homework anxiety procrastination

Anxiety, Procrastination, And How They're Linked

Think of that towering to-do list on your desk, which might seem to grow longer with each passing day. It's not that you don't want to tackle it and get it out of your way. However, each task may appear to be a mountain of stress, triggering a sinking feeling of anxiety in your gut. This scenario is no stranger to many of us; it is what we call anxiety-induced procrastination.

This isn't a typical bout of procrastination in which you might delay an important task. Anxiety-related procrastination typically involves a relentless cycle of anxiety and avoidance. As anxiety levels rise, so does the tendency to procrastinate, and vice versa. By figuring out why you're putting things off and finding ways to overcome your worries, you might start to break out of this harmful loop. In turn, you may be able to get things done and make progress in your personal and professional lives.

What is anxiety vs procrastination?

Anxiety and procrastination might share some similarities and sometimes be connected, but they are not the same thing. Anxiety is an emotional state characterized by feelings of unease, worry, or fear. It can cause physical symptoms, such as increased heart rate, sweating, and muscle tension. Procrastination, on the other hand, refers to purposely delaying the completion of tasks or decision-making, usually because you want to avoid it or want a break.

Anxiety can sometimes lead to procrastination. For example, if a task makes you worried or uneasy, you might put it off. You may then experience a cycle of negative emotions as this delay in completing tasks generates even more anxiety. This can create a procrastination-anxiety loop that may be difficult to break free from.

When you're feeling anxious, it can be easy to get overwhelmed and avoid what needs to be done, just to feel better for a little while. However, this can end up making the anxiety worse and lead to more procrastination.

There are many reasons why someone might feel anxious or procrastinate. It might be due to personality traits or things happening around them, like their upbringing, friends, or work environment. For some people, trying to be perfect can cause both anxiety and procrastination. When you're always aiming for perfection, tasks can feel overwhelming and cause you to avoid them, leading to more anxiety over time.

Others might procrastinate because they don’t feel confident in their abilities or have trouble managing their time. Research shows that around 95% of people admit to procrastinating, with about a quarter of them identifying as chronic procrastinators. Knowing how anxiety and procrastination work together may be key to stopping the cycle and finding helpful ways to live with these feelings and actions.

Is there such thing as anxiety procrastination real?

Anxiety procrastination, also known as anxiety-induced procrastination, is a phenomenon in which individuals postpone tasks and activities due to feelings of anxiety and stress. Someone struggling with anxiety-induced procrastination may worry about failing or not living up to a standard of perfection. People with anxiety disorders might be more prone to experiencing this form of procrastination.

For instance, someone who used to finish tasks on time but now misses deadlines, obsesses about doing things perfectly, or avoids tasks that involve interacting with others might be dealing with anxiety-induced procrastination. Someone who worries excessively, blames themselves, and feels resentful toward themselves may also be experiencing signs of anxiety-related procrastination.

There are various strategies you can use to overcome anxiety-induced procrastination, such as breaking large tasks into smaller tasks or practicing relaxation techniques like deep breathing or mindfulness meditation. Everyone's experience with anxiety procrastination may be different, but it can be vital to explore ways to manage anxiety effectively and lead a productive life.

How does self-efficacy relate to anxiety and procrastination?

The idea of self-efficacy comes from a theory created by Albert Bandura. In simple terms, it's the belief you have in your own abilities to get things done or handle different situations. It's not just about knowing how to do something but truly believing that you can do it.

People with high self-efficacy, or a lot of confidence in their abilities, tend to take on difficult tasks, stick with them, and work through any challenges that come up along the way. If someone has low self-efficacy, meaning they don't have much confidence in their abilities, they may be more likely to avoid hard tasks, give up quickly, and procrastinate.

There are a few factors that can shape a person's self-efficacy. For example, if someone has struggled with a task before, they might not feel confident about it in the future. This lack of confidence can make them feel anxious and lead them to put off the task, which is a form of procrastination. How a person feels physically and emotionally and what others have said to or about them can also affect their self-efficacy.

Ways to tackle anxiety-related procrastination

Anxiety-related procrastination may feel like a never-ending loop. However, there are several ways you may be able to manage it. Keep in mind that the most appropriate way to manage anxiety-related procrastination can depend on the individual. Some people may find that certain strategies work more effectively for them than others. The following are some techniques you might consider trying if you’re struggling with anxiety-related procrastination.

