We asked our psych about procrastination – why we do it, and why it’s not a character flaw. Here’s what he had to say:

Everyone procrastinates sometimes.

Maybe you’ve let clean laundry sit unfolded for days, delayed responding to a message that would take all of two minutes, or kept pushing back that essay, business report, or family budget.

Why do we avoid these tasks, even when we know they’re achievable or important?

And for some of us, procrastination isn’t just an occasional quirk – it’s a chronic challenge, showing up again and again, quietly impacting school, work, and wellbeing.

We all put things off. But procrastination isn’t about being lazy or undisciplined – it’s usually your brain dodging a feeling.

Psychologically, procrastination isn’t a time-management issue – it’s about avoiding unpleasant emotions:

• Fear of failure
  
• Perfectionism
  
• Boredom
  
• Not knowing where to start
  
• Or just plain overwhelm

Here’s something to consider for the future:

Don’t ask ‘What’s wrong with me?’ – ask ‘Why am I having difficulty with this task?’
That gentle shift turns procrastination from a character flaw into a puzzle you can actually solve.

Psychologists describe procrastination as an emotion-focused coping strategy.
When a task feels uncomfortable, the brain avoids it to reduce emotional discomfort – trading long-term benefit for short-term, instant relief from those negative feelings.

But procrastination isn’t the problem – it’s the signal.
A red flag from your nervous system that something deeper’s going on.

When procrastination becomes the pattern.

For some people, procrastination turns into a chronic pattern that seriously interferes with their goals, relationships, or mental health.

Around 20% of adults are chronic procrastinators – meaning they consistently delay tasks in ways that harm daily functioning and leave them feeling ashamed, guilty, hopeless… just miserable.

In other words, many of us procrastinate sometimes – but roughly one in five do it so habitually that it’s considered serious and debilitating.

Chronic procrastination isn’t just running late on a project once – it’s a persistent inability to follow through, even when delaying causes distress.

Psychologists note that procrastination often overlaps with other mental health challenges.

It can be driven by – and in turn worsen – conditions like anxiety, depression, and ADHD, and it’s often tangled up with things like low self-worth and perfectionism.

Once you recognise what’s happening, though – you can start changing the pattern.

How do we manage it – more effectively and more kindly?

The silver lining in understanding procrastination as emotional – not a character flaw or fixed personality trait – is this: we can work with it.

You don’t need to become a productivity machine.
You just need to get curious, not critical – and build a few new tools.

Here’s how:

Start small.
Two minutes. One line. One action. Momentum > motivation.

Break the mountain into molehills.
“Finish 3000-word report” is overwhelming.
“List three bullet points” or “Write the intro” is doable.

Progress over perfection.
Good enough gets it done.
As much as the brain loves 100%, we’ve got to get better at living in the 70s, 80s, and 90s – because nothing’s ever perfect.

Ask what you’re avoiding.
Fear? Boredom? Uncertainty?
Name it. Then remind yourself: you are not your feelings – they’re part of you, but they don’t define you.
That’s how you move through it.

Ditch the shame (be kind to yourself).
Beating yourself up won’t make you move faster – it just makes you avoid more.
Maybe procrastination won today. That’s okay. You’re in training. Fewer wins for it in the future.

Set up small rewards or make it fun.
Hack the moment. Pair tasks you’re avoiding with something enjoyable – music while cleaning, podcasts while budgeting or mowing the lawn.

Use accountability and social support.
Even saying “I’m doing this today” to someone helps. Text a mate. Start a task together. Don’t isolate yourself.

Regain your agency.
This is about getting back in the driver’s seat of your own life – not perfectly, just more often.
Support is great, but ultimately, for change to take place, it has to be us doing the work.

Final thought

Breaking the procrastination habit takes time.
You won’t become perfectly productive overnight – and you don’t need to.

The goal isn’t zero procrastination.
It’s understanding yourself better, building a stronger toolkit, and not letting avoidance call the shots.

Instead of letting procrastination (and the negative feelings driving it) mindlessly yank you around like a bossy son of a gun, you understand the nature of it now – and that means you get to choose how you respond.

You’re not lazy. You’re human.
And you can train your brain to stop flinching from discomfort – and start getting shit done!

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – just do it.
Sometimes, it looks like the bloke who keeps saying, “I’m all good, mate.”