Why You Procrastinate Even When It Feels Bad

This video explores the psychological reasons behind procrastination, explaining how our brain's fear response can lead us to avoid tasks perceived as threatening. It discusses the role of emotions and self-esteem in procrastination and challenges the misconception that procrastinators are lazy.

It's 5 PM, and you've just realized that the report you've been putting off is due tomorrow. It's time to buckle down, open your computer, and check your phone. Maybe catch up on your favorite YouTube channel? Actually, you should probably make dinner first. You usually like cooking, though it's hard to enjoy with this work hanging over your head, and oh, it's actually pretty late. Maybe you should just try again in the morning. This is the cycle of procrastination, and I promise you, we have all been there. But why do we keep procrastinating even when we know it's bad for us? To be clear, putting something off isn't always procrastinating. Responsible time management requires deciding which tasks are important and which ones can wait. Procrastination is when we avoid a task we said we would do for no good reason, despite expecting our behavior to bring negative consequences. Obviously, it's irrational to do something you expect to harm you. But ironically, procrastination is the result of our bodies trying to protect us, specifically by avoiding a task we see as threatening. When you realize you need to write that report, your brain responds like it would to any incoming threat. Your amygdala, a set of neurons involved in emotional processing and threat identification, releases hormones, including adrenaline, that kick off a fear response. This stress-induced panic can overpower the impulses from your prefrontal cortex, which typically help you think long-term and regulate your emotions. And it's in the midst of this fight, flight, or freeze response that you decide to handle the threat by avoiding it in favor of some less stressful task. This response might seem extreme – after all, it's just a deadline, not a bear attack – but we're most likely to procrastinate tasks that evoke negative feelings, such as dread, incompetence, and insecurity. Studies of procrastinating university students have found participants were more likely to put off tasks they perceived as stressful or challenging, and the perception of how difficult the task is increases while you're putting it off. In one experiment, students were given reminders to study throughout the day. While they were studying, most reported that it wasn't so bad, but when they were procrastinating, they consistently rated the idea of studying as very stressful, making it difficult to get started. Because procrastination is motivated by our negative feelings, some individuals are more susceptible to it than others. People who have difficulty regulating their emotions and those who struggle with low self-esteem are much more likely to procrastinate, regardless of how good they are at time management. However, it's a common misconception that all procrastinators are lazy.