Break tasks into smaller chunks: One effective way to tackle anxiety-related procrastination is by breaking tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks. If you’re faced with a large task, you may feel overwhelmed and want to procrastinate. By splitting up a task, such as a homework assignment, into smaller parts, it may become more manageable and easier to complete. Breaking up tasks may help reduce feelings of overwhelm and allow you to make progress on your projects with more ease.
Practice self-compassion: Another way to overcome anxiety-related procrastination is to be kind to yourself. It's okay to feel stressed or anxious about tasks and deadlines. Instead of being tough on yourself, recognize these feelings and understand that they can be managed. By practicing self-compassion, you might learn how to handle your anxiety more effectively and stop avoiding important tasks.
Prioritize tasks: It can help to consider which tasks are most important when trying to reduce anxiety-related procrastination. You might list all the tasks you have to do, arrange them by how important they are and when they're due, and work on them in that order. By completing the most important tasks first, you can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and make more progress, which might help lessen anxiety and procrastination.
Set realistic goals and deadlines: Another way you might be able to overcome anxiety-related procrastination is by setting realistic goals and deadlines. Sometimes, you might create milestones or goals that are too difficult or take on tasks that would take much more time to complete than what you’ve set aside for it. When you don’t reach these goals or complete these tasks, your self-efficacy might take a hit. Instead of setting yourself up for failure, it can be important to remain practical. When you think about how much time and effort a task will take beforehand, you can set goals and deadlines that you can meet. Having achievable deadlines may help lessen the pressure to finish a task quickly and reduce anxiety about finishing tasks on time.
Use relaxation techniques: Using relaxation techniques like deep breathing exercises, mindfulness meditation, or progressive muscle relaxation may help manage anxiety and procrastination. These techniques can help you relax, experience less anxiety, and concentrate on your tasks more effectively. Implementing these strategies into your everyday life might help you manage anxiety-related procrastination successfully.

Online therapy for anxiety-related procrastination

If you have been diagnosed or suspect you may have an anxiety disorder it can be important to seek professional help. Treating an underlying concern like anxiety may be part of the overall solution to overcoming procrastination. In some cases, a mental health care provider may recommend therapy or medication to help treat symptoms of anxiety. This may allow you to feel more empowered to complete important tasks at hand and avoid procrastination.

Online therapy can be a helpful option for people struggling with anxiety-related procrastination. Platforms like BetterHelp offer convenient and flexible support without the limits of traditional face-to-face appointments. With the ability to connect with a therapist from the comfort of your home at a time that works for you, you may find that virtual therapy fits into your lifestyle more conveniently than in-person therapy.

The efficacy of online therapy for anxiety and procrastination

Procrastination has been shown to be linked to mental health disorders such as anxiety. Treating these underlying conditions may effectively reduce the thoughts and behaviors associated with poor time management and procrastination. In a 2020 review, researchers assessed the efficacy of 20 different internet-delivered interventions for treating generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Those participating in the study experienced significant reductions in anxiety, worry, functional impairment, and depression, as well as improvements in quality of life . These results support the efficacy of online therapy for anxiety and could carry over to behaviors related to procrastination.

Anxiety-induced procrastination can significantly affect an individual's life and productivity. Many people experience feelings of blame, resentment, or perfectionism that may be masking signs of anxiety. As a result, they may find it difficult to complete important tasks on time. One possible approach to breaking the anxiety-procrastination cycle is to consciously lower the bar and accept that accomplishing tasks can often be a slow and meticulous process.

Affected individuals might also consider seeking professional help or employing self-help techniques to understand and manage their anxiety more effectively. Online platforms like BetterHelp can connect people with licensed therapists who specialize in disorders such as anxiety. Those struggling to manage their time may appreciate the convenience, accessibility, and flexibility of this online option for receiving support.

9 Strategies To Find Motivation For Procrastinators Medically reviewed by Nikki Ciletti , M.Ed, LPC
Why Do We Procrastinate? Breaking Down This Behavior Pattern Medically reviewed by Julie Dodson , MA
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How to Overcome Procrastination for Improved Mental Health

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

Adah Chung is a fact checker, writer, researcher, and occupational therapist.

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

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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

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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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Understanding & Dealing With Student Procrastination

April 12, 2024

Does your child struggle with homework procrastination? Did you find out that your child has a big homework project… and it’s due tomorrow?

