The Psychology of Procrastination
- Zachary Herron
- May 27
- 2 min read
Procrastination isn’t laziness — it’s often a coping strategy for managing difficult emotions like fear, self-doubt, overwhelm, or perfectionism. Understanding the psychology of procrastination helps us develop self compassion when we are stuck, unable to move forward.
When we delay a task, we usually experience a momentary sense of relief. That’s because procrastination reduces the discomfort we associate with the task: fear of failing, pressure to succeed, or not knowing where to start. But this relief is short-lived, and over time, procrastination can erode confidence, increase stress, and create a cycle of avoidance. It begins to be reinforced as a maladaptive coping strategy.
Understanding what drives your procrastination is key to moving past it. Are you putting something off because it feels emotionally risky? Are you waiting for the “perfect” moment or energy level that never arrives? Do you tell yourself you work better under pressure?
The first step to breaking past procrastination is self-compassion. Instead of shaming yourself, get curious. Ask: “What am I trying to avoid right now?” From there, experiment with small shifts — like breaking a task into tiny steps, setting a 10-minute timer, or focusing on starting rather than finishing.
I once had a client who put off starting a university course for 2 years because he needed a desk in his room, but had to move a chest of draws to fit the desk, which required emptying the drawers out. But the drawers had been his catch-all for everything he didn’t know what to do with for 10 years. He wasn’t procrastinating the starting university study, he was avoiding dealing with 10 years of un-sorted, un-filed things that carried a huge emotional weight. Procrastination was protecting him from untold potential stress that lurked in those drawers.
Therapy can be incredibly helpful in unpacking the emotional roots of procrastination to identify what you might really be avoiding. It can help you address perfectionism, self-criticism, and fear of failure, all of which tend to fuel delay.
Remember: procrastination isn’t a time management issue — it’s an emotional regulation issue. And once we see it clearly, we can work with it more wisely.
