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A Scientific Guide on How to Stop Procrastinating

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A Scientific Guide on How to Stop Procrastinating

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Procrastination is a challenge we have all faced at one point or another. For as long as humans have been around, we have been struggling with delaying, avoiding, and procrastinating on issues that matter to us.

During our more productive moments, when we temporarily figure out how to stop procrastinating, we feel satisfied and accomplished. Today, we're going to talk about how to make those rare moments of productivity more routine. The purpose of this guide is to break down the science behind why we procrastinate, share proven frameworks you can use to beat procrastination, and cover useful strategies that will make it easier to take action.

You can click the links below to jump to a particular section or simply scroll down to read everything. At the end of this page, you'll find a complete list of all the articles I have written on procrastination.
I. The Science Behind Procrastination II. How to Stop Procrastinating Right Now

1. Make the Rewards of Taking Action More Immediate

2. Make the Consequences of Procrastination More Immediate

3. Design Your Future Actions

4. Make the Task More Achievable

III. Being Consistent: How to Kick the Procrastination Habit

1. The Daily Routine Experts Recommend for Peak Productivity

2. How to Avoid Chronic Procrastination With Visual Cues

The Science Behind Procrastination

Let's start by getting the basics nailed down. What is procrastination? What does procrastination mean? What exactly are we dealing with here?

What is Procrastination?

Human beings have been procrastinating for centuries. The problem is so timeless, in fact, that ancient Greek philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle developed a word to describe this type of behavior: Akrasia.

Akrasia is the state of acting against your better judgment. It is when you do one thing even though you know you should do something else. Loosely translated, you could say that akrasia is procrastination or a lack of self-control.

Here's a modern definition:

Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing a task or set of tasks. So, whether you refer to it as procrastination or akrasia or something else, it is the force that prevents you from following through on what you set out to do.

Why Do We Procrastinate?

Ok, definitions are great and all, but why do we procrastinate? What is going on in the brain that causes us to avoid the things we know we should be doing?

This is a good time to bring some science into our discussion. Behavioral psychology research has revealed a phenomenon called "time inconsistency," which helps explain why procrastination seems to pull us in despite our good intentions. Time inconsistency refers to the tendency of the human brain to value immediate rewards more highly than future rewards. 1

The best way to understand this is by imagining that you have two selves: your Present Self and your Future Self. When you set goals for yourself - like losing weight or writing a book or learning a language - you are actually making plans for your Future Self. You are envisioning what you want your life to be like in the future. Researchers have found that when you think about your Future Self, it is quite easy for your brain to see the value in taking actions with long-term benefits. The Future Self values long-term rewards.

However, while the Future Self can set goals, only the Present Self can take action. When the time comes to make a decision, you are no longer making a choice for your Future Self. Now you are in the present moment, and your brain is thinking about the Present Self. Researchers have discovered that the Present Self really likes instant gratification, not long-term payoff.

So, the Present Self and the Future Self are often at odds with one another. The Future Self wants to be trim and fit, but the Present Self wants a donut. Sure, everyone knows you should eat healthy today to avoid being overweight in 10 years. But consequences like an increased risk for diabetes or heart failure are years away.

Similarly, many young people know that saving for retirement in their 20s and 30s is crucial, but the benefit of doing so is decades off. It is far easier for the Present Self to see the value in buying a new pair of shoes than in socking away $100 for 70-year-old you. (If you're curious, there are some very good evolutionary reasons for why our brain values immediate rewards more highly than long-term rewards.)

This is one reason why you might go to bed feeling motivated to make a change in your life, but when you wake up you find yourself falling back into old patterns. Your brain values long-term benefits when they are in the future (tomorrow), but it values immediate gratification when it comes to the present moment (today).

The Procrastination-Action Line

You cannot rely on long-term consequences and rewards to motivate the Present Self. Instead, you have to find a way to move future rewards and punishments into the present moment. You have to make the future consequences become present consequences.

This is exactly what happens during the moment when we finally move beyond procrastination and take action. For example, let's say you have a report to write. You've known about it for weeks and continued to put it off day after day. You experience a little bit of nagging pain and anxiety thinking about this paper you have to write, but not enough to do anything about it. Then, suddenly, the day before the deadline, the future consequences turn into present consequences, and you write that report hours before it is due. The pain of procrastinating finally escalated and you crossed the "Action Line."