Why do students procrastinate on homework and put off a big project until the last minute? Despite what some parents might believe, it’s not because your child is lazy, doesn’t want to do the work, or because they have a bad work ethic.

Kids often put more value on what is happening today than what will happen tomorrow. There’s a biological reason for this: similar to the same biological systems that tell us to pull our hand out of a flame, putting off a task that feels not great relieves the pressure of facing an unpleasant task . We naturally opt toward what feels better. Paired with the fact that many students dislike the idea of doing schoolwork at home (home is for relaxation!), you have the perfect recipe for a procrastination problem.

So, what can parents do to help?

Learn more about the causes and effects of procrastination and tips for how you can help your child avoid procrastinating so they can become a better, self-motivated learner.

Why Do Students Procrastinate at Homework Time?

Students often procrastinate because they don’t see how a project is relevant or important to them, don’t understand the material, or don’t know how to get started. When you boil it down, procrastination combines motivation, confidence, and comprehension issues.

As a parent, it can be frustrating to struggle with your child not completing their homework and assignments. It can leave many parents feeling like their child is lazy or doesn’t care about school.

However, much of the time, procrastination has very little to do with laziness or a lack of caring. In many cases, there are deeper issues that lead students to develop a procrastination problem.

Causes of student procrastination include:

Lack of motivation
Low self-confidence
Fear of failure
Lack of understanding
Trouble concentrating
Perfectionism
Low energy levels
Poor organization skills

Effects Of Homework Procrastination

Homework procrastination can harm students’ schoolwork, grades, and even their overall health. Students who procrastinate experience higher levels of frustration, guilt, stress, and anxiety —in some cases leading to serious issues like low self-esteem and depression.

The effects of procrastination can have an even bigger impact on high school students. Once students reach high school and start receiving more take-home assignments and larger projects, students who procrastinate until the last minute tend to receive lower grades than their peers.

This can create a cycle of bad grades and low self-confidence that can be difficult for students to overcome. At a time when marks start to impact the post-secondary opportunities for students, this can lead to a lot of extra stress and frustration.

How Can Students Learn To Avoid Homework Procrastination?

How can you help your child beat the temptation to procrastinate on homework? Check out these tips and learn how students can stop procrastinating on homework and be more productive.

1. Break the Project into Smaller Tasks

Big projects can be overwhelming at the outset. Help your child break the project down into manageable parts such as research, writing, and editing. Then, they can tackle each task step by step until the project is done. This will also help your child develop and practice their project planning and time management skills.

2. Make the Project Meaningful to Them

Finding ways to make a project meaningful and relevant for students helps them connect it to their interests and motivates them to start. Relate the project to something your child is interested in or a real-world scenario; this can help make homework and assignments less like work and more interesting.

3. Build Up Your Child’s Confidence

Some children procrastinate because they fear failure or think they can’t meet expectations. Boosting your child’s confidence by pointing out their efforts and past achievements can help your child develop a more positive attitude toward their work, making it easier to get started.

4. Create a Dedicated Study Space

Without a proper study space, children can become distracted by everything around them, which can quickly lead to procrastinating on homework. To avoid this, create a dedicated quiet space where your child can sit down and do their work each day. Ensure this space has all the materials your child will need, including pencils, paper, and erasers.

5. Eat Healthy and Get Lots of Sleep

Healthy eating and sleeping habits can help increase the amount of energy your child has as well as how much brainpower and focus reserves available…things your child needs to perform their best in school. A regular sleep routine and consistent bedtime each night help with this. Choosing healthy options like fruits and yogurt as midday snacks (these work great as after-school study snacks, too)are optimal.

6. Set Clear Goals to Stop Procrastinating on Homework

Fear of failure and perfectionism are major causes of procrastinating on homework and can be difficult for many students to overcome. Helping your child set clear and realistic goals will help them manage expectations and track his or her progress. Let your child know that sometimes it is okay to fail, and treat it as a lesson for next time.

7. Make a Project Plan and Stick to It

Create a schedule with your child, setting dedicated blocks of “homework time” they use to work on schoolwork each day. When bigger projects are assigned, sit down with your child as early as possible and make a project plan of attack they can follow. Set mini-project due dates or milestones your child can aim for. This will help break down the assignment, making big projects seem more manageable.

8. Develop Good Study Skills

Help your child improve their study skills by focusing on the learning process—not just their grades. Getting a good grade is the goal, but it is good study skills that will help your child achieve it. Encourage active thinking and critical problem-solving skills by talking through any challenges your child is facing with their homework or assignments and working out a solution together.

