wrong.
• Defier: pushes off tasks because they find it beneath them or feel it’s something they shouldn’t have to work on. Feel frustrated or perhaps resentful at the task under their responsibility.
• Crisis-Maker: needs to feel pressure or stress of a tight deadline to begin and/or accomplish a task. They wait until the last minute because only this will make them motivated to get something done.
• Over-Doer: says “yes” to too many tasks and has trouble prioritizing and accomplishing the tasks, so fails to get them done.

Giving yourself grace and acknowledging that you’re not the only one who puts things off is important. But when procrastination gets out of hand and starts to affect your personal and/or professional life negatively, it’s time to do something about it. There are several helpful ways to break long-held patterns and train yourself to stop procrastinating. Whether you’re looking for small, daily changes or actionable behavior tricks, put these expert tips to good use the next time you’re about to procrastinate.

1. Accept it without judgment.

The first real step to working through procrastination is accepting where you are now and not beating yourself up for it. Once you know and acknowledge that you consistently procrastinate, you’ll be able to deal with it more effectively, and can make a plan and start to implement small strategies to work through those struggles each and every day.

“I just had a conversation with a client recently after going through comprehensive dialectical behavior therapy, who returned to therapy because he finds he severely procrastinates his responsibilities and it’s hard for him to get things done,” says Dr. Mairanz. “I assured him, this is human nature. The best way to navigate it is to just accept that this is occurring and remove the judgment. He can then allow himself a few hours to procrastinate and then focus on what needs to be done.”

2. Reframe your mindset and rephrase your self-talk.

Mindset is everything when it comes to working through any internal struggle, so shift your inner dialogue from negative to positive self-talk. Positive self-talk can help with emotional regulation , and speaking to yourself in ways that remind you of your goals—and not what you haven’t gotten done—can make you more excited about the process. So instead of saying, “I wish I hadn’t put this off,” try, “I will start working on this now.”

And if the task doesn’t have a specific deadline and still gets done at some point, and gets done well, then don’t put undue pressure on yourself to complete it within an unrealistic time frame.

3. Have an accountability buddy.

Having the support of a friend, partner, or colleague can make all the difference when it comes to working towards your goals and not procrastinating. That’s why Mairanz recommends having them check in with you about the status of your work to hold you accountable. Whether it’s daily, weekly, or monthly, when you have someone constantly checking on your progress, you’ll be far more likely to accomplish tasks, and stick to deadlines. 

And if you’re someone who needs an extra incentive to complete a task, have your accountability partner give you a predetermined reward to hold you accountable.

4. Work within your resistance level. 

Large projects and multi-step tasks can be overwhelming. Not knowing where to begin or dreading the amount of work and time they will take, are more than enough to make you avoid them altogether. Instead, think extremely small. 

Try it with time: Find a short window of time that you can easily commit to. If the idea of spending an hour on one task makes you push it off, that’s too much time. Reduce that time until you find a comfortable spot that you’re no longer resistant to—and then commit to it regularly. Sometimes 10 minutes, even just 5 minutes, is all you can say yes to, and that’s a perfectly good starting point.

Or try it with the task steps: Break tasks into the smallest possible, most easily achievable steps. Britt Frank, LSCSW, clinician, educator, and trauma specialist describes in her book Science of Stuck , the concept of breaking tasks down into “micro-yeses”. These are the smallest possible things you can say yes to without triggering your nervous system’s survival responses (a driver of procrastination). A micro-yes is designed to be done today and to keep your nervous system out of survival mode and in a logical and choice-based mode.

There is a misconception that motivation must precede action—but oftentimes action is what leads to motivation. Successfully completing a micro-task, or working within a micro-focus timeframe, will feel good and motivate you to do it again. Humans learn through a rewards-based system, and this can help tap into that.

5. List the potential costs of procrastination. 

Oftentimes people procrastinate because they feel if they can’t commit to completing the task perfectly then they’re a failure. “Perfectionism may be especially taxing—the impossible demands of feeling like you need to be perfect is so daunting that not starting feels like a huge relief,” Temple says.

Instead, try writing a to-do list of what you need to get done and include the specific cost of procrastinating each task, large or small, short- or long-term. Not exercising each day might seem like no big deal, but over time it could have serious consequences to your overall health. Choosing to spend all of your discretionary income each month might feel good in the moment, but not saving for retirement can impact your long-term finances, relationships, and life goals. By seeing what the long-term effects of putting off small to-do’s can help motivate you.

6. Actively eliminate distractions. 

The daily routine of checking emails, calls, text messages, and social media accounts can easily become a self-reinforcing pattern that research has shown can be “pervasive” to your life in more ways than one. It’s also especially difficult to break because these tech-based notifications are literally designed to steal our attention.

When you notice yourself using your device to procrastinate, acknowledge it and then disconnect. “Turn off the TV, put your phone on ‘do not disturb’, and spend time focusing on the task,” Mairanz says. Set a timer and only allow yourself to check emails or take a social media break in that window. If you need an extra layer of reinforcement, try apps like Self Control or Freedom , which allow you to block access to specific sites like social media or streaming channels, and require you to physically restart your computer to regain access to those sites.

7. Work with a professional. 

Sometimes it can feel like you’ve tried everything and you're still stuck. If overcoming procrastination is something that's becoming a severe struggle or issue, it might be time to speak to an expert about executive functioning issues.

“How to stop procrastinating depends largely on what’s driving your tendency to put things off,” Temple says. “If none of these tips works and your procrastination negatively impacts your ability to function, then look to a mental health professional. We can help you work out the root causes, challenge your negative thoughts, and assign homework to get you over this hump.”

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How to Stop Procrastination (10 Tips for Students That Work)

• by Daniel Friedman
• 6 minute read

Waiting until the very last minute to complete your homework? Here are 10 tips for students on how to stop procrastination!

Over 80% of students have a habit of procrastinating. That’s a large chunk of people!

No one ever teaches us how to work on it or what the best practices are to avoid it. It’s time that those questions get answered!

Let’s get started with some basics…

What is Procrastination?

Procrastination is the action of delaying or postponing something,

In other words, you don’t want to do your work when you should be. Homework and studying sucks, I get it.

We’ve all been at a point where we say, “I’ll get it done tomorrow.” Tomorrow comes around and suddenly, you catch yourself saying the same thing.

Let’s take a look at a few reasons to stop now that you know what it means…

Why You Should Stop Procrastinating

If you’re reading this, you probably already want to stop. Pat yourself on the back because you’re on the right track!

Here are a few reasons you should stop procrastinating :

• You’re failing assignments
• You feel stressed out doing things so late
• You want to develop better habits
• You’re afraid you’ll procrastinate your whole life
• You find that procrastination just leads to more problems

If any of these feelings sound familiar to you, then you’re part of a massive pool of students who are also looking to better themselves.

Ready to get this procrastination out of your system? Hang in there, because it’s going to take a bit of effort!

Related Post: How to Get Back on Track in College

How to Stop Procrastination

Here are 10 tips for students who want to stop procrastinating and finish assignments on time…

1) Work on Your Stress

The #1 reason you procrastinate in the first place is because you’re stressed. It may not feel so intense when you’re in the middle of it, but it’s there.

It’s common to procrastinate out of stress that you’re going to fail a task or that the task is going to be too intense for you.

Our brain’s natural response is to keep us out of danger. That’s exactly what your brain is doing when you say “I’ll get it done later”.

Work on relaxing your thoughts and be realistic about what you actually have to get done. I promise it’s not as bad as it seems.

2) Have a Schedule

A goal is just a dream without a plan… and that plan is going to be a schedule.

At first, a schedule may seem daunting. As if you’re obligated to write out every little thing that comes to your head.

Without an organized day, it’s very hard to get anything done efficiently. 

Here’s an easy way to create a schedule :

• Write down your daily plans the night before (include time for homework)
• Create at least 3 things to do
• Categories them by time and priority
• Check things off as you complete them

That’s it! No elaborate plans or extra work.

You can write out your schedule for the next day in less than 5 minutes. Sticky notes are great for this. You can also get a planner and use that for more organization!

3) Set Reminders

Students have it hard enough as it is. That’s why you should take the load off of your mind to remember every little thing.

This is the best tool you can use when learning how to stop procrastination as a student!

Set reminders on your phone to keep you in check throughout your day. Even the smallest of tasks can be set into reminders.

Remind yourself to start studying at a certain hour or even to take breaks in the middle of homework!

Related Post: 10 Time Management Tips for Students

4) Use a Timer

Remember, the ultimate goal here is to reduce your overall stress when completing tasks such as studying and homework.

Using a timer during those tasks can help remind you when to take breaks so that you’re not overwhelmed with work.

There is a specially designed technique to help you work in the most efficient way possible. It’s called the Pomodoro Technique and here’s how it works :

• Work for 25 minutes
• Take a 5 minute break
• Repeat 4 times
• After the 4th cycle, take a longer 30 minute break

It’s quite simple, but WOW does it work!

I highly recommend that you try it the next time you work on a longer assignment and see how it makes you feel.

5) The 2 Minute Rule

If you’ve never heard of the 2-minute rule, here’s what it is…

If it takes less than 2 minutes to complete, do it now!

The more you remember this rule, the more it will start to work on you and take effect into your life.

Here are a few things that take less than 2 minutes to complete :

• Washing a few dishes
• Taking out the trash
• Getting a paper signed
• Writing a short paragraph
• Looking up something on Google
• Getting yourself a glass of water
• Getting dressed

You get the point. Procrastination can seep through all aspects of life; even the small ones mentioned above.

Use this rule until the day you day and you’ll already be WAY less lazy!

6) Create a Routine

Creating a routine is a super healthy way to get your work done on time. You might be wondering… how is this different from creating a schedule?

Well… a routine is a sum of daily habits that you perform throughout the day (no matter what you have to get done).

For example , you can develop a routine where you do your homework at the exact same time everyday. This will mentally rewire you to feel the need to complete it at that time after a while.

You can also work on following a similar pattern while you’re studying or make your schedule for the next day at the same time every night.

Related Post: How to Remember What You Study

7) Work with Friends

Sometimes, all it takes is a little push, and your friends can be that push.

You might all be procrastinators as individuals, but together, you can motivate each other to keep working on your assignments.

You don’t even have to be working on the same thing. Sitting next to someone else while studying is enough to keep you going.

Plus, being around friends will turn study time into an enjoyable experience.

Just make sure you’re doing it with the right friends (aka the ones that won’t make you procrastinate even more).

8) Start Small

It’s important that you divide up tasks into smaller, more digestible pieces to learn how to stop procrastination.

The point is that you start. Otherwise, nothing will ever get done.

Of course it’s hard to feel motivated to get anything done when you don’t care too much about what you’re doing.

However, you have to look at the end goal…

Do you want to graduate with good grades? Are you trying to go to a good college? Do you want to look back and say you could’ve done better in school?

All of these questions can help you find motivation to start with the smallest of tasks (like pulling out your homework).

9) Develop Useful Habits

Along with your daily routine comes your habits.

Your individual habits are what’s going to give you a little push into getting your work done.

Here are a few good habits to develop to stop procrastination :

• Take out your homework right when you get home
• Place it right in front of you at your desk
• Always complete 1 question/page before doing anything else
• Gather necessary tools before you start working

All of these habits can be enough to get you to start. That’s what matters!