There is something important to note here. As soon as you cross the Action Line, the pain begins to subside. In fact, being in the middle of procrastination is often more painful than being in the middle of doing the work. Point A on the chart above is often more painful than Point B. The guilt, shame, and anxiety that you feel while procrastinating are usually worse than the effort and energy you have to put in while you're working. The problem is not doing the work, it's starting the work. 2

If we want to stop procrastinating, then we need to make it as easy as possible for the Present Self to get started and trust that motivation and momentum will come after we begin. ( Motivation often comes after starting, not before.)

Let's talk about how to do that now.

How to Stop Procrastinating Right Now

There are a variety of strategies we can employ to stop procrastinating. Below, I'll outline and explain each concept, then I'll provide you with some examples of strategy in action.

Option 1: Make the Rewards of Taking Action More Immediate

If you can find a way to make the benefits of long-term choices more immediate, then it becomes easier to avoid procrastination. One of the best ways to bring future rewards into the present moment is with a strategy known as temptation bundling.

Temptation bundling is a concept that came out of behavioral economics research performed by Katy Milkman at The University of Pennsylvania. Simply put, the strategy suggests that you bundle a behavior that is good for you in the long-run with a behavior that feels good in the short-run.

The basic format is: Only do [THING YOU LOVE] while doing [THING YOU PROCRASTINATE ON].

Here are a few common examples of temptation bundling:

Only listen to audiobooks or podcasts you love while exercising.

Only get a pedicure while processing overdue work emails.

Only watch your favorite show while ironing or doing household chores.

Only eat at your favorite restaurant when conducting your monthly meeting with a difficult colleague.

This article covers some specific exercises you can follow to figure out how to create temptation bundling ideas that work for you.

Option 2: Make the Consequences of Procrastination More Immediate

There are many ways to force you to pay the costs of procrastination sooner rather than later. For example, if you are exercising alone, skipping your workout next week won't impact your life much at all. Your health won't deteriorate immediately because you missed that one workout. The cost of procrastinating on exercise only becomes painful after weeks and months of lazy behavior. However, if you commit to working out with a friend at 7 a.m. next Monday, then the cost of skipping your workout becomes more immediate. Miss this one workout and you look like a jerk.

Another common strategy is to use a service like Stickk to place a bet. If you don't do what you say you'll do, then the money goes to a charity you hate. The idea here is to put some skin in the game and create a new consequence that happens if you don't do the behavior right now.

Option 3: Design Your Future Actions

One of the favorite tools psychologists use to overcome procrastination is called a "commitment device." Commitment devices can help you stop procrastinating by designing your future actions ahead of time.

For example, you can curb your future eating habits by purchasing food in individual packages rather than in the bulk size. You can stop wasting time on your phone by deleting games or social media apps. (You could also block them on your computer.)

Similarly, you can reduce the likelihood of mindless channel surfing by hiding your TV in a closet and only taking it out on big game days. You can voluntarily ask to be added to the banned list at casinos and online gambling sites to prevent future gambling sprees. You can build an emergency fund by setting up an automatic transfer of funds to your savings account. These are all examples of commitment devices that help reduce the odds of procrastination.

Option 4: Make the Task More Achievable

As we have already covered, the friction that causes procrastination is usually centered around starting a behavior. Once you begin, it's often less painful to keep working. This is one good reason to reduce the size of your habits because if your habits are small and easy to start, then you will be less likely to procrastinate.

One of my favorite ways to make habits easier is to use The 2-Minute Rule, which states, "When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do." The idea is to make it as easy as possible to get started and then trust that momentum will carry you further into the task after you begin. Once you start doing something, it's easier to continue doing it. The 2-Minute Rule overcomes procrastination and laziness by making it so easy to start taking action that you can't say no.

Another great way to make tasks more achievable is to break them down. For example, consider the remarkable productivity of the famous writer Anthony Trollope. He published 47 novels, 18 works of non-fiction, 12 short stories, 2 plays, and an assortment of articles and letters. How did he do it? Instead of measuring his progress based on the completion of chapters or books, Trollope measured his progress in 15-minute increments. He set a goal of 250 words every 15 minutes and he continued this pattern for three hours each day. This approach allowed him to enjoy feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment every 15 minutes while continuing to work on the large task of writing a book.

Making your tasks more achievable is important for two reasons.

1. Small measures of progress help to maintain momentum over the long-run, which means you're more likely to finish large tasks.

