Psychologist Reveals How To Finally Stop Procrastinating

Whether it’s doing the laundry or finally doing that report for your boss – we’re all prone to procrastination.

Many people have long begged the question of how to stop being victim to it, and a psychologist thinks they’ve cracked it.

Timothy Pychyl, a professor who studies procrastination at Carleton University in Ottawa, believes procrastination is down to fear, rather than laziness.

Pychyl says that our avoidance behaviour of doing tasks we might not find particularly fun is ‘giving in to feel good’, meaning we do something more enjoyable instead of the other tasks that need doing and the unpleasant feelings that accompany the task.

I mean, I’m sure we’d all agree that playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons for two hours is much more fun than cleaning the bathroom.

It’s then a bit of a downwards spiral because the guilt of us not doing the tasks that need doing makes us procrastinate even more until you’re eventually left still feeling bad for not doing it, and still being left with the task undone.

It’s about really dealing with our feelings. Emotional regulation, to me, is the real story around procrastination because to the extent that I can deal with my emotions, I can stay on task.

He also gave three tips to tackle procrastination: number one being to acknowledge why you’ve been avoiding it and face your emotions.

Secondly, forgive yourself for procrastinating as it will reduce the guilt you feel about procrastinating, eliminating one of the primary triggers for procrastinating.

Lastly, Pychyl advises to ‘just get started’ and ignore how you feel to focus on the task at hand. He said, ‘Rather than telling yourself, “just do it,” which can be overwhelming, say, “just get started”.’

Best get started with emptying the dishwasher, then.