Stop Procrastinating on Homework—Today!

Helping students improve their learning skills and develop motivation for their work are the keys to helping students complete homework and assignments on time, reduce school stress, and end procrastination for good. If your child still needs an extra boost, our study skills program can help!

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How to Stop Procrastinating Homework

Procrastination creates stress for students and can impact the production of quality work. Putting things off, for all of us, creates an overall feeling of things hanging over our heads and never being free from responsibility.

When students procrastinate, they can create a situation that makes it difficult to self-regulate . When a student is not well-regulated – in other words, they’re experiencing a moderate to high level of anxiety related to homework – it’s more difficult for their frontal lobe to be engaged in thinking and problem-solving.

Want to help your student stop procrastinating homework and reach their full academic potential? This article takes an objective view of homework procrastination to examine the root cause and provides some expert advice on how parents and educators can best help students.

Common Reasons for Procrastinating Homework

So, why is procrastination so common? Contrary to what many might believe, the root cause has nothing to do with students being ‘lazy’ or dismissive about their schoolwork. Rather, some of the most common reasons for homework procrastination include,

Students may underestimate the length or complexity of a project because they have not fully developed the concept.
When students feel overwhelmed or become aware of the significance of the project/paper/essay etc, they can ‘freeze up’, rendering them incapable of completing any work at all.
Trying to accomplish homework with ADHD presents unique challenges for students; students with ADHD often need help further developing essential executive functioning skills .
Some students may not be getting enough sleep and feel exhausted – both physically and mentally; an exhaustive state robs them of their natural ability to motivate.
The home environment where students typically complete homework may have too many distractions.

The rule of thumb for parents: perspective is key for parents . Motivating students from a place of shame is a non-starter. Alternatively, parents will have more success when they objectively consider the root causes for procrastinating homework – anxiety, exhaustion, constant distractions, or living with ADHD – and look for ways to help alleviate these common factors.

Homework Tips for Parents : A Word On Motivation

First, motivating students is a misnomer. Students may want to do well, but really do not know how to do well. Others may procrastinate because they’re afraid to fail or not be perfect.

Try following these steps to help your student,

Begin by asking your student if they are open to help. While students may say no, parents have the ability to respond by saying they respect their position but would kindly ask them to reconsider. In other words, forcing students to comply simply compounds the stress and frustration the student is experiencing.
Recognize that your student may be more emotional with you than with a tutor. It’s not personal – by keeping your emotions in check, you provide a great example of self-regulation for your student to model. If you need to step away to get a break, do so.
Model, model, model! Get involved by reading the assignment out loud with your student, and create a schedule of how to do a little each day so the student learns how to complete a little at a time
Perhaps the most important thing to do: empathize! Kids, just like us, want to be understood and supported. Even as adults, having to do what you don’t like to do stinks – we call it ‘adulting’. Want to shorten the proverbial gap between you and your student? Provide some real-life examples of how you have to do things you don’t like as an adult and acknowledge their feelings. You will become instantly relatable.

Additional Homework Tips for Students

Start with something easy to help you get going – we call this behavioral momentum. Format your paper, write your name at the top of the assignment, and answer the question you feel most comfortable with – just get the ball rolling.
After you establish behavioral momentum, tackle something more challenging – but set a timer (around 30 minutes) so you don’t feel like it will take all night.
Some research shows that individuals are more likely to perform better on an assessment when part of a group. If you have the time and opportunity, join a study group of people who are all working like you.
Create a work/break schedule and definitely put distractions in another room (phone! Or games/Youtube or other streaming videos).

Creating an Efficient Homework Schedule

Okay, parents – you likely already know how important structure and routine can be for your kids. In helping your student learn how to stop procrastinating homework, creating a schedule can give them a greater sense of autonomy while helping them manage expectations.

In a de-escalated environment, (when things are chill) ask your student to create a homework schedule that he/she would like to implement. After they present it to you, you’ll have an opportunity to give feedback and set up a trial period.

The proposal itself is a plan; the student is evaluating their resources (time) and responsibilities (tasks) and formulating a plan. Ask your student how they want to be held accountable and let them know you want to discuss it with them at the end of the week to evaluate their progress.

With this approach, parents demonstrate trust in their students and give them an opportunity to practice being self-direct. The key word here is practice – so, don’t expect it to be perfect! Over time and with further practice, they will develop these skills.