2. The faster you complete a productive task, the more quickly your day develops an attitude of productivity and effectiveness. 3

I have found this second point, the speed with which you complete your first task of the day, to be of particular importance for overcoming procrastination and maintaining a high productive output day after day.

Being Consistent: How to Kick the Procrastination Habit

Alright, we've covered a variety of strategies for beating procrastination on a daily basis. Now, let's discuss some ways to make productivity a long-term habit and prevent procrastination from creeping back into our lives.

The Daily Routine Experts Recommend for Peak Productivity

One reason it is so easy to slip back into procrastination time after time is because we don't have a clear system for deciding what is important and what we should work on first. (This is yet another example of the system often being more important than the goal.)

One of the best productivity systems I have found is also one of the most simple. It's called The Ivy Lee Method and it has six steps:

1. At the end of each work day, write down the six most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow. Do not write down more than six tasks.

2. Prioritize those six items in order of their true importance.

3. When you arrive tomorrow, concentrate only on the first task. Work until the first task is finished before moving on to the second task.

4. Approach the rest of your list in the same fashion. At the end of the day, move any unfinished items to a new list of six tasks for the following day.

5. Repeat this process every working day.

Here's what makes it so effective:

It's simple enough to actually work. The primary critique of methods like this one is that they are too basic. They don't account for all of the complexities and nuances of life. What happens if an emergency pops up? What about using the latest technology to our fullest advantage? In my experience, complexity is often a weakness because it makes it harder to get back on track. Yes, emergencies and unexpected distractions will arise. Ignore them as much as possible, deal with them when you must, and get back to your prioritized to-do list as soon as possible. Use simple rules to guide complex behavior.

It forces you to make tough decisions. I don't believe there is anything magical about Lee's number of six important tasks per day. It could just as easily be five tasks per day. However, I do think there is something magical about imposing limits upon yourself. I find that the single best thing to do when you have too many ideas (or when you're overwhelmed by everything you need to get done) is to prune your ideas and trim away everything that isn't absolutely necessary. Constraints can make you better. Lee's method is similar to Warren Buffett's 25-5 Rule, which requires you to focus on just five critical tasks and ignore everything else. Basically, if you commit to nothing, you'll be distracted by everything.

It removes the friction of starting. The biggest hurdle to finishing most tasks is starting them. (Getting off the couch can be tough, but once you actually start running it is much easier to finish your workout.) Lee's method forces you to decide on your first task the night before you go to work. This strategy has been incredibly useful for me: as a writer, I can waste three or four hours debating what I should write about on a given day. If I decide the night before, however, I can wake up and start writing immediately. It's simple, but it works. In the beginning, getting started is just as important as succeeding at all.

It requires you to single-task. Modern society loves multi-tasking. The myth of multi-tasking is that being busy is synonymous with being better. The exact opposite is true. Having fewer priorities leads to better work. Study world-class experts in nearly any field-athletes, artists, scientists, teachers, CEOs-and you'll discover one characteristic runs through all of them: focus. The reason is simple. You can't be great at one task if you're constantly dividing your time ten different ways. Mastery requires focus and consistency.

Regardless of what method you use, the bottom line is this: Do the most important thing first each day and let the momentum of the first task carry you into the next one.

How to Avoid Chronic Procrastination With Visual Cues

Another way to overcome the trap of chronic procrastination is to use visual cues to trigger your habits and measure your progress.

A visual cue is something you can see (a visual reminder) that prompts you to take action. Here's why they are important for beating procrastination:

Visual cues remind you to start a behavior. We often lie to ourselves about our ability to remember to perform a new habit. ( "I'm going to start eating healthier. For real this time.") A few days later, however, the motivation fades and the busyness of life begins to take over again. Hoping you will simply remember to do a new habit is usually a recipe for failure. This is why a visual stimulus can be so useful. It is much easier to stick with good habits when your environment nudges you in the right direction.

Visual cues display your progress on a behavior. Everyone knows consistency is an essential component of success, but few people actually measure how consistent they are in real life. Having a visual cue-like a calendar that tracks your progress-avoids that pitfall because it is a built-in measuring system. One look at your calendar and you immediately have a measure of your progress.

Visual cues can have an additive effect on motivation. As the visual evidence of your progress mounts, it is natural to become more motivated to continue the habit. The more visual progress you see, the more motivated you will become to finish the task. There are a variety of popular behavioral economics studies that refer to this as the Endowed Progress Effect. Seeing your previous progress is a great way to trigger your next productive action.