Related Post: Daily Routine for Teenage Girls and Teenage Guys

10) Turn Work Into Fun

Once again, reducing that overall stress is the key to stop procrastination.

Here are a few ways to turn work into fun :

• Listen to music
• Reward yourself with a snack when you’ve completed a task
• Make studying a game
• Look forward to something exciting when you finish

Simple things like this will make or break your success when working on your laziness. 

The moment your brain makes the switch from boring to fun, it will also turn procrastination into productivity.

Hopefully these 10 tips have helped you start your journey to becoming more productive and reduce that laziness.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions leave them down below. Thanks for reading!

Daniel Friedman

Hey, I'm Daniel - The owner of Modern Teen! I love sharing everything I've experienced and learned through my teen and college years. I designed this blog to build a community of young adults from all around the world so we can grow together and share our knowledge! Enjoy and Welcome!

The Pomodoro technique works well. It’s like an ultimatum or a self-deal – 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of well-deserved rest. This way you can do even the work you don’t like, which you put off until the last moment. But procrastination as a thing is bad, an indication that there is something in your life that you are not happy with. And you need to rethink your routine and your goals and plans.

Well said Philippa! The only tough part about that is the thing that most students are unhappy with is the work itself. Take care!

i really appreciate these tips, as someone who struggles with procrastination! thank you for doing what you do!

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How to Stop Procrastinating: 5 Tips from a Psychologist

• Tags productivity

If you’ve tried to stop procrastinating but haven’t managed to be successful yet, this guide is for you.

I’m going to walk you step-by-step through 5 of the most effective anti-procrastination strategies I know of.

As a professional psychologist, these are the strategies I use day-in and day-out to help my clients eliminate procrastination and massively increase productivity.

Here are the 5 best strategies you can use to stop procrastinating. You can quickly jump to the one that looks most interesting using the links below:

• Productive Procrastination
• The Seinfeld Method
• The Procrastination Equation
• Digital Minimalism
• Mindfulness

Okay, let’s dive in!

1. Productive Procrastination

If you’ve struggled with procrastination for a long time and tend to really beat yourself up about it, this is the strategy for you.

Productive Procrastination is a collection of three effective but counterintuitive techniques for “rolling with” the urge to procrastinate rather than fighting against it. They include:

• Reframing negative self-talk about procrastination
• Consistent Procrastination
• Cultivating work-interest synergies.

Who It’s For

Productive Procrastination tends to be especially useful for people who have a lot of negative emotions around procrastination. If you tend to beat yourself up internally, think of yourself as a procrastinator, or find yourself ruminating and worrying a lot about your procrastination, productive procrastination is probably a good place to start.

How To Do It

STEP 1: Change the way you talk to yourself when you feel the urge to procrastinate.

Most people who struggle with procrastination have developed unhelpful mental habits around how they talk to themselves about procrastination. They tend to be overly judgmental and critical of themselves, saying things like “I wish I wasn’t such a procrastinator” or “Why can’t I just get it together and get things done like everyone else?!”

The problem with self-talk like this is that it adds a second layer of negative emotion on top of your already negative feelings about your work. Feeling afraid or frustrated about what you need to do is hard enough without also feeling guilty and ashamed.

But, if you can change the way you talk to yourself about your procrastination to be more understanding and realistic, you can reduce or eliminate this second layer of negative emotions.

When you find yourself engaging in lots of negative self-talk around procrastination, try substituting some realistic alternative thoughts and explanations like these:

• It’s true that I tend to procrastinate with homework. But I can be very disciplined in other areas of my life like sports.
• I am struggling with procrastination right now, but I’m also taking proactive steps to work on it.
• Some of the most productive, accomplished people in history also struggled with procrastination.

STEP 2: Procrastinate consistently.

Rather than a character flaw or lack of discipline, one way to look at procrastination is a natural desire for curiosity and variety in our work.

If you can make time on a regular basis to cultivate your many different interests and curiosities in small ways, you’ll be less likely to feel the need to indulge them in big ways via procrastination on a major task.

To do this, allow yourself to procrastinate regularly, but do it intentionally. If you have 3 hours of studying to do today, set up 10 minutes at the end of each hour to indulge your procrastination guilt-free.

STEP 3. Cultivate interests that synergize with your work.

When you study people who manage to be extremely productive despite struggling with the urge to procrastinate, one thing stands out: they procrastinate with productive activities.

Consider two different procrastinators, both of whom, let’s say, are software engineers who build apps and software for a living:

• Procrastinator A indulges the urge to procrastinate on his coding by playing video games and binge watching Netflix.
• Procrastinator B indulges the urge to procrastinate by reading blogs about new trends in computer science and dabbling with website design.

In both cases, procrastination will lead to a loss of productivity. But in the case of Procrastinator B, their interests (computer science and website design) have synergies or complementarity with their work.

If they decided to launch their own app on the side, for instance, the interest and time spend “procrastinating” with website design would actually turn out to be useful and productive in the long-run.

If you cultivate hobbies and interests that are indirectly supportive of your primary work, whenever you do procrastinate, you’ll be doing so productively.

Productive Procrastination Takeaways:

• Change your self-talk around procrastination.
• Procrastinate consistently
• Cultivate work-interest synergies
• But more than a set of techniques, productive procrastination is also a mindset. It’s a way of looking at procrastination not as some kind of virus or disease, but as a natural human inclination that can be channeled productively.

2. The Seinfeld Method

The Seinfeld Method is a productivity technique popularized by a Lifehacker article called Jerry Seinfeld’s Productivity Secret .

It’s the technique that Seinfeld used himself to consistently produce new material for his comedy act and tv show year after year.

Here’s how Seinfeld himself described it to someone interviewing him:

He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker. He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day. “After a few days you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain.” “Don’t break the chain,” he said again for emphasis.

The Seinfeld Method is useful for anyone trying to establish a new habit, but it’s especially useful for people who have a hard time staying consistent with the goals they set for themselves.

While the traditional method involves buying a big wall calendar, I find it just as useful to use a notebook or journal to track my progress on my goals.

Getting started is as simple as drawing out a simple grid:

• Label the first column Date , and in the second column, put the label of the thing you want to do every day (e.g.: write 500 words, 50 pushups, practice guitar for 20 min, etc).
• Keep your notebook, journal, or calendar in a highly visible, accessible spot near where you work.
• Immediately after you complete the task, mark it off with a checkmark, filling in a square, or whatever fun little method makes sense to you.
• Think of the whole project as a game: The more days in a row you achieve your goal the better.
• If you do happen to miss a day (everybody’s human :), mark the length of your streak next to that day. This number now becomes your next goal (i.e. make it at least 12 days without breaking the streak).

Seinfeld Method Takeaways:

• The Seinfeld Method is the best anti-procrastination productivity strategy for people who struggle with consistency in particular.
• By keeping a pen and paper record of your daily goal you are: A) More likely to stay mindful of your goal and remember to do it each day, and B) More likely to stay consistent since it’s positively reinforcing and rewarding to see a visible sign of your progress over time.

3. The Procrastination Equation

If you’ve tried the usual tips and tricks for eliminating procrastination but feel like none of them really work for you specifically, the Procrastination Equation may be just what you need.

The Procrastination Equation is a model of procrastination developed by the psychologist and researcher Piers Steel.

Based on decades of research into the true causes of procrastination, The Procrastination Equation says that there are 4 primary causes or variables when it comes to why we procrastinate:

• Low Self-Confidence. When we don’t have much confidence in our ability to complete a task (or to complete it well), our likelihood of procrastinating goes way up. This shows up most commonly when we’re uncertain about how to start a task.
• Non-valuable or enjoyable work. The more enjoyable and valuable a task, the less we procrastinate on it. Interestingly, boring tasks are actually more likely to lead to procrastination than extremely difficult tasks.
• Distractibility. If we’re easily distracted—or work in a highly distracting environment—and have a hard time resisting those distractions, we’re much more likely to procrastinate.
• Time Delay. How much time there is in between the decision to take on a task and the point when it must be completed? The longer you have to finish a task, the longer you’ll wait to get started on it.

What’s more, there’s a very specific relationship between all these factors and our odds of getting work done and not procrastinating.

As a formula, it looks like this:

Odds of Overcoming Procrastination = Self-Efficacy x Value / Impulsiveness x Delay.

In other words, our likelihood of resisting procrastination and getting our work done on a given task will be equal to the product of our self-efficacy and the value of the task divided by the product of how impulsive/distracted we are and the amount of delay between taking on a task and its due date.

More than an academic curiosity, the Procrastination Equation can be especially useful for people who aren’t sure what the main cause of their procrastination is.

The beauty of The Procrastination Equation is that it validates the idea that while there are common factors in procrastination, everyone’s struggle with procrastination will be different.

But, if we can break done the tendency to procrastinate into smaller pieces, it allows us to generate effective strategies for overcoming procrastination in an individualized and situation-specific way.

If you struggle consistently with procrastination, ask yourself: Which of the following sounds most like me?

• I often discount myself and my ability to do good work. I’m very in my head and experience a lot of shame, doubt, and anxiety when I sit down to work.
• I just can’t stand this stuff. My work is so boring and meaningless. Why does any of this matter?
• I can’t seem to go more than a few minutes before I find myself distracted by checking Facebook or texting with a friend. I just get so distracted all the time!
• I feel like I have terrible time management abilities when it comes to my work. I always think there will be more time. And then I find myself rushing to get things done at the last minute.

If one of these stands out for you, consider focusing your efforts to stop procrastinating on that particular aspect of your work.

For example, if you find that anxiety and negative self-talk are the biggest factor in not getting your work done, you might consider breaking down your tasks into smaller pieces to give yourself quick wins and build up your confidence and sense of self-efficacy.

The Procrastination Equation Takeaways

• Low self-efficacy
• Low task value
• High impulsiveness and distraction
• A long delay between task onset and completion.
• The key to successfully stop procrastinating is to understand how each of us is uniquely vulnerable to procrastination given both our own personality and our ever-changing environment. Then, we can tailor our strategies to our own unique vulnerabilities.

4. Digital Minimalism

Are you the kind of person who’s easily distracted, especially by your smartphone or the internet? If you have a hard time maintaining focus and concentration because of all the intriguing shiny things the internet has to offer, Digital Minimalism is for you.

Digital Minimalism is a philosophy and lifestyle that questions the increasingly large role of personal technology in our lives and tries to set appropriate boundaries on that technology.

Here’s the best definition of Digital Minimalism I know of from Cal Newport :

Digital minimalism is a philosophy that helps you question what digital communication tools (and behaviors surrounding these tools) add the most value to your life. It is motivated by the belief that intentionally and aggressively clearing away low-value digital noise, and optimizing your use of the tools that really matter, can significantly improve your life.

Digital Minimalism is the best solution for anyone who’s tendency to procrastinate comes primarily from being distracted by personal technology.

I would strongly recommend Digital Minimalism if you frequently find yourself doing any of the following activities at the expense of your work:

• Checking Facebook, Instagram, or other social media more than a few times per day.
• Checking email or Slack all throughout your day, including while you work or when you’re trying to relax.
• Binge watching Netflix or YouTube.
• Getting distracted from your work by interesting blog posts, newsletters, Reddit posts, etc.
• You’re constantly plugged into the news, either via TV, social media, or radio/podcasts.

