Procrastinating is such a common habit among all of us. Don’t worry we will get to that in a while. Ha Ha! Who hasn’t heard that often enough? Well, the time is now.

An estimated 20% of adults and more than 50% of students procrastinate according a study by Scientific Research titled Procrastination as a Tool: Exploring Unconventional Components of Academic Success.

The habit of procrastinating

In fact it is so common, that there is even evidence that pigeons have the same behaviour. According to a psychologist from the University of Durham, Prof Fuschia Sirois who has studied this topic for 20 years, there is a psychology behind this phenomenon. It’s not about being lazy or having bad time management.

According to research, there is insufficient scientific evidence to support the notion that procrastination is solely a result of poor time management. Instead, it appears to be primarily linked to mood management. Procrastination stems from an inability to effectively regulate one’s mood and emotions. While impulsivity and self-control play a role, the underlying issue lies in an inadequate emotional response.

The amygdala, responsible for regulating emotions and triggering the fight-or-flight response, seems to be involved in procrastination. Interestingly, individuals who identify as chronic procrastinators tend to have a larger grey matter volume in the amygdala. This implies a heightened sensitivity to potential negative consequences, leading to more negative emotions and further procrastination.

The problem arises when considering our future selves. The brain region activated when envisioning our future self is the same as when perceiving a stranger. This perception may make it easier to postpone tasks, as our future selves feel psychologically distant and separate from our present selves. We may even attribute superhero-like qualities to our future selves, assuming they will possess solutions and abilities that we lack at present.

However, the reality is that personal change occurs gradually over time and not within a short period. Chronic procrastinators often fall into this fallacy. Fortunately, research suggests that practicing temporal thinking, or considering one’s future self more frequently, can improve this mindset and reduce procrastination tendencies.

How to stop

One simple way is to deal with pockets of time in hours and minutes instead of days. For example instead of thinking you have two days, break it down to thinking I have 48 hours. This make things seem more immediate and lessens the tendency to postpone.

The other two things to do is cognitive reframing and self compassion.

“My advice is not to go full in overidentfying and becoming that frustration. Step back from it for a minute and just acknowledge that you’re not happy with yourself. And then move forward.

He said that in a study conducted among 750 people, it was found that there was a link between procrastinating and lower levels of compassion. These people judged themselves more harshly.

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