Two of my favorite strategies that use visual cues are The Paper Clip Strategy, which is helpful for beating procrastination day-after-day, and The Seinfeld Strategy, which is great for maintaining consistency over longer periods of time.

Where to Go From Here

I hope you found this short guide on procrastination useful. If you're looking for more ideas on how to stop procrastinating and take action, then check out my full list of procrastination articles below.

All Procrastination Articles

This is a complete list of articles I have written on procrastination. Enjoy!

Best Articles on Related Topics

Or, browse my best articles.

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Procrastination: A Scientific Guide on How to Stop Procrastinating

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This guide explains what procrastination is, how it works, and how to stop procrastinating. Now for your first test: Don't procrastinate, and read this now.

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Academic Skills Kit - Newcastle University Library

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Do you keep postponing work you need to do? The problem probably stems from one of three things: your habits and systems (or lack thereof), your desire to avoid negative emotions (like anxiety and boredom), or your own flawed thinking patterns (which can make a task seem harder than it is). Luckily, there are simple strategies for managing each. To develop good habits, for instance, do your important work in a consistent pattern daily: After I do this, I do my deep work. Devise a system for starting new tasks (drawing on one you’ve handled well); that will make it easier to get the ball rolling. When a task makes you anxious, do the easiest part first and progress from there; motivate yourself to do a boring task with a reward for completing it. And if you’re cognitively blocked, consider what would make a task impossible—and then identify its opposite. Novel work often is filled with friction. You must recognize that tension doesn’t mean you’re not making progress. And if a project still feels overwhelming, tackle it in small chunks of time, not big ones.

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The ONLY Way To Stop Procrastinating | Mel Robbins

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Two Counterintuitive Ways to Stop Procrastinating

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Two Counterintuitive Ways to Stop Procrastinating

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Two Counterintuitive Ways to Stop Procrastinating

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Instead of continuing to beat your head against the procrastination wall, how about trying something new?

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Book Summary: Atomic Habits by James Clear

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Book Summary: Atomic Habits by James Clear

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How to Stop Procrastinating: 9 Tips for Focus & Productivity

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How to Stop Procrastinating: 9 Tips for Focus & Productivity

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How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the “2-Minute Rule”

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How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the “2-Minute Rule”

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Recently, I've been following a simple rule that is helping me stop procrastinating and making it easier for me to stick to good habits at the same time.

I want to share it with you today so that you can try it out and see how it works in your life.

The best part? It's a simple strategy that couldn't be easier to use.

Here's what you need to know...

How to Stop Procrastinating With the "2-Minute Rule"

The Two-Minute Rule 1 states "When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do."

You'll find that nearly any habit can be scaled down into a two-minute version:

"Read before bed each night" becomes "Read one page."

"Do thirty minutes of yoga" becomes "Take out my yoga mat."

"Study for class" becomes "Open my notes."

"Fold the laundry" becomes "Fold one pair of socks."

"Run three miles" becomes "Tie my running shoes."

The idea is to make your habits as easy as possible to start. Anyone can meditate for one minute, read one page, or put one item of clothing away. And, as we have just discussed, this is a powerful strategy because once you've started doing the right thing, it is much easier to continue doing it. A new habit should not feel like a challenge. The actions that follow can be challenging, but the first two minutes should be easy. What you want is a "gateway habit" that naturally leads you down a more productive path.

You can usually figure out the gateway habits that will lead to your desired outcome by mapping out your goals on a scale from "very easy" to "very hard." For instance, running a marathon is very hard. Running a 5K is hard. Walking ten thousand steps is moderately difficult. Walking ten minutes is easy. And putting on your running shoes is very easy. Your goal might be to run a marathon, but your gateway habit is to put on your running shoes. That's how you follow the Two-Minute Rule.

Why the Two-Minute Rule Works

People often think it's weird to get hyped about reading one page or meditating for one minute or making one sales call. But the point is not to do one thing. The point is to master the habit of showing up. The truth is, a habit must be established before it can be improved. If you can't learn the basic skill of showing up, then you have little hope of mastering the finer details. Instead of trying to engineer a perfect habit from the start, do the easy thing on a more consistent basis. You have to standardize before you can optimize.