Academic Coaching with Effective Students

Fortunately, for parents and students who feel overwhelmed by homework or are frustrated trying to help their kids, there is help in the form of academic coaching from Effective Students. Our academic coaching services empower students who may be struggling to manage materials or assignments, apply what they’re learning, transition into a new academic environment (high school to college, for example), and procrastinate homework due to heightened feelings of anxiety, fear, and exhaustion.

Learn how to help your child meet and exceed their academic goals – contact us today!

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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).

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.

17 Science-Based Productivity & Efficiency Exercises

Arm yourself with these 17 Productivity & Work Efficiency Exercises [PDF] and use positive psychology to increase flow, engagement, and goal achievement in the workplace.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

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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What our readers think.

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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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.

Procrastination

Reviewed by Psychology Today Staff

Everyone puts things off sometimes, but procrastinators chronically avoid difficult tasks and may deliberately look for distractions. Procrastination tends to reflect a person’s struggles with self-control . For habitual procrastinators, who represent approximately 20 percent of the population, "I don't feel like it" comes to take precedence over their goals or responsibilities, and can set them on a downward spiral of negative emotions that further deter future effort.

Procrastination also involves a degree of self-deception : At some level, procrastinators are aware of their actions and the consequences, but changing their habits requires even greater effort than completing the task in front of them.

Understanding Procrastination
The Consequences of Procrastination
How to Beat Procrastination

Procrastinators are often perfectionists , for whom it may be psychologically more acceptable to never tackle a job than to face the possibility of not doing it well. They may be so highly concerned about what others will think of them that they put their futures at risk to avoid judgment.

Some procrastinators contend that they perform better under pressure, but while they may be able to convince themselves of that, research shows it is generally not the case; instead, they may make a habit of last-minute work to experience the rush of euphoria at seemingly having overcome the odds.

Procrastination is driven by a variety of thoughts and habits but fundamentally, we avoid tasks or put them off because we do not believe we’ll enjoy doing them , and want to avoid making ourselves unhappy, or we fear that we won’t do them well. People may also procrastinate when they are confused by the complexity of a task (such as filing one’s taxes) or when they’re overly distracted or fatigued.

Psychologists have identified various drivers of procrastination, from low self-confidence to anxiety , a lack of structure, and, simply, an inability to motivate oneself to complete unpleasant tasks. Research has also shown that procrastination is closely linked to rumination , or becoming fixated on negative thoughts.

Procrastination is a self-defeating behavior pattern, but it can be seen as serving a psychological purpose, especially for people with perfectionist tendencies , by protecting the individual against fear of failure, judgment by others, and self-condemnation. Avoiding unpleasant work by devoting energy to other tasks, like organizing or cleaning, also helps procrastinators avoid feeling unproductive, although they will have to pay the price for it later.

Predicting how we’ll feel in the future is known as affective forecasting , and people tend be fairly bad at it. For example, procrastinators may feel bad about not having exercised today, but they may raise their mood by predicting they will do it tomorrow . Thus, they avoid feeling negative emotions in the moment, but make the cycle more likely to repeat.

People who procrastinate, research finds, may hold different values than people who do not. In studies, procrastinators report valuing personal enjoyment more highly than others do, and valuing a strong work ethic less, and are more likely to complete tasks they feel are important to them personally than those that are assigned to them.

It’s somewhat developmentally appropriate for teens to procrastinate. The passive resistance of delay is one way adolescents may pull away from parental authority. But increased independence and decreased supervision also bring less structure and greater opportunity for distraction. And like adults who procrastinate, teens may come to overestimate their ability to work under pressure and their need to feel pressure to do their best work.

Procrastination may relieve pressure in the moment, but it can have steep emotional, physical, and practical costs. Students who routinely procrastinate tend to get lower grades, workers who procrastinate produce lower-quality work, and in general, habitual procrastinators can experience reduced well-being in the form of insomnia or immune system and gastrointestinal disturbance. Procrastination can also jeopardize both personal and professional relationships.

Procrastinating when it comes to one’s health—putting off exercise and checkups, and failing to commit to healthy eating—can lead to a higher risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease . Procrastinators are also more likely to engage in self-blame and disengage from wellness advice, suggesting that cultivating greater self-compassion could help such individuals begin taking better care of themselves.