Because digital technology has become so pervasive in our lives, many of us aren’t even aware of how influential it has become on our ability to simply sit down and work for a meaningful stretch of time.

The best way to get started with Digital Minimalism is to experiment with some kind of digital declutter challenge.

The basic idea is to remove all optional digital technology from your life for a fixed amount of time (anywhere from a week to a month is a good place to start).

A digital declutter has two important benefits:

• You get a taste for what it’s like to not be constantly bombarded by digital distractions 24/7. Once you allow yourself this time, it feels good and right. And this feeling provides a strong motivation to follow through with the sometimes difficult task of setting firm boundaries with our tech moving forward.
• Once you finish the challenge, you can more thoughtfully decide which digital technology and behaviors you want to let back into your life. Specifically, you’ll be in a much better place to evaluate which digital technologies and behaviors really align with your values and what’s important to you (like doing good work without distraction), and which ones do not.

Digital Minimalism Takeaways

• One of the biggest causes of procrastination is distraction. And these days, our digital technologies like social media and smartphones are the biggest source of distraction. This digital distraction is a big part of why we find it so hard to stop procrastinating.
• Digital Minimalism is a way of looking at personal technology that helps us to set better boundaries with our tech and more easily live according to what’s truly important to us—not the newest shiny object the internet has to offer.

5. Mindfulness

If there was only one strategy I could recommend to help people stop procrastinating no matter what the particulars of their situation, it would be mindfulness.

In one way or another, emotions tend to be the factor that derails us from our work and leads to procrastination. And mindfulness is the best way to cultivate a better, less reactive relationship with our emotions.

Here’s the best definition I know of for mindfulness:

Mindfulness is the mental habit of paying attention without thinking.

To be a little more specific, mindfulness is like a mental muscle that allows us to control and manage our attention.

And skillful control of our attention—what we choose to focus on and what we leave out of focus—is the key skill for doing great work.

If you can’t focus and maintain concentration, how can you ever hope to get meaningful work done?

While a better-trained muscle for attention and focus is obviously helpful for resisting distraction, mindfulness is also the best antidote to emotional reactivity.

If there’s one thing them that runs throughout all the causes of procrastination, it’s emotional reactivity, which simply means that we tend to react instinctively to how we feel rather than deliberately.

Suppose you’re sitting down to finish writing a report for work and a notification pops up on your phone letting you know that you have a new text from that guy you’ve been dating. Immediately you feel a sense of excitement and your instinctive response is to indulge that feeling of excitement by instantly checking your phone and texting back.

That’s emotional reactivity—responding unthinkingly to how we feel.

Mindfulness, on the other hand, can be thought of at emotional non-reactivity.

Whenever a sudden feeling strikes, can we pause, observe the feeling, and then make a thoughtful decision about how to proceed with our values in mind?

Mindfulness allows us to direct our behavior and actions toward our values rather than what feels right at the moment.

And since we often don’t feel like working but know it’s the right thing to do, mindfulness is an essential tool to help you stop procrastinating and do the work that’s important to you.

There are two parts to cultivating mindfulness:

• A formal mindfulness practice
• Ordinary Mindfulness

A formal mindfulness practice means spending at least a few minutes every day doing mindfulness meditation .

If the idea of meditation sounds too spiritual or woo-woo, don’t worry. It’s just a simple exercise that helps you train your attention.

In addition to practicing mindfulness in a structured way, it’s also important to incorporate the attitude of mindfulness into everyday life.

This is where Ordinary Mindfulness comes into play.

If we want to be able to be more mindful, less emotionally reactive, and ultimately more productive with our work, practicing small acts of mindfulness throughout the day can really help.

Mindfulness Takeaways

• We often fall into procrastination as a result of emotional reactivity—instinctively behaving according to how we feel rather than what’s most important to us.
• Mindfulness is a way of training our attention to be able to resist the pull of emotional reactivity and stay focused on our highest values like doing good work.

Conclusion and More Resources

Here’s my final recommendation for anyone struggling to stop procrastinating:

Take it one piece at a time.

Pick one of the strategies from this guide and implement it until you’ve been successful.

Better to really nail down some modest improvement in one area rather than jumping from one to another without making any real progress.

Additional Resources to Help You Stop Procrastinating

• Nils and Jonas Salzgeber over at NJLifeHacks have a great recent article on  8 Must-Read Books on Procrastination . Highly recommended.
• James Clear has a great little guide called How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the “2-Minute Rule”
• MindTools has a nice round-up of many different techniques and strategies to help you stop procrastinating.
• Paul Graham’s Good and Bad Procrastination is a classic and one of my favorite things ever written about procrastination.
• Hugh Culver has a simple 3-step system to stop procrastinating that’s definitely worth a read.

Lastly, if nothing else works to get a handle on your procrastination, it may be beneficial to seek professional help from a therapist or counselor.

Good therapy or coaching can often be just the thing we need to identify the real obstacles to our success and create a plan for working through them.

I grew 2 inches at 31 years old and ever since my confidence/ productivity is on a different planet. Anyone looking to do the same check out heightify.com.

Can you please describe the difference between a professional psychologist and a psychologist? Is the difference just a matter of confidence, ie I’m not confident in my skills/abilities so im going to put ‘professional’ in front of psychologist ?

I don’t believe there’s a technical difference between the two, however, I often see “professional psychologists” used to distinguish people who actually practice psychology in a professional manner as opposed to those who studied it and maybe have a degree in it but don’t work in the field. That’s how I use it, anyway. Good question.

Hello again 🙂 The procrastination equation is in fact a more complete version of the expectancy theory where you choose between an action depending on the result of a simpler equation: probability x value. That’s why we choose a temptation because even though the value is minimal I’m holding a remote:)

The best description and advice about procrastination I read, especially about mindfulness! I realized that it’s an emotional fear of not being able to complete a creative project that makes me waste time worrying about it. Thank you so much!

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How to Stop Procrastinating

What is procrastination, what causes procrastination.

• Revenge Bedtime Procrastination
• Negative Impacts
• How to Overcome

Frequently Asked Questions

Procrastination is characterized by delaying work on a task that requires completion. While it’s not a mental health disorder, procrastination can cause psychological distress. Frequent procrastination may negatively affect your personal, school, or work lives.

This article will discuss the types of procrastination, what causes them, the negative impacts, and how to overcome procrastination.

Procrastination is when a person delays a task or puts something off until the last minute or even past the deadline. 

Procrastinators will often do other tasks in advance of starting or returning to a task or commitment they're avoiding. For example, if there’s a difficult conversation to be had at work, procrastinators may take on other tasks to avoid the anticipated discomfort.

Impending deadlines may prompt procrastinators to check out on social media until the last minute or to do menial household activities like sweeping and washing floors, or other tasks they’ve been procrastinating doing for longer, like answering emails.

One estimate from 2010 claims that 20% of U.S. adults are procrastinators. Estimates may be higher today due to the ever-present distractions of technology and social media. 

Types of Procrastination

Identifying what type of procrastinator you are is the beginning step in changing your behavior. There are six types of procrastination based on the main perceived issue causing the behavior:

• Perfectionist : Has high standards and fear of not meeting expectations and puts off work because they fear they won't do it correctly
• Dreamer : Has big goals but no plan for success
• Worrier : Fears change, has worst-case scenario thinking, and resists risk-taking
• Defier : Promise-maker with poor follow-through and many excuses or reasonings for not doing the task
• Crisis-maker : May unintentionally or intentionally create chaos at the last minute to delay work
• Over-doer : Has unrealistic expectations of what can be achieved and lacks priority-setting abilities

While everyone’s reasons for procrastinating are unique, there may be a common element of fear and perfectionism motivating procrastinating behavior. Perfectionism makes a person want to do every task flawlessly, which becomes a block to getting things done and leads to procrastination.

Procrastination is also associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression.

Anxiety and Procrastination

Anxiety is defined by symptoms like intrusive thoughts, excessive fear and worry, and physical symptoms. All of these can impact a person’s ability to follow through with impending tasks and meet deadlines.

What Is Revenge Bedtime Procrastination?

Revenge bedtime procrastination is when a person sacrifices sleep for staying up later and doing whatever they didn’t have time to do during the day. This may include scrolling through social media, watching television past bedtime, or so close to bedtime that it disrupts your total sleep.

This isn’t the same as truly unwinding or relaxing because this type of procrastination quickly adds to sleep deprivation, which is directly associated with mental distress and disorder, including depression.

What Is the Negative Impact of Procrastination?

Procrastination doesn’t do anyone any favors. It can create problems beginning in your school years, when you may delay deadlines, project management, and follow-through. Studies have shown that the earlier an assignment is submitted (indicating less procrastination), the higher the academic achievement.

Other negative impacts of procrastination are:

• Increased risk for anxiety and depression
• Low self-esteem
• Increased stress
• Poor impulse control

Putting things off you eventually do anyway also takes energy and time. Avoiding tasks doesn’t make you stop thinking about them or worrying about them. 

How to Overcome Procrastination

Procrastination is a learned behavior, and it can be unlearned. A good place to start is to acknowledge that you’re procrastinating. Once you recognize this behavior in yourself, you can figure out what's causing you to procrastinate and change it.

Ways to overcome procrastination include:

• Identifying the role of procrastination in your life
• Making time for time management
• Breaking up large projects into smaller tasks
• Finding productive reasons to keep working on tasks and commitments
• Keeping your goals realistic and reassessing goals and strategies as needed

Procrastination may stem from many factors, including an underlying mental illness or perfectionism. People who want to stop procrastinating can do so by assessing from where the problem arises and working to develop new coping methods.

A Word From Verywell

Everyone procrastinates from time to time. If constant procrastination is disrupting your life, it may be time to look at what's causing you to procrastinate. Whether it's being caused by perfectionism or an underlying mental health issue, there are plenty of ways to stop procrastinating and live a better life.

No. However, mental disorders such as anxiety disorders, OCD, ADHD, or eating disorders may include procrastination as a symptom. Knowing where the behavior stems from is important in helping you change these patterns. 

Procrastination looks like avoiding a task, doing other tasks to distract from the current task, or making excuses. If you keep avoiding a task at all costs, you're procrastinating.

No. Procrastinators may try to justify their behavior by suggesting the act of putting things off somehow makes them more efficient or that they work better under pressure, but research suggests no one benefits from procrastination. It’s best to avoid procrastinating.

Steinert C, Heim N, Leichsenring F. Procrastination, perfectionism, and other work-related mental problems: Prevalence, types, assessment, and treatment—a scoping review . Frontiers in Psychiatry . 2021. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.736776

American Psychological Association.  The psychology of procrastination: Why people put off important tasks until the last minute . April 5, 2010.

Indiana State University. Types of procrastination . 

Limburg K, Watson HJ, Hagger MS, & Egan SJ. The relationship between perfectionism and psychopathology: A meta-analysis . Journal of Clinical Psychology . 2016; 3 (10):1301–1326. doi: 10.1002/jclp.22435

Steinert C, Heim N, Leichsenring F. Procrastination, perfectionism, and other work-related mental problems: prevalence, types, assessment, and treatment—a scoping review .  Front Psychiatry . 2021;0. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.736776

American Psychological Association. Anxiety .

