Disengaging from the task makes us feel better immediately, explains Fuschia Sirois, PhD, a professor of social and health psychology at Durham University in England.
But make no mistake, it’s harmful to use an emotional quick-fix over healthy processing that supports achieving your goals.
8 Tips to Procrastinate Less
To reduce procrastination, says Sirois, address the reasons behind it by turning down challenging feelings and dialing up helpful ones. These eight evidence-based tips can help.
1. First, Address Stress
When you’re stuck on starting a task, difficulty coping with stress and anxiety is likely to blame.
Stress can make it harder to get organized and prioritize tasks, explains Risa Williams, a licensed marriage and family therapist and clinician specializing in ADHD and time management in private practice in Los Angeles, and author of The Procrastination Playbook for Adults with ADHD: How to Catch Sneaky Forms of Procrastination Before They Catch You. “This is why some days you can’t even make a decision of what sentence to type in an email. Your brain just feels jammed up.”
Bringing your stress down in the ways you know work for you will make it so that procrastination loses its luster as an emotional relief valve. Try sitting outside, going for a walk, or doing breathing exercises. “Get your body and brain regulated so that you can deal with the hard thing that you have to do next,” she says.
2. Be Mindful of Your Procrastination Warning Signs
“Develop a mindful awareness of what your own procrastination tendencies are,” says Williams.
If you’re impulse shopping or cleaning your kitchen instead of starting that project, notice what you’re doing. If you feel guilty for not focusing, you’re likely procrastinating, she says.
Once you recognize and name what’s happening, respond nonjudgmentally. Williams suggests being a little playful and saying, “Hey, brain, what are you doing? What can I do to get you focused again?”
3. Practice Self-Compassion
Self-compassion works by shifting your thinking from a self-critical or self-judgmental stance to one that’s more balanced, says Sirois, who is also the author of Procrastination: What It Is, Why It’s A Problem, And What You Can Do About It. Practice self-compassion by reminding yourself that we’re all human, flawed, and make mistakes, Sirois says.
That helps you manage your emotions in a healthy way so you aren’t tempted to deal with them by avoiding your responsibilities.
Whatever you do, don’t be hard on yourself. It’s counterproductive because it creates more negative emotions, says Sirois. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. Just get on with things.”
4. Find the Bigger Meaning
You’re less likely to procrastinate going to the gym when you believe being active will help you spend time with your grandkids someday, says Sirois.
That’s because meaning helps you see beyond the immediate and connect small tasks with your own big-picture goals and values, she says.
Purpose, direction, and a sense of something larger lead to good feelings. On the flip side, having a reason to tolerate boredom, embarrassment, or other emotional discomfort makes these difficult feelings more bearable, Sirois explains.
5. Script Yourself for Success
“When something feels hard for us, we need to soothe ourselves into doing it, not beat ourselves up into doing it,” says Williams.
Extreme self-talk, like “this is the worst” or “I hate this,” amps up stress, she says. “We have to be really careful about how we’re talking about the thing we have to do and our ability to do it.”
Having trouble finding a kind internal monologue? Try talking to yourself like you would a friend or your own kid, suggests Williams.
6. Make Big Tasks Smaller
If you’re overwhelmed with a large project and find yourself procrastinating, break it down.
“Make the first step forward so easy sounding to your brain that it almost feels ridiculous not to do it,” says Williams.
When a client procrastinated on creating a painting for a big art show, Williams told her to start by putting the paintbrushes in the middle of the dining room table. That little nudge was enough to bust through her creative block so she could meet her deadline.
7. Get the Clarity You Need
Ambiguity is kryptonite for productivity. If you can’t break a project down into doable tasks, get clarity on what those more specific steps should be. Step one might be: Figure out how to get started.
“It’s always good to get clarity,” says Sirois. If you feel uncertain about a project, ask questions or do research (or both). In a professional setting, managers can help, too. Reduce workplace procrastination by making sure that your colleagues have enough guidance and support on what they’re supposed to do, she says.
8. Team Up
Buddies are great procrastination busters from an emotional-regulation perspective, says Sirois. “Doing things together is emotionally pleasant,” she says. But competing? That just increases negativity. And being alone leaves you to face negative thoughts by yourself, she explains.
The Takeaway
- The reason people procrastinate is to quickly regulate emotions by avoiding a task.
- The best tools for procrastination address why people procrastinate and help regulate emotions in healthier ways.
- Research shows that the most effective techniques to combat procrastination help you cope with task-related stress and anxiety and boost positive feelings.
