The Psychology of Procrastination

When we have a test and have to study, we often find ourselves constantly avoiding the fact that we have to start. This behavior is known as procrastination: the act of delaying something even when you know it will hurt you later. However, did you know procrastination doesn't equal laziness?

When we procrastinate, there are two systems in our brain that fight, the limbic system and prefrontal cortex. The Limbic system wants comfort, pleasure, and something NOW. Furthermore, the prefrontal cortex cares about long-term goals, planning, and discipline. Which system do you think wins? When we procrastinate, the Limbic system wins. We value immediate rewards more than future rewards. Studying now brings stress and effort but scrolling a phone has instant dopamine. Rather than laziness, procrastination is a form of emotional regulation.

Our brain tries to escape uncomfortable feelings like anxiety, boredom, overwhelm, and perfectionism. This leads to a cycle. You first delay, feel guilty, stress increases, feels even worse, and eventually avoid it even more. Procrastination became worse today due to social media, short-form videos, constant notifications which give fast dopamine hits, making the work harder in comparison. Although procrastination is a complex psychological behavior, there are some strategies to manage it. Try to make the task smaller, maybe you can just start for 5 minutes only. Rather than focusing on finishing the task, focus on starting the task.