1Why we wait: the neuroscience of procrastination

2Procrastination is incredibly common and something we have all struggled with at one point
3or another. It’s the art of avoiding and postponing tasks and situations we consider difficult or
4lengthy while being extremely aware of the fact that it’s not a good habit.
5Some people procrastinate out of fear of being judged for their work, so they just avoid
6completing the task. Others are thrill-seekers that claim to enjoy the rush that comes with
7racing to meet a deadline.
8It’s a universal challenge, which bears the question: what is it about the human mind that
9drives us to put off tasks that are actually quite important to us?
10
11A little history of procrastination
12Humans have always struggled with procrastination. The problem goes back at least as far as
13Ancient Greece. In Plato’s Protagoras, Socrates asks how it is possible that, if one judges an
14action to be the best, one would do anything other than this action.
15Aristotle used the word akrasia—or “weakness of will”—to describe this state of acting
16against one’s better judgment. The term was later used several times in the Bible and
17described as a “sin of the mind”. Paul the Apostle even warns husbands and wives to not fall
18prey to akrasia as a reason to deprive each other of sex!
19When we get stuck into an akratic loop, we know we “should” do something, but we resist
20doing it. The sister word “procrastination” itself comes from the latin “pro”, which means
21“forward”, and “crastinatus”, which means “till next day.”
22Procrastination makes it difficult and stressful to finish certain tasks or to meet deadlines, so
23why do we do this to ourselves?
24
25The science behind procrastination
26Many people think that procrastination is due to lazy habits or just plain incompetence, but it
27couldn’t be further from the truth. Procrastination actually finds its roots in our biology. It’s
28the result of a constant battle in our brain between the limbic system and the prefrontal
29cortex.
30
31The limbic system, also called the paleomammalian brain, is one of the oldest and most
32dominant portions of the brain. Its processes are mostly automatic. When you feel like your
33whole body is telling you to flee from an unpleasant situation, it’s your limbic system talking.
34It’s also tightly connected to the prefrontal cortex.
35The prefrontal cortex is less developed, and as a result somewhat weaker portion of the
36brain. This is the part of your brain where planning complex behaviours, expressing your
37personality, and making decisions happen. The prefrontal cortex is “the part of the brain that
38really separates humans from animals, who are just controlled by stimulus,” explains Dr Tim
39Pychyl, a psychology professor and the author of The Procrastinator’s Digest: A Concise
40Guide to Solving the Procrastination Puzzle.
41
42Tasks we perceive to be uncomfortable trigger our fight or flight instinct, which shuts down
43the prefrontal cortex and gives control to the limbic system. As a result, the limbic system is
44often the victor and procrastination wins because your brain automatically avoids anything
45you do not like (or that may harm you).
46We give our brain what feels good now. In fact, procrastination can also be seen as the result
47of a battle between your present self and your future self.
48Pychyl explains that people procrastinate as a way to cope. The coping mechanism is
49avoidance. By avoiding negative emotions associated with a task, such as anxiety, boredom,
50frustration or resentment, you can avoid experiencing them.
51You have probably heard someone claim this at least once: “I know I procrastinate, but it’s
52fine, I perform better under pressure.” But that feeling of performing better under pressure is
53likely to be an illusion.
54
55How to be kind to your future self
56While it’s great to better understand the science behind procrastination—and to stop blaming
57yourself—it would be even better to give our prefrontal cortex a little help in fighting the
58good fight against our lazy, self-indulgent limbic system.
59And there’s some good news: thanks to the neuroplasticity of our brains, we can actually
60overcome procrastination. Here are four simple tricks you can start experimenting with today.

61 Do the worst thing first. Putting off dreaded tasks will sap your mental energy, while
62 checking them off your list will make you feel more productive. If you notice fear or
63 anxiety around starting a particular task, pay attention. These emotions are a great
64 indicator of why you’re procrastinating. Whether you think you’re unable to do
65 something well or simply want to avoid having to deal with it at all, use this insight
66 to prioritize your tasks, and make the decision to work on one that seems especially
67 difficult. Remember, the goal is not only to finish a task, but to make it easier to be
68 productive in the future.
69 Create smaller chunks. Make the job smaller by defining tasks that feel more
70 manageable. Commit to only doing the first one, and see how you feel afterwards.
71 Once you’ve decided where to begin, focus on how to organize the task into small
72 pieces. Don’t think about multi-tasking. Keep your focus on one part of the task at a
73 time to avoid being overwhelmed about the outcome of the final product and the work
74 required to get there.
75 Celebrate your accomplishments. Rewiring your brain requires sending yourself
76 different messages. Recognizing that you can move through difficult emotions and
77 accomplish your tasks is crucial to replacing your negative thought patterns. Each
78 success rewires your brain so that the next time you’re faced with a difficult task, you
79 will approach it with more confidence, patience, and focus.
80 Control your environment. Design your workspace in a way that minimises
81 distractions, whether physical or digital. This means putting your phone in another
82 room while you work, only keeping the necessary tabs open in your browser, and
83 marking yourself as offline in Slack. If you’re at home, work from an uncluttered
84 table. If you work from an office or a coworking space, consider investing in noise-
85 cancelling headphones. They also work wonders at making it clear to your colleagues
86 that you’d rather not be interrupted.
87Research from Stockholm university tested these self-help strategies with a group of 150 self-
88reported procrastinators and found a reduction in procrastination. If you suffer from chronic
89procrastination, though, there may be a bigger underlying problem worth looking at. “You
90might need therapy to better understand your emotions and how you’re coping with them
91through avoidance,” says Dr Tim Pychyl.
92And while most scientists agree that procrastination can be beaten through retraining
93ourselves, building mental strength, and self-help techniques, don’t beat yourself up if you’re
94an occasional procrastinator. Now you know it’s perfectly natural and rooted in our biology.