As you master the art of showing up, the first two minutes simply become a ritual at the beginning of a larger routine. This is not merely a hack to make habits easier but actually the ideal way to master a difficult skill. The more you ritualize the beginning of a process, the more likely it becomes that you can slip into the state of deep focus that is required to do great things. By doing the same warm-up before every workout, you make it easier to get into a state of peak performance. By following the same creative ritual, you make it easier to get into the hard work of creating. By developing a consistent power-down habit, you make it easier to get to bed at a reasonable time each night. 2 You may not be able to automate the whole process, but you can make the first action mindless. Make it easy to start and the rest will follow.

The Two-Minute Rule can seem like a trick to some people. You know that the real goal is to do more than just two minutes, so it may feel like you're trying to fool yourself. Nobody is actually aspiring to read one page or do one push-up or open their notes. And if you know it's a mental trick, why would you fall for it?

If the Two-Minute Rule feels forced, try this: do it for two minutes and then stop. Go for a run, but you must stop after two minutes. Start meditating, but you must stop after two minutes. Study Arabic, but you must stop after two minutes. It's not a strategy for starting, it's the whole thing. Your habit can only last one hundred and twenty seconds.

One of my readers used this strategy to lose over one hundred pounds. In the beginning, he went to the gym each day, but he told himself he wasn't allowed to stay for more than five minutes. He would go to the gym, exercise for five minutes, and leave as soon as his time was up. After a few weeks, he looked around and thought, "Well, I'm always coming here anyway. I might as well start staying a little longer." A few years later, the weight was gone.

Strategies like this work for another reason too: they reinforce the identity you want to build. If you show up at the gym five days in a row-even if it's just for two minutes-you are casting votes for your new identity. You're not worried about getting in shape. You're focused on becoming the type of person who doesn't miss workouts. You're taking the smallest action that confirms the type of person you want to be.

We rarely think about change this way because everyone is consumed by the end goal. But one push-up is better than not exercising. One minute of guitar practice is better than none at all. One minute of reading is better than never picking up a book. It's far better to do less than you hoped than to do nothing at all.

Whenever you are struggling to stick with a habit, you can employ the Two-Minute Rule. It's a simple way to make your habits easy.
This article is an excerpt from Chapter 13 of my New York Times bestselling book Atomic Habits. Read more here.

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How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the "2-Minute Rule"

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Recently, I've been following a simple rule that is helping me stop procrastinating and making it easier for me to stick to good habits at the same time. I want to share it with you today so that you can try it out and see how it works in your life.

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subscribe to Life Kit podcast

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Procrastination. At the beginning of every year, we promise ourselves that we'll slay this beast. We make lists, buy journals, try new apps, but no matter what, we often wind up falling into the same cycle of delay and avoidance - putting things off, day after day.

If you've resolved to quit procrastinating, it might help to know there's more to it than just delaying tasks. Therapist Anastasia Locklin describes chronic procrastination as "an inability to regulate negative or fearful emotions or feelings." Research shows that people tend to prioritize short-term mood over long-term goals and that they're more likely to put off tasks that don't have quick rewards. As Locklin says, "Your present self often values immediate gratification over the long-term goals."

Procrastination and perfectionism often go hand in hand. As some researchers have concluded, perfectionists "experience a chronic sense of falling short of their own personal standards," triggering their procrastination. Locklin says the mental narrative goes something like this: "I'll just wait until I'm in a setting or situation where I can be completely perfect at it."

Culture is to blame for some forms of procrastination. Black women tend to put off self-care activities - like vacations and doctor's appointments - because they're often taught (and expected) to prioritize caring for others. "I know personally, for myself as a woman of color, some of the things that I've been told is that if you care for yourself and only care about yourself, then you're selfish," Locklin shares.

Black women can also feel like they have to work twice as hard to be recognized in their careers. "I think sometimes we attach our self-worth to our own productivity and [feel] we're only as valuable as how successful we are," Locklin explains. "That makes us almost put our own self-care and self-preservation on the back burner."

To combat procrastination - on the big things and the little things - here's what Locklin recommends:

First, identify small goals. Set a goal to work on something for a short, fixed amount of time - say, 10 minutes.

If you need more structure, Locklin recommends trying the Ivy Lee method. At the end of each workday, make a list of six things to work on the following day. List them out in order of true importance. Tackle those things and only those things the next day.

Next, if you're trying to figure out the best way to prioritize tasks, use natural patterns to your advantage: If you're a morning person, do important tasks in the morning. If you have midday slumps, take that time to organize and create your list for the next day.

Don't be too hard on yourself. Research shows self-compassion can help you cope with procrastination-related stress. Remember every success is just that: a success!