Procrastination, avoidance, and rumination are all common symptoms of depression. People with depression may struggle to plan ahead, lose confidence in their ability to follow through, and adopt “what’s the point” thinking . The treatment approach known as behavioral activation, in which one schedules enjoyable activities that provide a sense of mastery or accomplishment, may help alleviate some of these effects.

When a procrastinator enters a relationship with a non-procrastinator, conflict is almost inevitable : Each places a very different value on their time, believes their approach is superior, and struggles to understand the other’s motivations. As with any other conflict, though, stepping back, considering the other’s perspective, and finding a way to accept it, and one’s own reaction to it, can help keep a couple together.

It's possible to overcome procrastination but it takes considerable effort. Changing a habitual behavior consumes a lot of psychic energy, but engaging in highly structured regimen of cognitive behavioral therapy is one approach that has worked for many. In the short term, some cognitive tricks can help people complete discrete tasks.

Studies based on The Procrastination at Work Scale, which identifies 12 common forms of workplace procrastination, have highlighted some potential solutions, such as adopting timelines that build in time for delay, but not too much ; making a personal challenge out of mundane tasks; breaking large jobs into achievable chunks you can celebrate completing; and limiting your access to online news and social media .

When people procrastinate, their present self benefits by avoiding unpleasant work, but their future self pays the price in stress or punishment . Developing empathy for one’s future self as one would for a close friend, then, can be an important first step to ending the habit, because we’re less willing to put a good friend in such a disadvantaged position.

Many procrastinators struggle to make important decisions, in part because not making a choice absolves them of responsibility for the outcome. But sometimes people simply become so exhausted from making decisions that it seems impossible to make even relatively unimportant ones. Research suggests that sticking to a personal set of decision-making rules, or outsourcing some decisions to a partner, friend, or co-worker may help overcome decision fatigue.

The 3 Ps can cause us to grind to a halt and fail to accomplish our goals. However, there are steps we can take to avoid this vicious cycle.

While goals and dreams shape our futures, our habits—good or bad, healthy or harmful—profoundly impact the quality of our lives.

We’ve all avoided things because we were “too busy” or “too tired.” But have our excuses become too convenient?

Sometimes when you can't concentrate it's because something else really needs your attention.

There are good reasons to procrastinate, at least when it comes to our brains. We can use those mental defaults to our advantage to check off your to-do list faster every day.

Mindfulness and self-exploration through a humanistic lens can help us overcome some of the hurdles that procrastination throws in our way, leading us to a more fulfilling life.

Time is an invaluable resource. Here's how to make the most of it.

The secret to getting started is surprisingly small.

Ready to conquer procrastination once and for all? Try this simple trick and reclaim your productivity.

So often, we look for the personality traits that come to mind from a person's appearance in a dream; instead, try staying open to a specific "time in your life" they link you to.

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Sep 28, 2022

6 Tried-and-True Ways to Beat Procrastination and Get Back into Homework

When summer ends and school starts up again , there are probably lots of things that will change in your life. You’ll have a more strict routine to follow. You’ll be spending more time with your peers. You’ll get back into school activities and classes. And you’ll have to deal with homework again.

Getting back into homework is tough when you’ve spent a couple of months not having to do any. It’s easy for students to get caught up in a vicious cycle of procrastination and stress around completing homework on time. Just getting started can be the hardest part.

At Liz Morrison Therapy , our counselors help middle schoolers and high schoolers ease into tough transitions and set healthy habits. Getting back into homework and school mode can be a challenge, but it doesn’t have to ruin your school year. Here are some of our best tips for getting back into the habit quickly – so you can spend more time with your friends instead of worrying about assignments.

How to Overcome Procrastination and Do Your Homework: 6 Tips

Procrastinating on homework is one of the hardest habits to break, and it’s no secret that it poses a huge challenge to students. And it’s not actually about laziness – it’s about a desire to avoid the negative emotions that accompany whatever thing you have to do.

There are a lot of ways to overcome procrastination, and what works for some people won’t work for everyone. The key is to try different emotional management techniques and procrastination-busting methods until you figure out what works for you, and then continue to build on those. As you get better at new time management skills and emotional health habits, completing homework and other tasks will be easier. Ultimately, you’ll be less anxious and distressed about your workload.

Here are 6 ways you can build healthy skillsets around work, break the habit of procrastination, and set yourself up for success at school.

