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I told myself I'd start writing at 10 a.m. and crank out a few sections of this article
before lunch. It's now 1:40 p.m.—and I'm finally getting started.
https://zapier.com/blog/procrastination-emotion/[06-Jun-19 09:44:32]
Procrastination Isn't a Time Management Problem, It's an Emotional Problem
What happened?
"I get emails from people who are developing apps to address procrastination and
want to know what I think. And I tell them, 'That's a time-management app, not a
procrastination app!' Because […] the story is all about emotions, and those apps
don't help with that."
For many of us, bringing emotions into the brass-tacks issue of work and
productivity may seem counterintuitive—or even trifling. But more and more
studies point to mood and emotion regulation as the main culprit in procrastination.
In this article, I explore these studies and reveal some data-driven techniques
anyone can use to help overcome their own procrastination-inclined habits.
https://zapier.com/blog/procrastination-emotion/[06-Jun-19 09:44:32]
Procrastination Isn't a Time Management Problem, It's an Emotional Problem
Think about it: You know that tackling your to-do list will make you happier, less
stressed, and more content, but you (all too often) don't do it. Trying to think or
plan your way through the problem won't do any good because it's irrational.
We project into the future about what the task will feel like.
We predict that the task will not feel good (e.g., will stress us out, make us feel
bad, etc.).
Our emotional coping strategy kicks in to keep us away from this bad feeling.
https://zapier.com/blog/procrastination-emotion/[06-Jun-19 09:44:32]
Procrastination Isn't a Time Management Problem, It's an Emotional Problem
turn, shut off access to both good and bad feelings, often leading to depression.
By procrastinating, we're avoiding a task with the assumption that the task won't
feel good, and that means we're missing out on any feelings of, for example,
accomplishment or success. This connection between procrastination and
depression has been around at least since the '90s, and the experimental
evidence has poured in ever since.
Another study, co-authored by Dr. Pychyl, found links between procrastination and
negative emotions like frustration and resentment. And that makes it even more
difficult to cope with the potential negative emotions we predict our task will create.
So, instead of feeling even worse, we opt for something that makes us feel good.
"Giving in to feel good" is the term given to this phenomenon in one paper cited by
The key insight from the recent research is that "giving in to feel good" isn't about
https://zapier.com/blog/procrastination-emotion/[06-Jun-19 09:44:32]
Procrastination Isn't a Time Management Problem, It's an Emotional Problem
willpower or forcing yourself to do something you hate; it's about managing your
One study attempted to tease apart the relationship between procrastination and
emotion. Researchers measured 214 undergraduates on procrastination scores as
well as various measures of depression, mindfulness, rumination, and self-
compassion. It found significant positive correlations between procrastination and
rumination, and negative correlations between procrastination and both
mindfulness and self-compassion. In other words, more rumination, less
Or maybe you don't beat yourself up. Maybe you just hang your head and feel
guilty for the work you've put off. But feeling guilty is no better. "Guilt is a
dissonance thermometer," Pychyl explains. "You've got a conflict between your
intentions and your actions. You intended to do this thing, that's what you said
yesterday, but now you're saying 'I'm not going to do it.'"
"We know we're culpable for our own self-defeated actions, and that brings us
down," Pychyl remarks.
https://zapier.com/blog/procrastination-emotion/[06-Jun-19 09:44:32]
Procrastination Isn't a Time Management Problem, It's an Emotional Problem
This flies in the face of how many of us think about productivity. When we're
putting off work, we tell ourselves we're being "lazy" and that we need to "suck it
up" to power through the task at hand. But the research suggests that taking a
softer, more compassionate view of our own behaviors may be the key to breaking
out of this self-perpetuating spiral.
So how do we do that?
Overcoming Procrastination
To do this, Pychyl brings together ideas from three disparate fields of study.
1. The first, which comes from Buddhist psychology, is the idea of the "monkey
mind" that we all share. "The monkey mind never stops and you can't make it
stop," Pychyl says. "Instead, you've got to give the monkey something to do."
2. The second idea, which comes from more traditional psychology, is that our
emotions can't be pushed aside or ignored. So when we have a strong
aversion to getting our work done, we can't ignore this feeling.
3. The third part comes from David Allen, the founder of the Getting Things
Done™ method, which is the idea that we don't do projects when we work;
we do actions. In other words, the mountain of work that we picture
ourselves wading through is really just a set of smaller, discrete actions that
have to be taken one at a time. We put our pants on one leg at a time and
https://zapier.com/blog/procrastination-emotion/[06-Jun-19 09:44:32]
Procrastination Isn't a Time Management Problem, It's an Emotional Problem
Instead of fretting about the huge project you have to do and all the stress it will
entail, ask yourself what the next action is. "I need to open my computer and read
the email," Pychyl explains. "I'm not going to worry about responding to it or
anything else. The next action is opening the email."
By asking "What's the next action?" you (1) give the monkey something to do, (2)
engage with the emotions you're feeling about the task, and (3) focus on actions
rather than projects.
Looking for technological assistance to take the next action? Some apps can help,
especially those designed for the Getting Things Done method, which focus on
identifying and prioritizing actions. Using the Agile Method can also help keep you
focused on the next task. But remember: These apps don't address the underlying
emotional issues of procrastination.
https://zapier.com/blog/procrastination-emotion/[06-Jun-19 09:44:32]
Procrastination Isn't a Time Management Problem, It's an Emotional Problem
"I do think it has a role," Pychyl says. "But it's a smaller role than we think."
A recent brain-scan study found reduced activity in the amygdala, an area that
controls stress response, among a group that was trained in mindfulness
meditation compared to two control groups. The amygdala is the region that can
"hijack" our emotional response to a perceived threat, whether that threat is a
One small pilot study found very low procrastination scores among experienced
meditators, suggesting that doing absolutely nothing might be the best way to get
everything done.
Here we are. I've almost finished writing this article, and it's only 11:58 p.m. In my
book, that's a victory, even if more of the day was spent avoiding work than doing
it.
https://zapier.com/blog/procrastination-emotion/[06-Jun-19 09:44:32]
Procrastination Isn't a Time Management Problem, It's an Emotional Problem
Doing this helped me get back to my work, just as Dr. Pychyl and other
procrastination researchers would predict. But it had another impact that might not
show up in their data: I enjoyed my day more. Even in those times I knew I was
procrastinating, I gave myself a break and felt less bad about myself than I would
have normally. Anecdotal evidence, but worth sharing, I think.
improve your quality of life more generally. Next time you're faced with a project
that's causing so much stress it feels like your amygdala is stabbing icicles into
your eyeballs, try taking a deep breath. Let go of whatever self-judgment you're
adding to the mix, and ask yourself, "What's the next task?"
Not only might you get more work done—you might even enjoy it.
Related reading:
Experiments with Time: How to Take Back Your Day from the Grip of Procrastination
Image of person painting nails designed by yanalya / Freepik. Image of brains and image of people
https://zapier.com/blog/procrastination-emotion/[06-Jun-19 09:44:32]
Procrastination Isn't a Time Management Problem, It's an Emotional Problem
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https://zapier.com/blog/procrastination-emotion/[06-Jun-19 09:44:32]
Procrastination Isn't a Time Management Problem, It's an Emotional Problem
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https://zapier.com/blog/procrastination-emotion/[06-Jun-19 09:44:32]