The Sleep Foundation. What is revenge bedtime procrastination?  

Jones I, Blankenship D. Year two: Effect of procrastination on academic performance of undergraduate online students . Research in Higher Education . 2021;39(1-11).

McClean Hospital. Why you put off things until the last minute .

Princeton University’s McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning. Understanding and overcoming procrastination . 

By Michelle Pugle Michelle Pugle, MA is a freelance writer and reporter focusing on mental health and chronic conditions. As seen in Verywell, Healthline, Psych Central, Everyday Health, and Health.com, among others.

Psychology of Procrastination: 10 Worksheets & Games (PDF)

Perceptions of procrastination range from being the topic of jokes to being associated with mental illness (Svartdal, Granmo, & Farevaag, 2018). But what is the truth about this ubiquitous behavior?

As a college instructor, I deal with student procrastination every semester, often resulting in end-of-term complications.

I’ve been guilty of it myself. Although I’m much better than I used to be, I’m still curious about procrastination.

How does it affect wellbeing and physiology?

More importantly, how can we overcome this tendency? Is there an app for that?

To get these answers, let’s explore procrastination, beginning with the psychology of procrastination.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Productivity Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients become more productive and efficient.

This Article Contains:

What is procrastination according to psychology, 6 causes according to research, 2 real-life examples of procrastination, how to overcome procrastination: 3 techniques, procrastination coaching and therapy: 2 tips, using cbt to overcome procrastination, 5 helpful worksheets, apps, & games, 12 questions, tests, & questionnaires for clients, top 2 books on the topic, positivepsychology.com’s helpful resources, a take-home message.

Procrastination has existed throughout history and across cultures, appearing in folk tales and songs. In 44 BC, the Roman politician Cicero denounced Antonius’s chronic slowness and procrastination as “hateful” (Steel, 2007).

Is procrastination merely slowness? According to Klassen, Krawchuk, and Rajani (2008, p. 916), “procrastination consists of the intentional delay of an intended course of action, in spite of an awareness of negative outcomes.”

Reviewing the history of procrastination, Steel (2007) stated that although it has existed throughout history, it increasingly assumed negative connotations with the start of the industrial revolution.

We know that technologically advanced societies mandate various commitments and deadlines, whereas agrarian and undeveloped societies do not (Steel, 2007).

Bearing in mind the connotation of procrastination as negative, we can assume there are associated consequences.

Physiological consequences of procrastination

Procrastination is linked to higher levels of stress and lower wellbeing (Jaffe, 2013; Stead, Shanahan, & Neufeld, 2010; Hairston & Shpitalni, 2016). Specifically, “[a]nxiety and depression are positively correlated with self-report and behavioral measures of procrastination” (Stead et al., 2010, p. 175).

Hairston and Shpitalni (2016) link procrastination to negative affect and self-reported sleep disturbances.

Other adverse effects of procrastination include “increased stress, lower task performance, reduced wellbeing, regret and suffering, and risk of mental and physical illness” (Svartdal et al., 2018, p. 2).

Considering the overall cultural condition of time poverty, why do people avoid tasks, preferring to peruse the internet or occupy themselves with Candy Crush?

The following is not a comprehensive list of the causes of procrastination; however, it reflects common correlations.

1. Neuroticism

Neuroticism is similar to worrying, trait anxiety, or negative affect (Steel, 2007). Subcategories of note include irrational beliefs, cognitions, or thoughts; low self-efficacy and self-esteem; self-handicapping; impulsivity, sensation seeking; and depression.

Steel’s (2007, p. 81) research shows that the correlation between procrastination and neuroticism “appears to be due almost entirely to impulsiveness.”

2. Impulsivity

Impulsive people procrastinate, preferring to focus on desires of the moment (Steel, 2007; Svartdal et al., 2018) rather than the drudgery of tasks. This form of procrastination stems from pursuit of “ immediate gratification , neglecting or ignoring longer term responsibilities” (Steel, 2007, p. 70).

3. Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness includes variables such as distractibility (self-control), poor organization (structuring and planning life), low achievement motivation (goal setting, enjoyment of performance), and a gap between intention and action (Steel, 2007).

According to Steel (2007, p. 81), “procrastination does appear to be representative of low conscientiousness and self-regulatory failure.”

4. Lack of self-confidence or low self-efficacy

Stemming from a fear of failure, both low self-efficacy and low self-esteem are associated with procrastination (Steel, 2007). Low self-efficacy is seen as irrational doubts in our ability to do well. Low self-esteem is the belief that “any failure to perform to standard suggests inadequacy as a person” (Steel, 2007, p. 69).

5. Discomfort dodging (task aversion)

Discomfort dodging includes putting off a task “because some parts of it are associated with uncomfortable and, possibly anxious, feelings” (Knaus, 1979, p. 5). The goal of discomfort dodging is to avoid bad feelings.

6. Perfectionism

In his 1979 book Do It Now , William J. Knaus included a chapter on the association between perfectionism and procrastination. He states that perfectionism is unrealistic and linked to fear of failure. Others (Dexter, 2020; Phillips, 2019) also cite perfectionism as a source of procrastination.

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Procrastination is not new and does not discriminate.

Hannah Lamarque (2017) describes some famous procrastinators that few would expect.

1. Bill Clinton

This former president was notorious for failing to follow through and being cursed by distraction. So notorious was his latent reputation that in 1994, Time Magazine published an article about it. Further, his own vice president, Al Gore, characterized him as “punctually challenged” (Lamarque, 2017).

2. Leonardo Da Vinci

One of the greatest and most well-known artists of all time also contended with procrastination. It’s hard to conceive, considering his body of work, but Da Vinci struggled with focus. The Mona Lisa, one of his most notable masterpieces, took 16 years to complete.

Other works such as the Virgin of the Rocks took 13 years. So intense was Da Vinci’s proclivity for procrastination that his own benefactor threatened bankruptcy to motivate him.

It’s reassuring to know that procrastination is an equal opportunity malady. To offer a hand to those who struggle with it, let’s review some expert advice.

1. The 5-minute rule

When the brain is overwhelmed by a task, it can result in anxiety and avoidance. Bariso (2021) suggests a simple technique he calls the five-minute rule.

He advises committing to the task for five minutes with the stipulation that you can quit after that time if the task is overwhelming. Also known as chunking, this method breaks tasks into feasible portions.

Because task initiation often creates the roadblock, this method helps procrastinators clear the first hurdle. Thank you, Mary Poppins.

2. Visualization (mental rehearsal)

Visualization is an ongoing process that can be productively directed (Peper, Harvey, Lin, & Duvvuri, 2014). Imagining successful completion of a task makes the realization more likely. This process is familiar to athletes and artists.

These five steps can guide the process.

• Think of a past behavior or conflict that ended in disappointment.
• Understand that under the circumstances, you handled it the only way you could.
• Consider, “How could I have handled this with the wisdom I have now?”
• Now, think back to that same situation. Immerse yourself in it as if it is recurring, using all of your senses. Be as specific as possible. This time, imagine yourself behaving masterfully.
• Congratulate yourself for programming your own future.

3. Mindfulness

In Unwinding Anxiety , Judson Brewer (2021) discusses both procrastination and the worry loop that leads to it.

Brewer describes the standard habit loop as trigger, behavior, result. Avoiding a project can feel better in the moment than starting it. He suggests using mindfulness to build awareness of feelings associated with procrastination.

In the future, try doing a task early or on time, noticing what that feels like. The positive feelings associated with timely task completion can be used to build a new habit loop.

This video , created for medical students, introduces a useful equation for understanding procrastination and suggests seven remedies.

Knowing that there are ways to overcome procrastination, here are two tips for the therapist who has to deal with this phenomenon.

1. Appreciative inquiry

Appreciative inquiry was developed by Cooperrider and Srivastva (1987), with the help of graduate students at Case Western University in the 1980s. The concept is based on “powerful assumptions about human change that are positive and life generating by nature” (Binkert & Clancy, 2011, p. 287).

This strengths-based and solution-focused paradigm is premised on human potential and social constructionism. Adherents believe that clients can reinvent themselves through language, using three fundamental principles:

• “what people focus on becomes their reality;
• the language people use creates their reality; and
• in every individual, something works” (Orem, Binkert, & Clancy, 2007, p. 40).

The application to coaching is realized through asking life-enhancing appreciative inquiry questions , watching for pivotal moments as clients begin to view themselves in a new light, and helping the client move forward, taking parts of their past that are positive and comforting (Binkert & Clancy, 2011).

2. Motivational interviewing

Motivational interviewing (MI) is an optimistic approach to change based on research, experience, and the belief that clients are more likely to change when they believe they can (Souders, 2019).

Drawing on the strength of self-talk, MI techniques encourage change talk. Grounded in self-determination theory, MI attends to three basic psychological needs:

• Relatedness

Self-determination theory techniques are also used by professional sports coaches, such as Pete Carroll (Stetka, 2016).

This interdisciplinary method helps clients reduce ambivalence often associated with change. Its application is common in psychology and fields such as medicine and criminal justice.

This SlideShare was originally developed to help criminal justice practitioners implement MI. It explains concepts such as change talk, rolling with resistance, and using the acronym OARS.

In CBT, the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and feelings is explored and discussed. Research shows that anxiety and avoidance may explain procrastination. As reviewed earlier, procrastination is a behavior used to avoid uncomfortable feelings (Dexter, 2020).

This therapeutic approach focuses on the present and is goal oriented. It utilizes cognition to treat emotional and behavioral disorders and operates with the premise that changes in thoughts can be highly effective for treating deep-seated issues (Orem et al., 2007).

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy has been proven effective as a tool to improve self-esteem and self-worth (McKay & Fanning, 2016), sometimes associated with procrastination. Using the power of self-talk to recognize and tame the inner critic, this method ignites the client’s rational, healthy voice (Sutton, 2021).

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Below are three worksheets to help clients work through issues related to procrastination as well as a collection of apps and therapy games .

1. Reward Replacement Worksheet

Using procrastination as their behavior change goal, clients can use the Reward Replacement Worksheet to analyze the costs and rewards of procrastination and consider behavior change.

2. Problem Solving Worksheet for Adults

This Problem Solving Worksheet helps clients identify a problem, break it into smaller steps, and set a course of action, listing the pros and cons of each option.

3. Building New Habits

Building New Habits walks clients through the habit loop, including reward implementation, creating motivation for positive action.

4. HabitHub App

HabitHub, a habit and goal tracker app , motivates clients to complete to-do lists with easy-to-understand color schemes for daily, weekly, and monthly tasks.

Task reminder options range from many to few. I have incorporated this app for health and wellness routines as well as work-related tasks. Yes, there’s an app for that.

Available for Android . Available for iOS (coming soon).

5. Triskelion eLearning game

Triskelion from Gamelearn is a role-playing simulation course for overcoming procrastination and maximizing personal productivity and time management skills.

Students learn to plan and prioritize projects and discover techniques that can be used daily to manage tasks, improve efficiency, and achieve goals.

Request a demo .