TRANSFORMATIONS

RELATIVE CLAUSE & NOUN CLAUSE IN APPOSITION TOGETHER:

Original: Many people think that procrastination is due to lazy habits or just plain
incompetence, but it couldn’t be further from the truth.
Transformation: The idea that many people hold that procrastination is due to lazy habits or
just plain incompetence couldn’t be further from the truth
(Defining relative clause post-modifier to the noun “idea”, Noun clause in apposition to the
abstract noun “idea”)

CLEFT SENTENCE:
Original: Procrastination actually finds its roots in our biology
Transformation: It is in our biology that procrastination finds its root

PSEUDO-CLEFT SENTENCE:
Original: You might need therapy to better understand your emotions
Transformation: What you might need to better understand your emotions is therapy

ABSOLUTE CONSTRUCTION:
Original: Pychyl explains that people procrastinate as a way to cope. The coping mechanism
is avoidance.
Transformation: People procrastinate as a way to cope, the coping mechanism being
avoidance.
Original: The limbic system is often the victor and procrastination wins because your brain
automatically avoids anything you do not like.
Transformation: Your brain avoiding anything you do not like, the limbic system is often
the victor and procrastination wins.

PARALLEL INCREASE:
Original: If you notice fear or anxiety around starting a particular task, pay attention. These
emotions are a great indicator of why you’re procrastinating.
Transformation: The more aversive you find a task, the more likely you are to procrastinate.

VERBLESS ADVERBIAL CLAUSE:

Original: If you’re at home, work from an uncluttered table.
Transformation: If at home, work from an uncluttered table.

REDUCED ADVERBIAL CLAUSE:

Original: Research from Stockholm university tested these self-help strategies with a group
of 150 self-reported procrastinators and found a reduction in procrastination.
Transformation: After testing these self-help strategies with a group of 150 self-reported
procrastinators, research from Stockholm university found a reduction in procrastination.

RELATIVE CLAUSE INTRODUCED BY A PREPOSITION:

Original: Here are four simple tricks you can start experimenting with.
Transformation: Here are four simple tricks with which you can start experimenting.

REVERSAL OF ORDER: TVIP + OC + DO

Original: Aristotle used the word akrasia to describe this state of acting against one’s better
judgment.
Transformation: Aristotle named akrasia the state of acting against one’s better judgment

Comparing sentences in the PASSIVE/ACTIVE voice:

Original: Procrastination is seen as the result of a battle between your present self and your
future self.
Transformation: People see procrastination as the result of a battle between your present
self and your future self.
In the transformation, which is in the active voice, we have a TVIP. Therefore, the sentence
contains an OC which gives information about the Direct Object (procrastination), and not
about the subject.
In the original sentence, which is in the passive voice, both the DO and the OC disappear.
The sentence contains a SC since it is describing the Subject (procrastination).

REFERENCES

RELATIVE CLAUSES
Line 3: Contact relative clause functioning as post modifier to the plural noun “situations”
Line 8: Non-defining relative clause functioning as post modifier to the noun “challenge”
Line 31: Reduced non-defining relative clause functioning as post modifier to the noun
“system”
Line 36: Defining relative clause functioning as post modifier to the noun “part”
Line 42: Sentential relative clause functioning as modifier to the whole previous idea.
Line 60: Contact relative clause ending in a preposition functioning as post modifier to the
plural noun “tricks”.
Line 74: Reduced defining relative clause functioning as post modifier to the noun “work”
Line 89: Reduced defining relative clause functioning as post modifier to the noun
“problem”

ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
Line 15: Adverbial clause of purpose functioning as an adverbial adjunct of purpose
Line 44: Adverbial clause of reason functioning as an adverbial adjunct of reason
Line 64: Adverbial clause of condition functioning as adverbial adjunct of condition
Line 71: Adverbial clause of time functioning as adverbial adjunct of time
Line 80: Adverbial clause of purpose (it is clearly of purpose because there is a modal
auxiliary after the subordinating conjunction “so that”) functioning as adverbial adjunct of
purpose.
Line 92: Adverbial clause of contrast functioning as an adverbial adjunct of contrast

OTHER ADVERBIAL ADJUNCTS

Line 13: Prepositional phrase functioning as adverbial adjunct of place
Line 49: Prepositional phrase functioning as adverbial adjunct of means

TVIP
Line 9: Transitive verb of incomplete predication (similar to encourage, lead, induce).
Object pronoun functioning as direct object. Infinitival clause functioning as objective
complement.
Line 51: Transitive verb of incomplete predication (verb of perception). Indefinite pronoun
functioning as direct object. Bare infinitival clause functioning as objective complement.
Line 82: Transitive verb of incomplete predication. Noun phrase functioning as direct object.
Adjectival phrase functioning as objective complement.

NOUN CLAUSES DIRECT OBJECT

Line 13: Interrogative noun clause functioning as direct object
Line 19: Contact noun clause functioning as direct object
Line 94: Contact noun clause functioning as direct object

DITRANSITIVE VERBS
Line 17: Ditransitive verb (verb of communication). Noun phrase functioning as indirect
object. To infinitival clause functioning as direct object.
Line 33: Ditransitive verb (verb of communication). Object pronoun functioning as indirect
object. To infinitival clause functioning as direct object.
Line 43: (Inside the sentential relative clause) Ditransitive verb (verb of giving). Noun
functioning as direct object. Prepositional phrase functioning as indirect object.
Line 46: Ditransitive verb (verb of giving). Noun phrase functioning as indirect object.
Interrogative noun clause functioning as direct object.
Line 75: Ditransitive verb (verb of giving). Reflexive pronoun functioning as indirect object.
Noun phrase functioning as direct object.

IVIP
Line 17: (Inside the infinitival clause) Intransitive verb of incomplete predication (inchoative
verb). Noun phrase functioning as subjective complement.
Line 19: Intransitive verb of incomplete predication (Inchoative verb). Past participle
functioning as subjective complement.
Line 62: Intransitive verb of incomplete predication. Adjectival phrase functioning as
subjective complement.

IVCP
Line 5
Line 44

ANTICIPATORY IT SUBJECT
Line 56: Anticipatory Subject anticipating the real subject in extra position which is a to
infinitival clause.
Line 57: Anticipatory Subject, anticipating the real subject in extra position which is a to
infinitival clause.

ANTICIPATORY IT OBJECT
Line 22: Anticipatory it Object. Noun phrase functioning as objective complement. To
infinitival clause functioning as the real object in extra position.
Line 67: Anticipatory it Object. Adjective in the comparative form functioning as objective
complement. To infinitival clause functioning as the real object in extra position.
Line 85: Anticipatory it Object. Adjective functioning as objective complement. Noun clause
functioning as the real object in extra position.

ANTICIPATORY THERE
Line 59: Anticipatory there anticipating a noun phrase

NOUN CLAUSE IN APPOSITION

Line 4: Noun clause in apposition to the abstract noun “fact” (El hecho de que)
Line 66: Variant: To Infinitive in apposition to the abstract noun “decision” (La decisión de)

GERUNDIAL CLAUSE
Line 76: Gerundial clause functioning as the subject of the sentence

COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Line 5: Coordinating conjunction expressing consequence
Line 15: Coordinating conjunction expressing alternative
Line 19: Coordinating conjunction expressing contrast
Line 35: Coordinating conjunction expressing addition

ADJECTIVES

Line 2: “Procrastination is incredibly common”

Adjectival phrase functioning as SC. The head adjective is “common” and it is pre-modified
by the intensifier “incredibly”, which is an emphasizer.

Line 4: “Being extremely aware of the fact that it’s not a good habit”
Adjectival phrase functioning as SC. The head adjective is “aware”, which is an adjective
restricted to predicative position because it takes complementation. The head adjective is pre-
modified by the intensifier “extremely”, which is an emphasizer. “Of the fact that’s not a
good habit” is a prepositional phrase qualifier to the head adjective.

Line 26: “Plain incompetence”

Intensifying adjective (emphasizer) that is restricted to attributive position. *The
incompetence is plain.

Line 47: “Your future self”

Adjective in attributive position. It is stative, non-gradable and non-inherent

Line 62: “Feel more productive”

Adjectival phrase in the comparative form. “Productive” is dynamic, gradable and inherent.

Line 69: “Make the job smaller”

Adjective in the comparative form, in predicative position. It is stative, gradable and inherent.