Why We Procrastinate: Understanding the Psychology Behind Delaying Tasks
- Stephanie Underwood, RSW
- 7 days ago
- 5 min read
Written by Stephanie Underwood, RSW
Procrastination affects up to 20% of adults and over 50% of students. Learn why we delay important tasks, how it impacts mental health, what the research reveals, and my professional and personal experience with procrastination
This Article Features
Understanding what procrastination is and what it isn’t.
Treating Procrastination based on the Research
What the Research Says about Procrastination and Treatment
My Professional Insights on Procrastination
For most people, postponing tasks and commitments until the very last minute is quite a harmless endeavor, causing mere annoyance and a bad conscience at worst. For others, however, the behavior is a constant source of anxiety and distress that can turn into something far more harmful.
Procrastination is something we’ve all experienced, whether it’s putting off a difficult conversation, delaying a deadline, or avoiding that looming to-do list. At its core, procrastination is the act of voluntarily delaying something we intended to do, even though we know that putting it off will likely make things worse later.
Psychologist Piers Steel (2007) defines procrastination as “voluntarily delaying an intended course of action despite expecting to be worse off for the delay.” In other words, we know we’re hurting ourselves by delaying, but we do it anyway.
Historically, procrastination has been broken down into different categories:
Arousal procrastination (delaying for the thrill of last-minute pressure)
Avoidant procrastination (putting off tasks due to fear of failure or negative emotions).
Decisional procrastination (struggling to make decisions, which causes delays) - can also be associated with perfectionism (fear of making the wrong decision)
However, more recent studies suggest that all of these types boil down to a single core issue called Dysfunctional Delay; a pattern of postponement that leads to negative consequences (Steel, 2010).
While not everyone who procrastinates needs clinical treatment (Rozental & Carlbring, 2014), the impact on mental health can be significant. Studies have found that higher levels of procrastination are linked with:
Increased depression
Higher anxiety and stress levels
Lower quality of life
Procrastination isn’t just about time management, it’s deeply connected to our emotional and physical well-being. Research has found that people who struggle with procrastination often deal with perfectionism, especially the kind where someone constantly fears they’re not good enough or worries they’ll never meet their own high standards (Sirois et al., 2017). This creates a cycle of self-doubt, overthinking, and emotional paralysis, which makes it harder to take action.
In fact, procrastination has also been linked to:
Rumination, or the tendency to dwell on problems and negative thoughts (Flett et al., 2016)
Low mood and depressive symptoms
Excessive worry and generalized anxiety disorder (Stöber & Joormann, 2001).
But the effects of procrastination don’t stop at emotional health, they extend to our physical health too. Studies show that chronic procrastinators are less likely to take care of themselves. This includes putting off medical checkups, skipping workouts, or delaying efforts to eat healthier (Sirois et al., 2003; 2007). Over time, these delays can contribute to poorer health outcomes.
While some people argue that they “work better under pressure,” research shows that procrastination rarely improves performance. In academic and workplace settings, it’s more often associated with increased stress, higher tension, and lower overall productivity (Rice et al., 2012). Even if the work gets done, the emotional toll of the delay often outweighs any perceived benefit.
Over time, procrastination can impact long-term goals too. Studies have found that it’s linked to lower grades in school (Steel, 2007), as well as career setbacks and financial difficulties later in life (Nguyen et al., 2013).
Treating Procrastination
There are only a handful of well-designed studies (randomized controlled trials) that have tested specific procrastination treatments. These studies have tried out different strategies like:
Self-control training (Lopez & Wambach, 1982; Davis, 1984)
Self-monitoring techniques (Pfister, 2002)
Goal-setting using smaller “sub-goals” to build momentum (Mühlberger & Traut-Mattausch, 2015; Muñoz-Olano & Hurtado-Parrado, 2017)
These interventions typically aim to help people:
Track how they spend their time
Reduce distractions
Break tasks into manageable chunks to feel less overwhelmed
While some people did improve, the results were mixed. The outcomes varied widely from no effect to a strong effect, and in some cases, people who received no treatment at all actually did just as well, or better, than those who got help. This suggests that while these approaches might work for some, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, and more research is still needed.
CBT Therapy
In contrast, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has received more attention. CBT and related therapies, like Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, have long been used by clinicians to address procrastination. One of the earliest self-help books on the topic (Ellis & Knaus, 1977) described procrastination as a result of irrational beliefs, like “I must do things perfectly or not at all.”
What Does This Mean for Treatment?
Psychological treatment can help reduce procrastination, but it’s not a magic fix, and more research is needed to know which methods work best.
CBT currently has the most promising evidence, especially when it includes techniques like goal-setting, breaking tasks into small steps, and addressing the beliefs that fuel avoidance.
Many people who procrastinate may also struggle with other mental health issues (like anxiety or perfectionism), so a holistic approach that addresses underlying emotional patterns is likely to be more effective.
Consistency matters, short, one-off interventions are less helpful. Longer-term, structured programs (like 8–10 weeks) are more likely to produce real change.
Therapist support (even if minimal) seems to help participants follow through more than self-help alone.
In short, procrastination isn’t just a bad habit, it’s a complex behaviour with emotional roots. And while psychological treatment can make a difference, we still have much to learn. What’s clear, however, is that the more we understand and support the emotional side of procrastination, the more likely we are to help people break free from it.
My Professional Take on Procrastination
Procrastination isn’t laziness. It’s a self-protective, self-sabotaging behaviour rooted in fear, specifically, the fear of failing, being judged, or not being “good enough.” From a schema perspective, procrastination is one of the mind’s favourite ways to reinforce the Fear of Failure or Defectiveness schema.
Here’s how it usually works: you avoid the task, your inner critic swoops in, and then the shame spiral kicks off. You start hearing things like, “It wasn’t even that hard. Why didn’t you just do it earlier?” or, “Seriously? You couldn’t even open your mail for a month?”
Those thoughts aren’t random. They serve one purpose: to confirm the old, familiar narrative that you’re the problem, not the task, not the paralysis, not the fear. That is the vicious loop of schema-driven procrastination.
Here are two key truths I want people to understand:
Procrastination won’t change until the underlying schemas change.
You can use productivity hacks all day, but if the core fear is untouched, the behaviour will resurface. Schema Therapy is one of the only frameworks I’ve seen consistently get to the root. Anything else is just putting a band-aid on a wound that needs actual repair.
Don’t think, just move.
When there’s a task you’re avoiding, the worst thing you can do is pause long enough for your brain to negotiate with you. Because it will talk you out of it.
One simple rule: count to three, stand up, and start. Don’t analyze. Don’t wait to “feel ready.” Just initiate the movement. Your nervous system will follow.
Procrastination is not about willpower. It’s about safety, fear, and old patterns running the show. Once we address those root wounds, and interrupt the overthinking that feeds them, the behaviour shifts.
Conclusion
Procrastination is a learned survival pattern - not a character flaw. Once you understand the fears and schemas driving it, you can finally interrupt the cycle and choose something different. Small steps, less thinking, and deeper emotional work create real change. And the more you practice taking action from a place of self-trust instead of self-criticism, the more your life starts to open up again.
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