My schedule’s enemy — procrastination

My to-do list is full, and the deadlines are getting closer. Yet instead of starting on any of the tasks, I find myself scrolling through Instagram or TikTok, watching Netflix, or taking my dog for a walk. By the end of the day, I realise I have barely made progress, and the stress to meet the deadlines has only increased. Does this sound familiar?

Why do we procrastinate even when we know the work needs to be done — and that starting earlier would clearly be better for us?

After reviewing research on the neuroscience of procrastination — a field that is attracting growing scientific interest — I began to wonder whether this behaviour is partly a by-product of modern society’s drive for productivity. On one hand, we have an expanding list of things we want to acquire and experience. On the other, we have limited time and effort. Technological advances, including automation and AI, have allowed us to produce more with the same amount of effort. So, what prevents us from using our time more efficiently to accomplish even more?

Time is limited, so prioritization of tasks is an important first step. Once we choose a task, we also need to match our effort and energy to the time available. However, this is often where we get stuck: even when we know what needs to be done, it can be difficult to start. What stops us from making the effort? Recent research suggests that we tend to discount the cost of future effort. For example, if writing an essay requires 100 units of effort, our brain may treat 100 units today as feeling much heavier than 100 units tomorrow. As a result, postponing the task can feel like the easier and more sensible choice, even though the actual effort required has not changed[1].

The author of Tiny Experiments, Anne-Laure Le Cunff developed a “head, heart, hand” framework as a diagnostic tool for the driver of procrastination[2].

In the Head. This is the logos part. Is the value in the task worth the effort that I have to put in? Have you asked yourself why you want to make the effort to attend a dinner, complete an assignment or clean the house? If I have to go out of town to attend the dinner, the reason for attending the dinner would have to be exceptional. If the value in the task completion is not high, it would not be logical to put in too much effort. This is when there is more reason to push the task off till later, especially if the effort next month feels much less than the effort I have to put in now.

In the Heart. This is related to emotions. Research have suggested that people with lower emotional regulation abilities would be more prone to procrastination[3]. The avoidance of negative emotions related to the actions in the task could induce putting off the action.

In the Hands. When the tools and resources required to complete the task do not appear available, we might feel inadequate to complete the task. If it was unlikely to complete it, why start? The key here is the perceived lack of tools and resources.

Identifying the driver of procrastination would enable targeted application of mediative intervention. The capacity to manage negative emotions and the ability to exercise executive functioning varies from person to person, the methods to manage it would also have to be highly personalized.

1. When the goal is too large and intangible, it is hard to make sense of the value. Breakdown the goal into detailed processes, with clear milestones and deliverables. Start with the lower hanging fruits to get things moving. Stay open to challenges along the way.

2. Create external consequences. When we are accountable to an external party, the consequence and value become a lot more tangible. Just as how I finally started working on this blog post after committing to the platform managers (lol).

3. Make space for negative emotions. Pain and growth often go hand in hand. Negative emotions are hard to bear. If we can make enough space to hold them and let them be, we might find growth in the process itself.

4. Take a step back and review the resources required and how you can access them. Taking a walk to the nearby café or to the washroom often was what it took to make me realize resources that I could tap on that I have not. Purposefully scheduled breaks could provide some time out to review the situation.

Therapy can help you build more mental space for these emotions, understand the internal resources you already have, and learn practical techniques to respond to them in a healthier way.

[1] A neuro-computational account of procrastination behavior. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9513091/#Fig1

[2] https://nesslabs.com/book

[3] Procrastination and the Priority of Short-Term Mood Regulation: Consequences for Future Self, https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/spc3.12011