As we have seen through motivational interviewing, powerful questions can lead clients to revelations, evoking new thoughts about their own potential. Below are six examples from Catherine Moore, author of 100 Most Powerful Life Coaching Questions (2019):

• What will success look like?
• How will you know you’ve achieved your goal?
• How might you turn these steps into a plan?
• How will you prepare for each step?
• How do you plan to motivate yourself when obstacles arise?
• What are some ways to motivate yourself to get started?

I’ve added four questions of my own:

• What one word describes how you feel during or after procrastination? Explain.
• What type of tasks do you tend to procrastinate on the most?
• If your self-talk is negative, do you know where that voice comes from?
• Think of a time you felt amazing about the work you do. How did it feel? Why?

These questions allow the client to reflect on emotions that when overlooked, create non-productive habit loops, keeping in mind that what gets rewarded, gets repeated.

Procrastination can be prevalent among students. This questionnaire from the Oregon State University’s Academic Success Center website, cleverly named Procrasti-Not, is geared toward students and holistic in nature. The questions seek to identify which life domains are more prone to procrastination.

Thoroughly getting on top of a topic means extending your knowledge, and reading our recommended books are just what you need.

1. Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastination and Get More Done in Less Time – Brian Tracy

Eat That Frog is touted as one of the most popular time management books in history and is available in 42 languages.

The author embraces the premise that hitting your most undesirable task first thing in the morning means you start the day having accomplished a great thing.

Further, Tracy addresses perseveration that leads to procrastination.

Find the book on Amazon .

2. Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind – Judson Brewer

This book reviews the state of anxiety in current times and how anxiety drives bad habits (procrastination being one) and addictive behaviors.

Brewer presents a solution-focused program for overcoming anxiety.

We have a selection of resources that can aid mental healthcare practitioners with procrastinating clients.

The article 100 Most Powerful Life Coaching Questions [+PDF] by Catherine Moore (2019) provides helpful questions and resources for therapists, coaches, and anyone else looking to uncover issues. Moore also explains the GROW model and provides specific questions for coaching managers and leaders.

A series of simple worksheets are helpful for walking clients through individual steps toward their goal, using the acronym GROW. The worksheets include the following step-by-step process.

• G Stands for Goal helps clients identify goals.
• R Stands For REALITY allows clients to identify where they are with their goal and identify obstacles.
• O Stands for Options helps clients identify options and their energy resources for reaching their goals.
• W Stands For WAY FORWARD aids clients in setting up steps and sub-steps for reaching their goal. One of the strengths of this worksheet is the accountability piece and establishing a reward system for the accomplished goal.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others become more productive and efficient, this collection contains 17 validated productivity and work efficiency exercises . Use them to help others prioritize better, eliminate time wasters, maximize their personal energy, and more.

Surprisingly, it has been my pleasure to explore procrastination. I’ve discovered apps, worksheets, questions, books, and other valuable resources that I’ve already implemented to improve work hygiene.

In 1979, Knaus described distractions such as “chain-smoking, overeating, sleeping, playing solitaire, doing pushups” (1979, p. 21). Forty-two years later, technological advancements have situated the temptation to procrastinate in the palm of our hands – no pushups necessary.

Students have been the target of many procrastination studies, but they’re not alone.

We are all different, and when addressing the gap between intention and action, it’s vital to create a plan that suits your personality type.

This article was completed on time, and it felt like an accomplishment because for me, procrastination is no joke.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Productivity Exercises for free .

• Bariso, J. (2021, June 13). Emotionally intelligent people embrace the 5-minute rule . www.inc.com. Retrieved July 5, 2021, from https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/emotionally-intelligent-people-embrace-5-minute-rule.html
• Binkert, J., & Clancy, A. L. (2011). Appreciative inquiry. In L. Wildflower & D. Brennan (Eds.), The handbook of knowledge-based coaching: From theory to practice . Jossey-Bass.
• Brewer, J. A. (2021). Unwinding anxiety: New science shows how to break the cycles of worry and fear to heal your mind . Avery.
• Cooperrider, D. L., & Srivastva, S. (1987). Appreciative inquiry in organizational life.  Research in Organizational Change and Development ,  1 (1), 129–169.
• Dexter, M. (2020, March 28). Social anxiety and procrastination: What “I can’t” might really mean . National Social Anxiety Center. Retrieved July 17, 2021, from https://nationalsocialanxietycenter.com/2020/03/28/social-anxiety-and-procrastination-what-i-cant-might-really-mean/
• Hairston, I. S., & Shpitalni, R. (2016). Procrastination is linked with insomnia symptoms: The moderating role of morningness-eveningness. Personality and Individual Differences , 101 , 50–56.
• Jaffe, E. (2013, March 29). Why wait? The science behind procrastination. Association for Psychological Science. Retrieved July 5, 2021, from https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/why-wait-the-science-behind-procrastination
• Klassen, R. M., Krawchuk, L. L., & Rajani, S. (2008). Academic procrastination of undergraduates: Low self-efficacy to self-regulate predicts higher levels of procrastination. Contemporary Educational Psychology , 33 (4), 915–931.
• Knaus, W. J. (1979). Do it now . Prentice-Hall.
• Lamarque, H. (2017, January 12). Top 10 most famous procrastinators in the world . Career Addict. Retrieved July 21, 2021, from https://www.careeraddict.com/top-10-most-famous-procrastinators-in-the-world
• McKay, M., & Fanning, P. (2016).  Self-esteem . New Harbinger.
• Moore, C. (2019, October 22). 100 Most powerful life coaching questions [+PDF] . PositivePsychology.com. Retrieved August 4, 2021, from https://positivepsychology.com/life-coaching-questions/
• Orem, S. L., Binkert, J., & Clancy, A. L. (2007). Appreciative coaching: A positive process for change . Jossey-Bass.
• Peper, E., Harvey, R., Lin, I. M., & Duvvuri, P. (2014). Increase productivity, decrease procrastination, and increase energy. Biofeedback , 42 (2), 82–87.
• Phillips, L. (2019, October 24). Procrastination: An emotional struggle. Counseling Today. Retrieved July 22, 2021, from https://ct.counseling.org/2019/10/procrastination-an-emotional-struggle/#
• Souders, B. (2019, November 5). 17 Motivational interviewing questions and skills . PositivePsychology.com. Retrieved August 2, 2021, from https://positivepsychology.com/motivational-interviewing/
• Stead, R., Shanahan, M. J., & Neufeld, R. W. (2010). “I’ll go to therapy, eventually”: Procrastination, stress, and mental health. Personality and Individual Differences , 49 , 175–180.
• Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin , 133 (1), 65–94.
• Stetka, B. (2016). How to coach like an Olympian. Scientific American Mind , 27 (4), 45–49.
• Sutton, J. (2021, July 24). How to boost self-esteem: 12 Simple exercises & CBT tools . PositivePsychology.com. Retrieved August 2, 2021, from https://positivepsychology.com/self-esteem-boost-exercises/
• Svartdal, F., Granmo, S., & Farevaag, F. S. (2018). On the behavioral side of procrastination: Exploring behavioral delay in real-life Settings. Frontiers in Psychology , 9 .
• Tracy, B. (2017).  Eat that frog! 21 Great ways to stop procrastinating and get more done in less time.  Berrett-Koehler.

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Brilliant article. I see aspects of myself in all the 6 causes of procrastination listed, nice to see them listed like this, where one can examine why they think the way they do… complete with references for further reading and tools for therapy. Procrastination can become a severe, career/lifestyle destroying problem left unchecked, negative beliefs formed over a lifetime. Guilt, shame and disappointment become unbearable by midlife. I am still procrastinating my social life more than a year after covid lockdowns, and struggles with productivity when working from home resulted in me forming rigid beliefs such as I am simply not capable of working in the afternoon, at all, even after returning to the office. When it gets this far, really need therapy not just an ADHD diagnosis and throw some meds at it. (meds not helpful in my case, I tried). There are so many “how to beat procrastination 10 tips” type articles that are basic, patronising and really just cover how to set goals followed by “just start it, go on!”. I’d also add one potential cause: Demand avoidance, which we all do to some degree. But when its pathological demand avoidance it can be associated with autism

A highly informative article that must be read by all people who wants to deal with mind strongholds of procrastination which are obstacles to our Divine Predestined success and prosperity.

Well researched and informative article.

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How to Stop Procrastinating

The vividness of your mental imagery can influence your decisions..

Posted May 25, 2021 | Reviewed by Devon Frye

Life is full of possible distractions. You are probably reading this while knowing you should be doing something else—your day job, your tax return, maybe your child's homework. But you are wasting time on the internet instead.

There is no shortage of self-help advice on how to beat procrastination . Set deadlines, avoid distractions, unplug the internet. And while some of these may work locally, the more general problem is that procrastination works a bit like the Whack-A-Mole game. When we push back one way of wasting time—say, checking our Facebook feed—we will quickly find another.

Anyone who is offering a silver bullet to beat procrastination is lying , because there is no such silver bullet. But there is one very useful shortcut in these situations, which has a fair amount of empirical support.

Experiments in the “construal level theory” paradigm show that when we choose between two options, the vividness of these two options is the most important predictor of how we decide. If a smoker is deciding between smoking a cigarette and not smoking one, the smoking option brings up very vivid and detailed (and emotionally charged) mental imagery . Meanwhile, the non-smoking option doesn’t bring up any mental imagery at all—or if it does, it is not at all detailed and not at all vivid (of just sitting there, not smoking).

This is why smoking tends to win out, and also why it is often difficult to stop (procrastinating) activities like playing video games or checking our social media feed: continuing what we have been doing is represented much more vividly than stopping. Much of this mental imagery is involuntarily triggered. But that doesn't mean we can't do anything about it.

One shortcut for breaking out of the Whack-A-Mole problem of procrastination is to try to pit vivid and detailed images against the tempting stimulus. When you crave that cigarette, this craving can’t be counterbalanced by the image of not smoking because that image is too indeterminate to have any meaningful psychological impact. Instead, it should be counterbalanced with a vivid, detailed, and positively charged image of you eating a delicious strawberry, for example.

Similarly, when you have difficulties quitting your game or stopping obsessive Facebook-ing, rather than relying on the merely negative image of not doing these things, conjuring up vivid and emotionally charged images of something else that one can do—making tea or taking a shower—has a much better chance of succeeding.

The importance of the manipulation of mental imagery in these cases also explains why breaking down the task ahead of time is a good strategy. When you absolutely need to complete a task—say, because the deadline is looming or your promotion depends on it—having a very determinate and vivid image of the next specific and visualizable step in what you need to do is a much stronger motivator than a vague image of completing the task.

Be warned: This strategy will not work all the time. And it will not suddenly and magically get rid of all temptations to procrastinate. But it may work sometimes. And manipulating our own mental imagery is something we get better at over time. So it is possible to train ourselves to counteract the tempting stimulus with vivid imagery. And this could make a big enough difference for just how much of your time you waste with procrastination.

Bence Nanay, Ph.D., is professor of philosophy at the University of Antwerp and Cambridge University and the holder of a multi-million Euro ERC Grant on integrating philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience.

