How to Stop Procrastinating When You've Tried Everything
For the thing you've been circling all week, even the one you actually want to do. It starts with a feeling and one very small move.
The email has been sitting in your drafts since Tuesday. It's three sentences long. Since then you've cleaned the inside of the microwave, read about how octopuses sleep, and opened this article, which is at least in the right neighborhood. Welcome. Give us a few minutes and we'll send you back to that email.
If you're wondering how to stop procrastinating, start with the feeling the task stirs up. Putting something off is often a quick escape from that bad mood. So try naming what makes the task hard to face, shrink the first move until it's almost silly, do it now, and forgive yourself for the delay so far.
We make MirrorMii, a game where you photograph small moments from your day and hand what you find to Genii.
Why do I procrastinate, even on things I want to do?
Often it's because the task feels unpleasant enough that putting it off brings instant relief. The relief is real. It just doesn't last.
That's the heart of a 2013 paper by psychologists Fuschia Sirois and Tim Pychyl. Pychyl's own research, at Carleton University in Ottawa, focused on procrastination. The two argue that procrastination has a lot to do with short-term mood repair. You put off a task that feels unpleasant so you can feel better now, and the bill goes to your future self.
Things you want to do aren't exempt. Wanting something raises the stakes. The novel you've meant to start brings a quiet "what if it's bad?", the trip you'd love to plan arrives with forty open tabs, and joining the climbing gym means walking in as the new person. The want is real, and so is the dread sitting on top of it.
Avoiding the email doesn't mean you don't care about it. You found the nearest exit from a bad feeling, and the microwave was right there.
How do you start right now?
Not after lunch, and not on Monday. Keep the email open in another tab and work down this list.
- Name the feeling in a few words. "This email feels awkward." "This essay makes me feel stupid." Saying it plainly shows you what you're actually dodging.
- Find the first physical move. "Work on the report" is a fog. A first move is something your hands do: open the file, type her name in the To line, put your shoes by the door.
- Shrink it until it's almost silly. If you'd still dodge it, make it smaller. Opening the laptop counts, and so does washing a single plate.
- Give yourself permission to stop after it. You're agreeing to the first move only. If you keep going, lovely. If you don't, you still did what you agreed to.
- Leave a starting point for next time. Before you stop, write the next tiny move on a sticky note or leave a sentence half-finished, so tomorrow's first move is already picked.
Step four does more than it looks like. You're only deciding to open the file. The rest of the report is a decision for later. And once you've named the feeling, pick a first move that fits it.
| When the task feels | Try this first move |
|---|---|
| Boring | Put on one song and do the dullest part until it ends |
| Too big | Write the next three steps on a sticky note, then do only the first |
| Scary, like it might go badly | Write the worst version on purpose, then fix one line |
| Unclear | Type the one question you'd need answered to begin |
| Awkward, like a hard email or call | Write the greeting and one sentence, nothing more |
How do you stop the guilt from making it worse?
Guilt shows up right on time. You put the task off, feel bad about it, and now the task carries its original dread plus a fresh layer of shame, which makes it even easier to avoid. Around you go.
At Carleton University, Michael Wohl, Tim Pychyl and Shannon Bennett studied students preparing for two midterm exams in a row, in a 2010 study called I forgive myself, now I can study. Among the students who'd procrastinated heavily before the first exam, the ones who forgave themselves more procrastinated less before the next. Feeling less bad about the first round accounted for that link. The study measured forgiveness. Nobody was asked to forgive themselves, so it shows a link and leaves cause open.
Pychyl has also written that for some people, forgiveness could turn into a free pass. Try pairing it with one next move, said in a single breath: "I put this off because it felt awkward. That's done. Now I'm typing her name."
If the thing you've been avoiding is a habit that lapsed weeks ago, our guide on getting back on track with habits starts right where you are.
What about the things you put off every single day?
The dishes and the workout come back every day, dread included. For a task like that, try giving it something worth waiting for.
Pair the dull task with something you like, and only let yourself have it then: a podcast saved for folding laundry, or the good tea that comes out once the inbox is cleared. Laundry is still laundry, but now it's the only place you find out what happened in episode six.
When the problem stops being one task and becomes showing up at all, how to be consistent when willpower runs out picks up the thread.
A first move that doesn't feel like a task
MirrorMii is a game where a move can be as small as one photo. Genii, the teardrop-shaped slime who hosts the island, posts quests, and you snap something already in your day, like the lunch you were eating anyway, and hand it over. Finish a quest and it stays finished, even if you vanish for a week.
On the other side of the mirror, Miia has her own day going. She's your digital twin who lives her own life, and she keeps a diary you can read but never rewrite.
FAQ
Is procrastination just laziness?
No. Procrastination often comes with plenty of activity aimed at everything except the one task, plus a nagging sense that you should be doing it. That nagging is the giveaway: you care, and the task still feels bad.
Is procrastination a sign of ADHD?
Putting things off alone isn't enough to identify ADHD. If it has been getting in the way of your work, money or relationships for a long time, talk to a doctor or psychologist. They're the right people to look into ADHD with you.
How do I stop procrastinating on homework?
Open the assignment, copy the first question into a blank document, and write a rough answer you're allowed to delete. A bad first draft is easier to fix than a blank page is to start.
Is there a good book on procrastination?
Tim Pychyl, a co-author of both papers here, wrote Solving the Procrastination Puzzle, published by Tarcher in 2013. Its subtitle promises a concise guide to strategies for change. If a whole book feels like a task, the five moves above fit on one sticky note.
Want a first move that takes one photo? Snap your lunch for Genii and see what it becomes for Miia. Join MirrorMii free