If you're procrastinating wellness and rest, plan ahead and delegate! Block out vacations in advance and put systems in place with co-workers so that you can work toward your time away and feel secure that all your goals at work are met.

Finally, if you're having trouble addressing procrastination on your own, meet with a therapist. One treatment approach, called cognitive behavioral therapy, can help improve coping skills by focusing on current barriers and solutions to those problems.

If you need help finding a therapist, check out this episode of Life Kit.
The podcast version of this story was produced by We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.Audrey Nguyen. It was engineered by Patrick Murray, and the digital version was produced by Clare Lombardo.

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Procrastination is more than putting things off. Here's how to kick the habit : Life Kit

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subscribe to Life Kit podcast subscribe to Life Kit podcast Procrastination. At the beginning of every year, we promise ourselves that we'll slay this beast. We make lists, buy journals, try new apps, but no matter what, we often wind up falling into the same cycle of delay and avoidance - putting things off, day after day.

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How to Find Your Procrastination Style—and Then Stop Procrastinating for Good

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How to Find Your Procrastination Style—and Then Stop Procrastinating for Good

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Does this sound familiar? You sit down at your desk, ready to knock out a big project for work, only to check your emails, scroll through social media for 10 minutes, watch a video, and respond to a few unanswered text messages. If so, you might be one of the many people who struggle with procrastination.

What Is Procrastination?

Defined as the act of delaying or putting off tasks until the last minute, or all together, procrastination is normal and in fact, something everyone does to some extent. And it's not necessarily unhealthy, says Jeff Temple, PhD, licensed psychologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

Why We Procrastinate

"Sometimes we just need to put things off for our sanity or to let ideas marinade before we act," he says. "And we procrastinate for a variety of reasons-some rather benign like you'd rather just be doing something more exciting, and others more nefarious like perfectionism, or fear of success or failure."

Research has even shown that people tend to prioritize short-term mood over long-term goals, meaning in the moment, you'll likely put off tasks if it's easier or more pleasant not to do them, and if they don't have a quick or satisfying reward. Other research suggests that there are triggers that can make you more adverse to tasks, and the more triggers attached to a task, the more likely you are to procrastinate. The characteristics that make a task procrastination-worthy are: frustrating, difficult, boring, unstructured, ambiguous, not intrinsically rewarding, and lacking in personal meaning.

Procrastination Types

Interestingly, not all procrastinators are the same, says Alyssa Mairanz, LMHC, CDBT, founder and executive director of Empower Your Mind Therapy. There are six different types of procrastinators, and figuring out which category (or categories) you fall into can help you overcome your specific challenges.

"Someone can be a mix of them all really, so it's important to understand not only the types of procrastinators, but how you identify with the underlying reasons of your specific procrastinating," Mairanz says.

Procrastinators tend to fall into one or a few of the following categories:

1. Perfectionist: has a fear of not doing the task perfectly. They would rather hold off completely if they feel (or fear) they aren't able to accomplish your work perfectly.

2. Dreamer: thinks "big picture" on ideas, but when it comes to actual tasks or work at hand, they have a hard time completing it and focusing on the steps to get there.

3. Worrier: has a fear of failure and negative emotions around being successful at the task ahead. Better not to do it at all than do it and fail, or have something go wrong.

4. Defier: pushes off tasks because they find it beneath them or feel it's something they shouldn't have to work on. Feel frustrated or perhaps resentful at the task under their responsibility.

5. Crisis-Maker: needs to feel pressure or stress of a tight deadline to begin and/or accomplish a task. They wait until the last minute because only this will make them motivated to get something done.

6. Over-Doer: says "yes" to too many tasks and has trouble prioritizing and accomplishing the tasks, so fails to get them done.

Giving yourself grace and acknowledging that you're not the only one who puts things off is important. But when procrastination gets out of hand and starts to affect your personal and/or professional life negatively, it's time to do something about it. There are several helpful ways to break long-held patterns and train yourself to stop procrastinating. Whether you're looking for small, daily changes or actionable behavior tricks, put these expert tips to good use the next time you're about to procrastinate.

How to Stop Procrastinating

1. Accept it without judgment.

The first real step to working through procrastination is accepting where you are now and not beating yourself up for it. Once you know and acknowledge that you consistently procrastinate, you'll be able to deal with it more effectively, and can make a plan and start to implement small strategies to work through those struggles each and every day.