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14 Simple & Effective Ways to Stop Procrastinating

Last Updated: August 8, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Sharon Lee and by wikiHow staff writer, Aly Rusciano . Sharon Lee is a Success Strategist and the Owner of Fearless Pursuits. With over seven years of experience, she specializes in helping others gain clarity on their goals, build confidence, and remain accountable towards their goals. Sharon offers advice to others through life coaching, career coaching, and small business coaching. Sharon holds a Strategic Intervention Coach Certification from Robbins-Madanes Training and has additional training from Erickson Coaching International. There are 13 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 2,062,419 times.

Do you have a hard time staying on task? Do you constantly leave things on your to-do list till the last minute? If so, you’re likely procrastinating. Procrastination can stem from stress, frustration, or perfectionism. No matter why you may be procrastinating, there are many ways to break the habit and get back on task. Check out this list of the best tips and tricks to overcome procrastination and stay motivated.

Write a to-do list to set goals.

• Write this list on paper or in your phone—do whatever’s best for you!

Tackle your most important task for 15 minutes.

• If 15 minutes still sounds too intimidating, start with 3 or 5 minutes to warm yourself up.
• Once the timer goes off, take a 2-minute break. Then, start up on another set of 15 minutes of work.

Break tasks down into small chunks.

• For example, instead of thinking, “I need to finish this essay before 10 PM tonight,” tell yourself, “I’m going to make a short outline, fill that in, and then look for quotes.”
• Consider trying a specific technique like Pomodoro, in which you work from 25-minute chunks and take 5-minute breaks in between.
• Avoid making a long, disorganized to-do list. This is just setting yourself up for failure. Instead, create subcategories like "Home," "Work," "Family," and "Fun" and try to cross off a few entries from each list every day.
• Similarly, avoid multitasking or working on more than 1 task at once, as this could make you feel overwhelmed or stressed.

Start your day with the hardest tasks.

• Keep in mind that this strategy isn’t for everyone, so stick to tackling your most difficult tasks whenever you feel the most motivated.
• For instance, if you're a morning person, do your toughest work right after you wake up. On the other hand, if you tend to be groggy in the morning, you risk making careless errors or frustration by going headfirst into a difficult task.

Prioritize goals with set deadlines.

• Use a planner to help schedule your time and stay motivated.

Pick a workspace that works for you.

• For some, being in a new environment helps motivate them to work. Try bringing your work or task to a local library, coffee shop, or bookstore to feel inspired.

Use apps to prevent online distractions.

• AppDetox uses blockage rules that only let you use selected apps for a set amount of time.
• Forest grows trees for however long you stay focused.
• Freedom blocks distractions on all your devices at once.
• Self-Control blocks a list of websites for set amounts of time.
• Cold Turkey Blocker schedules system-wide blocking.

Put your phone in a different room.

• If you need to keep your phone on for family or work-related reasons, turn off all your notifications except for texts and/or calls.

Listen to music without lyrics.

Promise yourself a reward.

• Try rewarding yourself with a meal at your favorite restaurant, seeing a movie with a friend, or buying yourself something you’ve always wanted.
• Be careful not to over-reward yourself. Stick with small end-of-the-day rewards, and save big celebrations for when you accomplish something tremendous.

Give yourself a pep talk for motivation.

• Self-talk by saying something like, “Dariel, I know this week has been hard, and you’re tired. You’ve written a million essays before, and you’ll rock this.” [15] X Research source
• You can also ask yourself questions: “Amari, why are you nervous about this? You know you can handle it.”
• Self-talk out loud if you can. It’ll also work in your head if you’re in a public place.

Stop punishing yourself for procrastinating.

Aim for completion over perfection.

Ask someone to hold you accountable.

• Try planning fun outings with each other to reward yourself for meeting your goals.
• Hold accountability meetings each week or month to catch each other up on whether or not you’re meeting your goals and deadlines.

Overcome Laziness and Procrastination with this Expert Series

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• If you’re suffering from anxiety or depression associated with your procrastination, talk to your doctor or therapist. It’s okay to ask for help. You don’t have to go through this alone. [18] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

• Turn off the Wi-Fi on your devices and do any work that doesn't involve the internet first. That will help you eliminate the internet and social media as a distraction.
• Make it a game by racing yourself. For example, if you have to clean your room, set a timer for 10 minutes. During that time, try to get as much done as possible.
• Each day, choose 3 important tasks that you need to do. Reward yourself in some way once you've done those things. It will help motivate you to get more done.

You Might Also Like

• ↑ Sharon Lee. Success Strategist. Expert Interview. 2 December 2021.
• ↑ https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/why-wait-the-science-behind-procrastination#.WVK-49Pytok
• ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/27/why-you-cant-help-read-this-article-about-procrastination-instead-of-doing-your-job/?utm_term=.b97d4925d499
• ↑ https://blog.innerdrive.co.uk/5-reasons-to-do-that-hard-task-early
• ↑ https://asana.com/resources/eisenhower-matrix
• ↑ http://www.pcworld.com/article/2094846/read-this-now-7-clever-mobile-apps-to-conquer-procrastination.html
• ↑ https://zapier.com/blog/stay-focused-avoid-distractions/
• ↑ https://www.boisestate.edu/coen-mbe/2021/04/20/5-ways-to-stop-procrastinating/
• ↑ https://www.nu.edu/blog/can-music-help-you-study-and-focus/
• ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2013/03/25/why-you-procrastinate-and-how-to-stop-it-now/#534f88081837
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201505/the-voice-reason
• ↑ https://www.npr.org/2021/01/11/955692434/procrastination-is-more-than-putting-things-off-heres-how-to-kick-the-habit
• ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/procrastination/

About This Article

To stop procrastinating, turn off your phone and play white noise or music without lyrics to help you focus. Break your task into small chunks that you can tackle one by one and work hard for 15-minute intervals, giving yourself short breaks in between to help you stay on task. Aim to finish the task, not make it perfect—you can always fix it when you’re done. Give yourself a quick pep talk to get you going and promise yourself a reward, like a sweet treat or funny video, when you’re all done. If you want to learn how to make a distraction-free space where you can focus on work, keep reading the article! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Solving Procrastination

Homework Procrastination: Why You Procrastinate on Homework and How to Stop

Homework procrastination involves unnecessarily postponing working on homework assignments. For example, if a student delays starting a homework assignment until right before its deadline for no good reason, even though it would have been better for them to start earlier, that student is engaging in homework procrastination.

Homework procrastination can take various forms, from wasting hours trying to bring yourself to start writing an essay, to putting off an important project until the end of the semester. This is a problem not only because it can harm your performance at school, and therefore cause you to receive lower grades , but also because it can cause you to suffer from various other issues , such as frustration, anxiety, and stress .

If you often procrastinate when it comes to doing homework, know that you’re not alone. Procrastination is a common problem among students ; in terms of statistics, studies show that approximately 80%–95% of college students engage in procrastination to some degree, approximately 75% consider themselves to be procrastinators, and approximately 50% say that they procrastinate in a consistent and problematic manner.

Fortunately, however, there are some things that you can do to solve this problem, as you will see in the following article. Specifically, you will first see an explanation about why students procrastinate on their homework, so you can understand your own behavior better. Then, you will see what you can do in order to stop procrastinating on your homework, so you can start getting them done on time.

Why you procrastinate on homework

You procrastinate on homework because issues such as exhaustion and anxiety outweigh your self-control and motivation. These issues include personal factors, like fear and perfectionism, and situational factors, like distractions and unclear instructions.

Specifically, when you need to get homework done, you rely primarily on your self-control in order to get yourself to do it. Furthermore, your self-control is sometimes supported by your motivation, which helps you complete your homework on time.

However, in some cases, you suffer from issues that interfere with or oppose your self-control and motivation, such as exhaustion and anxiety . When these issues are stronger than your self-control and motivation, you end up procrastinating, until you reach a point where the balance between them shifts in your favor, or until it’s too late.

This explains why you might end up procrastinating on your homework even when you have the necessary motivation and you truly wish that you could just get started. This also explains why you might end up procrastinating on your homework until right before deadlines , when the increased motivation, often in the form of stressful pressure, finally pushes you to get to work.

Accordingly, common reasons for procrastinating on homework include the following :

• Abstract goals , in terms of being vague about how and when you intend to do the homework.
• Feeling overwhelmed , often while being unsure of how to complete the homework.
• Perfectionism , in the form of refusing to create work that has any flaws.
• Fear of failure , often because of concerns over how such failure might reflect on you.
• Anxiety , often in light of potential negative feedback.
• Task aversion , especially in cases where you find the homework boring or unpleasant.
• Lack of motivation , often as a result of feeling disconnected from your future self or having rewards that are far in the future.
• Physical or mental exhaustion , often due to a combination of reasons, such as a high academic workload and associated stress .
• Resentment , generally toward the homework, toward its source, or toward something related, such as a parent pushing you to do well in a subject that you’re not interested in.
• Sensation seeking , generally in the form of enjoying working on things right before the deadline, when there’s intense time pressure.
• Problematic work environment , generally as a result of having many distractions or temptations around.
• Lack of sufficient communication from instructors, for example when it comes to not having clear directions and due dates for a certain class project.

In addition, other issues can also make you more likely to procrastinate on your homework. For example:

• Problematic behaviors like self-handicapping , which involves procrastinating so that if you fail you can blame your failure on procrastination rather than your abilities, and self-sabotaging , which involves procrastinating as a result of a tendency to sabotage your progress.
• Personality traits like distractibility and impulsivity .
• Underlying issues like lack of sleep , ADHD , and depression .

Finally, note that some of these issues can lead to problematic procrastination cycles . For example, this can happen if you’re anxious about your homework, so you procrastinate on it, which makes you even more anxious about your homework due to the added negative emotions that you now associate with it (e.g., guilt and shame), which in turn makes you more likely to keep procrastinating on your homework in the future.

Understanding why you procrastinate on your homework can help you learn how to overcome your procrastination. However, while understanding why you procrastinate can be helpful, in many cases you can reduce your procrastination even without figuring this out. As such, if you find that you’re struggling with this step, don’t worry, and don’t get stuck; simply move on to the next step, which involves trying out various anti-procrastination techniques, until you find the ones that work best for you.

How to stop procrastinating on homework

To stop procrastinating on your homework right now , you should identify the smallest possible thing you can do to make progress on it, and then modify your environment to make it as likely as possible that you will do it.

For example, if you need to write a paper for a university course, the smallest possible step that you can take toward finishing it might be opening the relevant document on your computer, and writing just a single opening line, even if it’s poorly phrased initially. Once you realize that this is all you need to do, you can start modifying your work environment to help yourself achieve that, for example by going to a room with no distractions, leaving your phone outside, and turning on airplane mode on your laptop to disable your access to online distractions .

There are many other anti-procrastination techniques that can help you stop procrastinating on your homework. You don’t need to use all of these techniques, since some won’t be relevant in your case, and since you will generally need only a few of them in order to make significant progress toward overcoming your procrastination. As such, try skimming through this list, and finding the techniques that you think will work best for you.

