How to Stop Procrastinating

Procrastination is putting off something you intended to do, even though you expect the delay to make things worse. Psychologist Fuschia Sirois puts it neatly: “all procrastination is delay, but not all delay is procrastination.” Waiting for information you need isn't procrastinating.

Research by Sirois and Timothy Pychyl points to the real cause: mood repair. A task makes us feel something unpleasant (bored, anxious, confused, afraid of doing it badly), and avoiding it makes that feeling go away right now. The relief is a reward, so the habit gets stronger each time. Our future self gets stuck with the bill.

• It's very common: in an American Psychological Association interview, Sirois estimates 15% to 25% of adults procrastinate chronically, and around half of college students do.
• It's not a time-management problem at heart. That's why calendars and to-do lists on their own often don't fix it.
• Chronic procrastination is linked to more stress and worse health habits, so it's worth tackling.

The key idea: you don't need to feel like doing the task. Every method below works by making the start feel smaller, clearer or less unpleasant.

“Do taxes” is a cloud of dread. “Find last year's tax return” is a five-minute job. Vague tasks feel bigger and scarier than they are, so the brain avoids them.

• Name the next physical action. Not “work on the report” but “open the report and write the headings”.
• Promise yourself only five minutes. Once you start, it's usually easier to keep going. If you still want to stop after five minutes, you're allowed to.
• Lower the bar for the first try. A messy first draft or a half-cleaned room is progress. “Good enough to improve” beats “perfect someday”.

Created by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s and named after his tomato-shaped kitchen timer, the Pomodoro Technique turns work into short, timed sprints:

1. Pick one task.
2. Set a timer for 25 minutes and work only on that task until it rings.
3. Take a short break of about 5 minutes. Stand up, stretch, get water. Not your phone, if you can help it.
4. After four pomodoros, take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.

Why it helps: 25 minutes feels doable, so starting is easier. A visible finish line makes it easier to ignore distractions. If something pops into your head, jot it down and get back to the task.

“I'll exercise more” rarely works. “When I get home from work, then I'll put on my running shoes” works much better. Psychologists call this an implementation intention: you decide in advance exactly when, where and how you'll act.

It's one of the best-supported tricks in behavior research. A 2006 review by Peter Gollwitzer and Paschal Sheeran combined 94 tests and found a medium-to-large effect on reaching goals. If-then plans especially help with getting started and with shielding a task from distractions.

You can also plan for obstacles: “If I feel the urge to check my phone, then I'll take one deep breath and keep going for two more minutes.”

Willpower is unreliable, so change your surroundings instead. Make the task easy to start and distractions a little annoying to reach.

• Put your phone in another room, or at least out of sight and face down. Silence notifications for the length of a pomodoro.
• Use your phone's focus tools: Focus on iPhone (Settings > Focus) or Focus mode in Digital Wellbeing on Android pause distracting apps while you work.
• Close extra tabs and apps. Keep open only what the current task needs. Website blockers can help for stubborn habits.
• Set up the night before: lay out your gym clothes, leave the document open, put the bills on the table. A ready start is an easy start.
• Pick your best hours. Do the dreaded task when your energy is highest, and save easy tasks for slumps.

It sounds backwards, but beating yourself up makes procrastination worse. Guilt and shame are more bad feelings to escape, which feeds the avoid-and-relieve loop.

In a 2010 study of 134 first-year university students, Michael Wohl, Timothy Pychyl and Shannon Bennett found that students who forgave themselves for procrastinating before their first midterms procrastinated less when studying for the next ones.

• Talk to yourself like a friend. “That got away from me. What's one small thing I can do now?” beats “I'm hopeless.”
• Watch out for perfectionism. Fear of doing it badly is a common reason not to start. Aim for a first draft.
• Notice the feeling, then start anyway. “I feel anxious about this, and I'll do five minutes” is allowed.

When it's more than a habit: if putting things off is constant, hurts your work or relationships, or comes with trouble focusing, low mood or anxiety, talk to a doctor or counselor. ADHD, depression and anxiety can all make starting tasks much harder, and they're treatable.