1. Acknowledge the difficulty of transitions

Your schedule is changing as you get back into school. This means your daily activities will change too. This might sound obvious, but many of our clients ignore this important aspect of returning to school. If you’re like most students, you have a lot of feelings about going back to school – you might be nervous, excited, apprehensive, sad, or some mixture of all of the above. And pushing away your difficult feelings can make it much more difficult to transition back to doing homework and attending classes. Maybe you’re someone who has a tough time with classes and schoolwork, or maybe you’re someone who looks forward to new assignments. Either way, you’re not alone. Acknowledging the big changes in your schedule – and how you feel about it all – can make a big difference in making you feel more relaxed and settled. Give yourself grace as you transition. It can help normalize any struggles you’re having and give you some much-needed emotional “wiggle room.”

2. Be realistic about your schedule

One of the biggest reasons students find it hard to get back into homework after the summer break – aside from procrastination – is they’re much busier with extracurriculars, sports, clubs, hanging out with friends, and possibly even working day jobs. There’s simply not a ton of extra time for doing homework, and this can put a lot of stress and pressure on getting everything done. Take a look at your schedule and ask yourself:

Can I realistically get everything done in the time that I have?

Can I feel good while getting everything done? Do I feel balanced and healthy?

Do I have any unnecessary or extra-stressful things in my schedule that I can eliminate?

How can I make sure to spend time on self-care along with all my other obligations?

Working through questions like these in a journal or with a therapist can really help you figure out what’s working and what might benefit from a change.

3. Eliminate distractions

If you’re someone who can focus all your attention on one task at a time without getting distracted, count yourself lucky. But for the rest of you out there, be sure to eliminate distractions when you work. Put your phone on silent and put it somewhere out of sight. Put headphones on with white noise or soothing ocean sounds if that helps you concentrate. Some students like a noisy atmosphere (like a coffee shop or a study group) for getting things done, and others prefer a completely quiet space where they can be alone. Know what you need, and give yourself that.

4. Plan out your homework – and break it up

To properly plan out your homework, it helps to know what’s going to be due and when. Write out a list (or buy a planner) with all your upcoming assignments, and score them on a scale of importance and difficulty. Many students tend to underestimate the time needed to complete their homework, so be realistic about the time different tasks take you. Don’t plan on finishing 4 different projects in one go, because that will just leave you exhausted and braindead. Next, give yourself a time limit for each project or assignment. Finally, work on the hardest thing first so some of the stress about completing difficult tasks is eased. And keep in mind that you don’t have to finish the hardest one first – you just have to get started.

Break up each of your assignments into chunks of time, and make sure to give yourself plenty of time to finish each. For example, say you have a paper due at the end of the week. Instead of trying to write it all the day before it’s due, set aside 30-60 minutes per day all week to work on that paper. Breaking up assignments will give your brain breaks and keep you from feeling super-stressed during and after homework sessions.

5. Set a timer

Setting a timer is a surprisingly useful tool for getting things accomplished. Simply getting started on homework is one of the biggest challenges for many students. Seeing a timer counting down can boost your motivation and help you begin. Setting a timer also is great if you’re easily distracted or have trouble focusing – it gives you an external cue to rely on. It also helps you avoid getting completely sucked in to one task at the expense of everything else you need to do.

Of course, it will likely take some trial and error for you to figure out how much time is actually right for you to work on each of your homework assignments. And this is totally okay. You can always tweak the timer when you need to. But in general, once the timer is up, wrap up what you’re working on. Give yourself a short break, and then move on to the next thing on your list.

6. Ask for help

There’s no shame in asking for extra help. Completing your homework shouldn’t feel like a monumental task. If you feel swamped with assignments and school work and need some support, consider asking your teacher or a tutor to help you. If your school doesn’t have a tutoring service, you can hire one or ask an adult for guidance. And if you are struggling with motivation or with the transition back into school and homework, a therapist can help.

Therapy Can Help You Figure Out How to Get Back Into Homework

If you’re having a hard time getting back into the rhythm of schoolwork and assignments after summer, you’re not alone. And you don’t need to let back-to-school stress get you down. If you’d like support in getting through your anxiety about how to do homework, we’re here for you. We’ll help you learn tools to beat the procrastination cycle, take the stress out of homework, and feel good about completing all your assignments and tasks. You’ll feel more prepared and confident about getting back into the demands of school.

Feel free to contact us for a free 15-minute phone consultation. We can answer any questions you have and see whether we’re a good fit.