Improve your planning:

• Set concrete goals for yourself. For example, instead of a vague goal, such as “finish my psychology paper over the weekend”, set a concrete goal, such as “start writing an outline for the psychology paper on Thursday at 5 pm in the library, right after I finish the last class for the week”).
• Break your homework into small and manageable steps. For example, if you need to write a research paper, you can start with steps such as “(1) brainstorm three potential topics, (2) figure out which topic I like best, and (3) find five relevant sources”. If the project that you’re dealing with is large and will therefore require a large number of steps, don’t worry about outlining the whole thing from the start; simply identify the first few steps that you need to take, and add new ones as you go along, to avoid feeling overwhelmed or getting stuck.
• Set a series of milestones and deadlines for yourself. This will help you be accountable and plan ahead, and can also motivate you and give you a rewarding feeling of continuous progress.
• Identify your productivity cycles. Different people are more productive at different times, based on factors such as whether it’s morning, noon, or evening. To reduce procrastination, you should take your personal productivity patterns into account, and schedule your homework for times when you’re most likely to be able to actually work on it.

Improve your environment:

• Change your environment to make it easier for you to focus. For example, if you know that you work best when there are no distracting noises, go somewhere quiet, or put on some noise-blocking headphones.
• Change your environment to make it easier for yourself to get started. For example, if you know that you will need to write an essay tomorrow after you wake up, then leave the document open on your computer before you go to bed.
• Change your environment to make it harder for yourself to procrastinate. For example, if you tend to procrastinate by browsing apps on your phone , leave your phone outside the room where you plan to work.

Change your approach:

• Start with a tiny step. For example, if you need to write an essay, help yourself get started by committing to only write a single sentence at first. This can help you push yourself to get started on homework, and often, once you do so, you’ll find it easy to keep going.
• Start with the best or worst part first. Some people find that starting with the most enjoyable or easiest part of an assignment helps them get going, while others find that getting the worst part out of the way first helps them avoid procrastinating over time. Use either approach if you feel that it works for you.
• Add a time delay before you procrastinate. If you can’t avoid procrastinating entirely, try committing to having a time delay before you indulge your impulse to do so. For example, this can involve counting to 10 before you’re allowed to open a new tab on the social media website that you usually use to procrastinate.
• Use the Pomodoro technique. This involves alternating between scheduled periods of work and rest. For example, you can work on your homework for 25-minute long stretches, with 5-minute breaks in between, and a longer 30-minute break after every 4 work sets that you complete.

Increase your motivation:

• Make doing the homework feel more rewarding. For example, you can gamify your work, by marking down streaks of days on which you’ve managed to make sufficient progress on your assignments, and potentially also give yourself some reward once you reach a sufficiently long streak.
• Make doing the homework feel more enjoyable. For example, you can do your homework in a pleasant location, while listening to energizing music.
• Visualize your future self. For example, you can visualize yourself being able to relax after you finish working, visualize yourself being rewarded for getting a good grade in a course, or visualize yourself having to handle the issues associated with not finishing your homework on time.
• Focus on your goals instead of your assignments. Instead of focusing on the fact that you have an aversion to your homework, for whatever reason, try focusing on your end goals for completing the homework, such as getting a good grade in an important class so you can have a better application for grad school.

Change your mindset:

• Give yourself permission to make mistakes, and accept the fact that your work won’t be perfect, especially at first. This can be helpful, for example, when it comes to assignments that involve writing, where you can give yourself permission to write a bad first draft, and then edit it afterward.
• Address your fears. If you’re procrastinating because you’re afraid of something, try to identify your fears and resolve them. For example, if you’re afraid that your writing won’t be good enough, you can say to yourself that your goal is to just start by getting something written down, and that you can always improve it later.
• Develop self-compassion.   Self-compassion can help reduce your procrastination, as well as various issues that are associated with it, such as stress. It consists of three components that you should develop: self-kindness , which involves being nice to yourself, common humanity , which involves recognizing that everyone experiences challenges, and mindfulness , which involves accepting your emotions in a non-judgmental manner.
• Develop self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the belief in your ability to carry out the actions that you need to achieve your goals, and it can help you reduce your procrastination. To develop self-efficacy, try to identify the various strategies that you can use to finish your homework, and think about your ability to execute those strategies successfully.

When deciding which approach to use in order to overcome your procrastination , keep in mind that anti-procrastination techniques are especially effective when they’re tailored to the specific causes of your procrastination. For example, if you procrastinate because you set abstract goals for yourself, you should focus on setting concrete goals instead. Similarly, if you procrastinate because of available distractions, you should remove those distractions from your study environment, or go work somewhere else instead.

In addition, note that if you suffer from an underlying issue that leads to procrastination, such as lack of sleep , depression , or ADHD , you will likely need to resolve that issue, using professional help if necessary, if you want to successfully overcome your procrastination.

Finally, keep in mind that most people need more than one technique in order to overcome their procrastination , and that different techniques work better for different people in different circumstances. Accordingly, don’t expect a single technique to solve all your problems, and don’t feel that if some technique works well for others then it will necessarily also work well for you. Instead, try out the various techniques that are available to you, until you figure out which ones work best for you, in your particular situation.

The Ultimate (Non-Lazy) Guide to Stopping Procrastination

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Getting stuff done is hard. But it doesn’t have to be!

Here are some amazing anti-procrastination tips to get you off that couch and into #hustle mode.

In this guide, you’ll find:

• The difference between procrastinating and being lazy (and how to tell if you’re either)
• The telltale signs of procrastination (and how to tell if you’re in denial)
• How to eliminate procrastination with the MEGATRON Method (yes, it’s as cool as it sounds)
• How to stick with your new anti-procrastination routine so you’ll never procrastinate again

Let’s get to it!

How to Eliminate Procrastination Forever Using the MEGATRON Method

We know Megatron like the back of our hand for us nerds out there. Megatron is a supervillain in the  Transformers  franchise for those out of the loop.

Like, THE villain nobody wants to mess with.

So I want you to think of your procrastination demons as the super-evil Megatron. He’s coming after you, and  the only way to stop him is to use his method against him.

Sounds cool, right?

Here it is—all laid out for you in these 8 simple steps:

• Motivation:  Using the Procrastination Principle to stay motivated
• Environment:  Controlling your environment and setting up your workstation
• Greatness:  Becoming an expert in your field or industry
• Allowance:  Allowing yourself to have occasional moments of procrastination
• Time:  Using time techniques to ace those daily tasks
• Recovery:  Controlling your levels of dopamine and focus
• Origami Technique:  Doing the one smallest thing possible
• Ninety-Ten:  Planning ahead and having a goal

So grab your swords and shields because we’re about to take on a battle that could  change your life forever .

Dr. Piers Steel is an expert at procrastination. Not in the “he procrastinates a lot”-sense, but more like the “he devotes his life to stopping procrastination”-sense.

In his book,  The Procrastination Equation 1 https://www.amazon.com/Procrastination-Equation-Putting-Things-Getting/dp/0061703621 ,  Dr. Steel outlines a straightforward equation that determines a person’s motivation levels:

Motivation = (Expectancy x Value) / (Impulsiveness x Delay)

If your motivation is too low, you’ll likely procrastinate more.

Sounds simple, right?

Let’s take a look at what these variables mean:

• Expectancy:  How good you are at a given task and what results you might expect. Suppose you’re in sales and have high expectancy, for example. In that case, you may feel good about your  ability to influence  and hope to land new clients.
• Value: How much meaning a given task has or how enjoyable it is to you. A low-value job might be stapling papers together or doing the dishes.
• Impulsiveness: Your ability to focus and not give in to temptations or distractions. People with high impulsivity may check their phones, think about other entertaining pursuits, and have  trouble concentrating .
• Delay: The amount of time you push back a given task instead of doing it immediately. A student who has to do his homework but delays it until the night before is an example of high delay.

You’ll need to keep all 4 variables in check to stay motivated.

And if you ever find yourself procrastinating, you can look back at this equation and realize which element of your motivation needs improvement.

Follow these action steps to have high motivation, no matter your situation:

• Increase expectancy by developing your skills.  Are you a writer?  Public speaker ? Relationship expert? Knowing you can do well will motivate you to smash your goals instead of building up task anxiety when you know you won’t perform at 100%.
• Increase value by thinking of tasks as part of a whole.  What is the main goal you’re trying to accomplish, and what are these tasks doing to get you there? You might be bored out of your mind by stapling those papers, but keeping in mind the necessity of a stable job to earn money might be just the fuel you need.
• Decrease impulsiveness by setting up your environment and recovering from dopamine sinks. Try to avoid as many distractions as possible throughout the day.
• Decrease delay by eating that frog. Brian Tracy’s “ Eating That Frog ” rule is to do the worst or most challenging thing first thing in the morning. After all, if you eat an entire frog, all the other tasks seem easy by comparison.

We’ll cover more on how to deal with these 4 variables below!

Pro Tip:  Want to know one secret variable that will increase your motivation in everything you do in life? A positive attitude! Research shows being positive has dramatic positive effects on your life (who knew?). You can literally change your life by changing your mindset. Read more here:  The Best Positive Affirmations and Why They Work .

Environment

Take a look around at your usual workspace. What do you see? Is it:

• Messy and full of distractions, or
• Clean and organized

Your procrastinating tendencies will either be limited or flourish depending on your workstation.  For example, let’s say your workspace has your Nintendo Switch lying around, a bag of chips, and photos of your vacation in Mexico. These things are better left for “fun time” and not serious “work time.”

The objects around you “prime” yourself in procrastination or focus mode.

According to  Paper Plant ,  the average person wastes 4.3 hours per week simply searching for papers . Now, I’m not sure how accurate that number is. Still, I’m pretty sure we can all relate to searching under our beds for that last-minute document due tomorrow.

The increased stress and decreased productivity aren’t helpful either, especially when avoiding procrastination. So if you’re dissatisfied with your conditions, let’s prime yourself for the optimal working conditions:

• Tidy it up.  This goes without saying – get rid of video games, food, your phone, and even other people if you have to. Treat your workspace like a sacred zone, where the only thing that enters are things that help you boost your productivity.
• Find your Optimal Comfort Level (OCL).  Contrary to what some may think, I found the best working conditions are where you’re not  too  comfortable (think: laying in bed with your laptop), but not too uncomfortable, either. This leads to your OCL for working. Find the best work chair that won’t show you a broken back. Get your room or office to be that perfect temperature sweet spot. And stretch to stay comfortable yet  uncomfortable  enough to be productive.
• Have a workstation.  Whether you’re in an office or have the pleasure of being a  remote worker , having a consistent workstation is key to staying procrastination-less. Over time, you’ll come to associate your workstation as THE place to get stuff done. The key here is to not give in to temptation whenever you’re at your workstation. Do all your other non-work activities away from your station to avoid snowballing into bad habits.

Are you good at what you’re doing?

There’s a clear difference when you’re an expert and can accomplish a task in a breeze versus when it’s not your  A work .

The fantastic thing is  we can get better at what we do!

(Hint: it doesn’t take 10,000 hours.)

So whether you’re in IT or psychology, brush up on your skills by following these tips:

• Read every day.  There’s a reason why  VIPs  like Mark Cuban and Jeff Bezos advocate reading regularly – reading literally changed your brain! Read some of the best  self-development books  or books in your industry. Set a goal to read just one or two pages a day if you’re struggling with time.
• Listen to audiobooks. Not a fan of reading? You can always listen to audiobooks whether you’re out for a drive, getting in a good workout, or walking in the park.
• Attend those courses. Do you have a course you have always wanted to attend, whether in-person or online? Courses are a “second school” where you can learn while also testing yourself with supporting materials. Take that course and learn to your heart’s content!