"I just had a conversation with a client recently after going through comprehensive dialectical behavior therapy, who returned to therapy because he finds he severely procrastinates his responsibilities and it's hard for him to get things done," says Dr. Mairanz. "I assured him, this is human nature. The best way to navigate it is to just accept that this is occurring and remove the judgment. He can then allow himself a few hours to procrastinate and then focus on what needs to be done."

2. Reframe your mindset and rephrase your self-talk.

Mindset is everything when it comes to working through any internal struggle, so shift your inner dialogue from negative to positive self-talk. Positive self-talk can help with emotional regulation, and speaking to yourself in ways that remind you of your goals-and not what you haven't gotten done-can make you more excited about the process. So instead of saying, "I wish I hadn't put this off," try, "I will start working on this now."

And if the task doesn't have a specific deadline and still gets done at some point, and gets done well, then don't put undue pressure on yourself to complete it within an unrealistic time frame.

3. Have an accountability buddy.

Having the support of a friend, partner, or colleague can make all the difference when it comes to working towards your goals and not procrastinating. That's why Mairanz recommends having them check in with you about the status of your work to hold you accountable. Whether it's daily, weekly, or monthly, when you have someone constantly checking on your progress, you'll be far more likely to accomplish tasks, and stick to deadlines.

And if you're someone who needs an extra incentive to complete a task, have your accountability partner give you a predetermined reward to hold you accountable.

4. Work within your resistance level.

Large projects and multi-step tasks can be overwhelming. Not knowing where to begin or dreading the amount of work and time they will take, are more than enough to make you avoid them altogether. Instead, think extremely small.

Try it with time: Find a short window of time that you can easily commit to. If the idea of spending an hour on one task makes you push it off, that's too much time. Reduce that time until you find a comfortable spot that you're no longer resistant to-and then commit to it regularly. Sometimes 10 minutes, even just 5 minutes, is all you can say yes to, and that's a perfectly good starting point.

Or try it with the task steps: Break tasks into the smallest possible, most easily achievable steps. Britt Frank, LSCSW, clinician, educator, and trauma specialist describes in her book Science of Stuck, the concept of breaking tasks down into "micro-yeses". These are the smallest possible things you can say yes to without triggering your nervous system's survival responses (a driver of procrastination). A micro-yes is designed to be done today and to keep your nervous system out of survival mode and in a logical and choice-based mode.

There is a misconception that motivation must precede action-but oftentimes action is what leads to motivation. Successfully completing a micro-task, or working within a micro-focus timeframe, will feel good and motivate you to do it again. Humans learn through a rewards-based system, and this can help tap into that.

5. List the potential costs of procrastination.

Oftentimes people procrastinate because they feel if they can't commit to completing the task perfectly then they're a failure. "Perfectionism may be especially taxing-the impossible demands of feeling like you need to be perfect is so daunting that not starting feels like a huge relief," Temple says.

Instead, try writing a to-do list of what you need to get done and include the specific cost of procrastinating each task, large or small, short- or long-term. Not exercising each day might seem like no big deal, but over time it could have serious consequences to your overall health. Choosing to spend all of your discretionary income each month might feel good in the moment, but not saving for retirement can impact your long-term finances, relationships, and life goals. By seeing what the long-term effects of putting off small to-do's can help motivate you.

6. Actively eliminate distractions.

The daily routine of checking emails, calls, text messages, and social media accounts can easily become a self-reinforcing pattern that research has shown can be "pervasive" to your life in more ways than one. It's also especially difficult to break because these tech-based notifications are literally designed to steal our attention.

When you notice yourself using your device to procrastinate, acknowledge it and then disconnect. "Turn off the TV, put your phone on 'do not disturb', and spend time focusing on the task," Mairanz says. Set a timer and only allow yourself to check emails or take a social media break in that window. If you need an extra layer of reinforcement, try apps like Self Control or Freedom, which allow you to block access to specific sites like social media or streaming channels, and require you to physically restart your computer to regain access to those sites.

7. Work with a professional.

Sometimes it can feel like you've tried everything and you're still stuck. If overcoming procrastination is something that's becoming a severe struggle or issue, it might be time to speak to an expert about executive functioning issues.

"How to stop procrastinating depends largely on what's driving your tendency to put things off," Temple says. "If none of these tips works and your procrastination negatively impacts your ability to function, then look to a mental health professional. We can help you work out the root causes, challenge your negative thoughts, and assign homework to get you over this hump."

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