On the one hand, you’re probably thinking, “Don’t let procrastination win!”

On the other hand,  you shouldn’t  be so harsh on yourself when procrastinating.

Allow yourself to procrastinate once in a while.

We’re all prone to procrastination, but research shows if you put yourself down, you might end up hurting yourself more than doing any good.

One study examined  119 college students  who were preparing for midterm exams. The researchers found that students who forgave themselves for procrastinating on their first exam were much less likely to procrastinate again for the second one.

The best after-procrastination remedy is a sip of forgiveness if you do catch yourself procrastinating. 

As the researchers noted, procrastination is a “self-inflicted wound.” We can be angry or feel guilty about procrastinating, but let’s face it: We all procrastinate!

Yes… Even you, Gandalf.

Try these anti-procrastination tips to be kinder to yourself:

• Try a morning meditation session. Just 10 minutes in the morning might be all you need to realize what needs to get done so you can avoid procrastinating in the first place.
• Do random acts of kindness. Have you ever heard the phrase, “Like begets like?” The same thing also applies here. Be kind, and you’ll find that you’re much more forgiving to yourself… Yes, even when you procrastinate.
• Allow yourself to procrastinate. This one is tricky, especially if you’re a serial procrastinator. The next time you have the urge to procrastinate, just do it! But only this once. Grant yourself “Procrastination Permission Slips” you can use once a week or a couple times a month, and hold yourself accountable for the rest.

OK, so there IS a benefit to procrastination.

Procrastination gives us time pressure, which many benefits many people because they  have  to get something done soon. In other words,  procrastinating is like not knowing how to swim and jumping off the diving board.

For many, this can be helpful. However, in the long run, controlling your procrastination urges will net you more consistent results (not to mention fewer grey hairs).

Try these time tips to obliterate procrastination:

• Use the Tri-Time Technique to your advantage.  The Tri-Time Technique (or 3T Technique for short) allows you to maximize your daily energy levels. Here’s how it works: Imagine your waking hours as a pie divided into 3 slices. That’ll be the morning, afternoon, and evening for most people. Now think about how you best feel during these times and when you’re the most productive. For example, I always feel my most effective during the evening. The mornings are OK, and the afternoons? I feel like a sloth! During your peak time, aim to tackle your top priorities for the day. And leave the rest for your downtimes.
• Set that Pomodoro! The Pomodoro technique is a technique to help “block” time. Set routine amounts of time to get the job done (in the case of the Pomodoro technique, it’s usually 25 minutes of work followed by a 5-minute break). In this way, you’ll regain that focus since you know  exactly  when you’ll have a break!
• Eliminate multitasking. If you’re used to switching from writing, to scanning videos, to researching for projects, to checking your email – you’re overloading your brain!  Science  proves that multitasking generally makes us slower and less efficient when tackling tasks. If you must multitask, try blocking longer blocks to work on one task before switching to the next.

Let’s face it.

Nobody wants to sit around a circle and admit that they’re an “addict.”

But just like alcohol and drug addictions, we’ve come along as a society to accept a more common form of addiction – modern entertainment addiction.

Modern entertainment looms everywhere. But the closer we get to it, the farther we get from our goals.

And unless you’re a pro gamer, it’s unlikely another round of Halo is going to do good for your  career  or  relationships  (aka the things that truly matter).

So let’s take it down a notch. We’re all recovering in some way or another.  Here’s how to recover based on your needs:

• Level 1: Newbie. You tend to watch movies on the weekends, play the occasional game, or indulge in social media if your friends are on. You can control yourself well, and you’re not distracted by entertainment when you work. Good for you!
• Level 2: Adventurer. You’re definitely more informed than most. You know the new Facebook news ( “Are they really going to get rid of the Like button!?” ) and keep up-to-date with the latest trends. This causes you to have staggered focus at work, and you’re also constantly planning about what you’re going to do when you’re free. Consider going on a  digital detox  the next time you’re away from technology zones to combat this.
• Level 3: Grand Master. Uh-oh. You’re  really  distracted now. You tend to have difficulty focusing for more than 20 minutes, and your mind constantly wonders if your phone just buzzed. This one will require some more elbow grease – try detoxing and finding an accountability partner or joining a coworking space. You might even want to join a  mastermind  group weekly to hold yourself accountable for getting stuff done.

Origami Technique

Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding. And if you’ve ever tried making one of those paper cranes before, you’ll know it’s not as easy as it seems!

To create an origami crane, there are many steps involved, from:

• Cutting your rectangular paper into a square piece
• Making the base
• Endless bouts of folding, unfolding, flipping, and Googling where you went wrong

And here’s where the Origami Technique of anti-procrastination unfolds:

Take each task and break it down into the SMALLEST step possible.

• Want to run a marathon? Start with putting on your shoes.
• Want to launch a blog? Start with writing just 50 words.
• Want to bake a cake? Start with looking up ONE recipe.

The Origami Technique works because instead of looking up at the peak of the mountain and getting anxious/disheartened/[insert negative adjective here],  you’ll find simply walking to the base of the mountain is a much easier task.

So easy that it literally takes minutes or even seconds.

Now, take a look at your task list. If that de-motivates you, think of the simplest ONE thing you could do for each task to get you started moving in that direction.

Let inertia work its magic from there, and soon enough, you’ll see the entire crane come to life.

The 90/10 rule states that you can save 90% of the time it takes to complete a task by just taking 10% of that time to plan.

Here’s how it works: Imagine your boss calls, and you’ve got a big deadline due tomorrow. You might be able to crank it out if you work all night and the cortisol starts kicking in.

But wait! Sit down, take a breather, and put on your planning antennas – because, according to the 90/10 Rule,  every minute you spend planning is 9 minutes saved.

That’s a whole lot of minutes.

Putting in just 15 minutes of planning upfront can save you over 2 hours in the long run!

Planning is the long-term killer of procrastination.

• Plan your following day. Every night before you go to bed, write down what you need to complete the next day. Overnight, your subconscious will work overtime to come up with problems automagically! It really is a brain “hack.”
• Plan your free time. If you’re a sucker for tuning into Netflix when you’ve got important stuff to do ( “Just ONE more episode!” ), slay your demons by planning your play periods. I like to set a couple hours around dinner time to do whatever I want away from work – whether it’s Netflix binging, spending time with my daughter, or  catching up with friends .
• Set up a system. Whether it’s a bullet journal or an online task manager, plan your to-do’s where you can visually see it. It’ll cost some time up-front, but once you get involved in your system, you’ll be shocked at how much you  instantly  know what to prioritize and do whenever you’re “feeling bored.” No more wasted moments!
• The Sand Method. Imagine you’re on a beach, and your tasks are to build something with sand. Now, you can create one colossal sandcastle, spending all your time to make something big. Or, you can break it down and build many small sandcastles, leaving some unfinished to get to them later. The point is, tasks are like sandcastles. You have different ways of finishing them, but you should have a game plan in mind for how you want to approach them before you start.

Why is Procrastination so Dangerous?

Let’s take a little history lesson to better understand why we procrastinate, shall we?

Around 800 BC, the Greek poet Hesiod famously said to not “put your work off till tomorrow and the day after.” Even Roman statesman Cicero noted procrastination was “hateful” in accomplishing affairs.

For all we know, our cavemen ancestors might have seen a hungry jaguar right outside their cave and decided to go right back to playing with their sticks and stones!

(I hope not.)

So, procrastination has been around for quite a while.

And you probably already know the detrimental effects of delaying the important stuff:

• Less time to accomplish our task
• The added stress of less time to finish
• Loss of sleep due to hurrying to finish a task

…Not to mention a massive loss of  productivity !

Sure, procrastinating  just a little bit  might not hurt so much.

But  let that procrastination monster roam free for too long, and the effects grow like wildfire.  Just take a look around in real life, and you’ll see what procrastination can do:

• Little to no savings for retirement
• A lack of genuine, caring  friendships
• Not advancing up the career ladder
• Not accomplishing your most  meaningful goals

The long-term effects of procrastination can really ruin your life in the real world.

Example of a person who procrastinated?

Procrastination vs. Laziness (which one describes you?)

You may have spent one too many countless nights staring at the ceiling, wondering if you’ll ever finish that project/homework/random house task you put off at the last minute.

And you might have even been told you’re  lazy .

But the key in recognizing the difference is that  procrastination is an active process while being lazy is passive.

When you  choose  not to write that assignment that’s due tomorrow and instead tune into the latest episode of Game of Thrones, you’re procrastinating.

But if you instead  don’t even care  about finishing that assignment, you’re being lazy.

And there’s another type of procrastination that takes it to a whole new level – chronic procrastination.

Are You a Chronic Procrastinator? (Quiz)

There’s a difference between being a procrastinator and being a  chronic procrastinator…  Just like there’s a difference between being sad and being medically depressed.

Joseph Ferrari, professor of psychology at DePaul University, found that 20% of US men and women are  chronic procrastinators .

Take this quick procrastination quiz to see if you’re a chronic procrastinator!

• When you have a deadline due tomorrow, you usually…
• Find excuses to NOT finish and save it for the last minute, coffee on hand.
• Deadline tomorrow? Pfft. I had already finished it last week!
• Prioritize it and crank it out ASAP.

2. Imagine you’ve got a handful of tasks due soon. How do you decide which to prioritize?

• Whatever I feel like.
• Create a task list and prioritize tasks based on the due date and time to accomplish them.
• Keep the functions in mind and do them in order of importance.

3. Your boss asks you when you’ll be able to turn in your assignment. Your immediate thought is:

• “Assignment? What assignment?”
• “I already finished yesterday and am making final touches!”
• “I’ve already planned to finish tonight!” 

4. You’ve got a virtual meeting at 10:00AM sharp. When do you show up?

• Usually, late – mornings aren’t my thing.
• 5 minutes early, with my notes on hand.
• Right on time, give or take a minute.

Now, take a look at your answers.

• If you mainly answered the first answer…  You’re a chronic procrastinator! You leave tasks until the end and usually need a lot of motivation to get yourself going.
• If you mainly answered the second answer…  You’re high on conscientiousness! You tend to stay on top of your tasks and even remind others when theirs are due.
• If you mainly answered the last answer…  You’re about average! Maybe you procrastinate sometimes, but try your best to keep on track.

So how did you rank on the procrastination quiz?

If All Else Fails…

Own your procrastination! After all, some people are more likely to procrastinate than others. And if that sounds like you, maybe you’ve got to accept it.

And maybe that’s just the thing you need—a little bit of acceptance and permission to think of procrastination as “OK.”

After all,  procrastination isn’t the end of the world …

Now, it’s your turn! Go out there and do the thing you need to do.

Do it now – don’t procrastinate for later.

You got this!

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Popular guides, 9 thoughts on “the ultimate (non-lazy) guide to stopping procrastination”.

I hope it will help me and I hope for further articles on the same. Thank you so much for explaining all this so easily. Having known such great people who can just help you succeed in your life are very amazing people.

Prepare ‘Not to Do List’ is very good idea. Thank you for such a informative article.

Wow, This is what i need. Great ideas. I’ve wrote it on my notes. Thanks in advance.

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